History of Canaan, Maine from the East Somerset County Register (settled by New Hampshire people) Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Tina Vickery & The Androscoggin Historical Society Copyright. All rights reserved. ************************************************************************ Full copyright notice - http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm USGenWeb Archives - http://www.usgwarchives.net ************************************************************************ The East Somerset County Register 1911-12 Compiled and Published by Chatto & Turner Auburn, Maine Clarence I. Chatto; Clair E. Turner pages 55-64 HISTORY OF CANAAN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CANAAN. The oldest town of the group covered in this brief historical account, is Canaan, which was incorporated in 1788, some years before most of the others had been explored to any considerable extent. This was due, perhaps, to its proximity to the Kenne- bec River along the banks of which the earliest settlers of the county made their homes. The first settlement is said to have been made about 1770. The survey of the town was made by John Jones in 1779, and the town was incorporated in 1788, under its present name, which was given to it because of the beauty of its scenery and the fertility of its soil. The planta- tion name was "Wesserunsett" and later "Heywoodstown," from Peter Heywood, the first settler. The area of the town was formerly very much larger than at present, Skowhegan having been at one time included within its limits. The plan- tation records commence in 1783. Canaan was first represent- ed in the "General Court" by Benjamin Shepherd. The first post office was established in 1793. Being settled so soon after the Revolutionary War, it is nat- ural that many of the settlers in the town should have been engaged in that conflict. Among the names which have been mentioned in this connection are Daniel Nelson, J. E. Hall, Stephen Holman, Jonathan Holt and Elisha Nason. The town furnished several soldiers for the 1812 war also, among these being Chas. Hodsdon, three members of the Holt family, and others. One soldier at least, Jackson Goodridge, went to the Mexican War from Canaan. The town suffered a disaster during the summer of 1911 in a destructive fire, which swept away a considerable part of the business section. of the village. In the excitement caused by the fire, which threatened his residence, Dr. L. W. Shean, who had been a life long practitioner in the town, succumbed to heart disease. Capt. Joseph Barrett, came to Canaan with his family from Ludlow, Vt. in 1806 and cleared the farm now owned by his great granddaughter, Mrs. Viola Rand. In 1816 Mr. Barrett built the house which still stands on the farm. His children were: Hulda m. Corson, Joseph, Silas, John, Levi, Lucinda m. Bangs, Harrison. Mr. Barrett died when quite young. Joseph, Jr. followed the profession of law and served in the capacity of Judge, County Commissioner and Trustee of sev- eral State Institutions. Among the most noteworthy of the early families in the town were the Holts several of whom were among the pioneers. The first member of the family with his four sons came to Canaan from New Hampshire or from Berwick, among the earliest settlers. The sons were: Isaac, Alvah, Asa and Jona- than. There was also a sister, Polly, who m. Mr. Wheeler. Alvah Asa and Jonathan Holt served in the War of 1812, the latter being a corporal. He took part in the battle of Sackett's Harbor. Isaac held the position of Captain in a company mus- tered for the Aroostook War. Jonathan Holt m. Betsey Bailey of New Hampshire, and they had six children: Mary, m. Henry Fernald, res. Troy; Lucina, m. Win. Foster; Lovina, m. Moses Furber; Samuel, res. Clinton; Drew, res. Skowhegan; Royal F. Capt. Isaac Holt was prominent in public affairs during the early years of the town. He m. Eleanor Kimball of Canaan and lived in Canaan until near the end of his life, when he moved to Clinton. His children were: Chauncey, Theodore, Alden, Loren. Brown's Corner, in the northern part of the town was named from an early settler of that name, who cleared a farm in the vicinity. For some years Eldridge Brown kept a small store at the corner. Noah Hubbard, a veteran of the War of 1812, came from Cape Cod to Sidney, Maine and thence to Canaan, in the days when the trail from Sidney was nothing but a spotted line through the forest. He settled oil Herrin Hill, which was then a part of Hartland. The land is owned at present by his grand son, E. F. Hubbard of Hartland. Mr. Hubbard served through out the second war with England and was severely wounded at the battle of Lake Champlain. When he came to Maine to make a settlement, he brought with him the cavalry horse which he had used in the army. His wife Betsey came with him from Cape Cod, riding on horse back and carrying Edward Hubbard, then a baby of nine. months, in her arms. The first shanty of the pioneer was built near a big boulder on the side of the hill. Later a log house a little more pretentious was erected near. Still later Mr. Hubbard, with his son Orin moved down into the valley near the pond, where they built a log house, the traces of which may still be seen, on the far now owned by George Hubbard, a grandson of the pioneer John Nason was born in Hinkley about 1789 and came when a young man to Canaan, married, and made a settlement there He cleared a farm in the southern part of the town where hi,, son James lives today. Nathaniel Goodale, another of the settlers of Canaan, was by trade a ship builder. He came from England and settle,: first in Wells, Maine, later removing with his family to Canaan Elisha Nason, a farmer and trapper, came from Berwick t Canaan about 1800, and settled upon the farm now occupied b, Silas Nason although the original buildings have long sink, been abandoned and fallen to decay. His wife was a Miss Clinton. Their children were: John, Olive, Sarah m. Wyman Samuel, James, Huldah m. Holt, Elizabeth m. Joy, Mary It Johnson, Meleanda m. Holt. David Nason (b. Nov. 16, 1783) came to Canaan from Ber- wick in 1800. He felled the first tree upon the farm now oc- cupied by his great grandson, Guy Nason. In 1803 he built the house which now stands upon the farm. He m. Priscilla Hub- bard and to them were born the, following children: Rufus b. 1809, Elisha b. 1812, Harriet b. 1814, Almon b. 1816, Eliza Ann b. 1S19, David b. 1825, Cyrus b. 1827. The first of the name of Goodridge to come to Canaan were four brothers, David, Samuel, Jonathan, and Jeremiah, who came from Brunswick about 1790. They all reared large families except David, and their descendants are very numerous in the town today. The brothers cleared arms near the Clinton line, in the south part of the town. Jeremiah m. Sarah Wentworth of Boston. Their children were: Ebenezer, res. Skowhegan; Noah, res. Canaan; Jeremiah, res. Palmyra; John, res. Canaan; David, res. Canaan; Fannie, m. Nahum Goodrich; Polly m. John Nason; Abigail, m. John Goodrich; Eunice, m. John Goodale, res. Clinton; Betsey, m. Moses, Goodale, res. on the old place in Canaan. Jonathan Goodridge settled also in the south part of the town. He was in trade for some time and had a mill in Canaan village. A noteworthy incident about the family is that Mr. Goodridge and his wife died only about six hours apart, both being at an advanced age. They brought up a large family, Waterville. They bad a family of four girls and one boy: Lucy, m. George Moore, res. Canaan; Betsey, m. Samuel Hobbs, res. Burnham; John, res. Canaan and Pittsfield; Francena, m. Henry Farrar, res. Lisbon; Flavilla, m. Frank Russell, res. Skowhegan. Tristram Ricker came to Canaan about 1809, and cleared the farm now occupied by Herbert Davis. In 1807 he had m. Myra Lason, and to them were born: Hannah, m. Salsbury; Esther, m. Merrifield; Mary, m. Hubbard; Clarissa, m. Goodrich; Amy, m. Hubbard; Caroline; Henry S.; Abigail, m. Shepard; Tristram; Noah; Ann, m. Wells. Edward Ramsdell (b. 1805, d. 1883) came from "Old York" about eighty years ago and cleared a farm near the Pittsfield line. His wife was Maria Welch, who was b. in 1812. They had a family of four: David, b. 1831, lived on the old place; Samuel, b. 1833, d. in Cal.; Emeline, b. 1835, m. Welch; Paul V .1 b. 1837, res. Canaan. Mr. Ramsdell was long a deacon of the Christian Church of Canaan. One of the earliest settlers of the town was a Mr. Brock who cleared a farm about two miles south of the village. He lived here in the days when the settlers were obliged to make long trips to Waterville or Bangor for supplies. It is related that sometimes during his absence His wife sometimes was obliged to go out with torches to frighten the bears away from the cattle, a test of courage which would probably daunt most of the women of today. About one hundred years ago Joseph Boston came with his wife from Buxton, Maine, and took up a settlement in Canaan, clearing a farm where J. Wilson Boston, his great grandson, lives at present. A number of the residents of the town trace their descent to this pioneer. His children were: Noami, John, Lois m. Parker, Elizabeth m. Rand, Mary m. Dickson, Jason, k. in the army. The Salsbury or Salisbury family came to Canaan from Mt. Desert, where so many of the name are living today.' In the days when the first member of the family came to Canaan the roads were but little developed and Mr. Salsbury was accustom- ed, as were the other inhabitants of the town at that time, to travel about with an ox cart, using even this mode of convey- ance for visiting and going to church. He used to truck from Waterville with six oxen, traveling often at night to avoid the heat for his cattle. This family, in common with some of the other early settlers, raised their own flax and wove from It their own linen cloth. Mr. Everett Salsbury has still an old flax wheel made more than a hundred years ago. John Nevins came about ninety years ago from Danville, when this part of the country was almost an unbroken wilder- ness, traveling part of the way from Danville by means of a spotted line through the woods. - There was a brother who came at the same time and took up his settlement in the town of Embden, while John settled on Herrin Hill, then within the limits of Hartland. Later he moved to Canaan. His wife's name was Mary Ray, and four children were born to them in Canaan: Chas. m. Roxana Wheeler, David m. Susan Finson, John m. Nancy Washburn, Julia m. Wm. Rines. There were several other children in the family, born in Danville. At the present time there are forty-three descendants of John Nevins living. A reunion of the Nevins family is held yearly on Au- gust 12, at the home of some of the members. James Whitten came in 1805 probably from Berwick and cleared a farm in Canaan. Among his children were: James, Jr., John, George, Betsey m. Buzzell, res. Eden, Mary m. Good- rich. Four brothers named Kendall came from England to Ameri- ca a hundred years or more ago. Of these Abiatha settled in Canaan; William was an early settler of Fairfield and gave the Panic to Kendall's Mills in that town; David settled at Pishon's Ferry; and Benjamin settled in Reddington, Mass. Mr. Ken dall's farm in Canaan was in the south part of the town. His wife was Betsey Spearin and to them were born the following children: David; Betsey m. Java Wing; Usiah, res. Cinci- natti; Benj., res. Reddington; William, res. Bangor. David had a son Hartley who became an explorer in the employ of the government died in the government service at St. Anthony Falls, Minn. At the time when Mr. Kendall settled the settlers were accustomed to carry their corn on horseback to the mill at Pishon's Ferry to have it ground. Stephen Moore, the first of the name to settle in Canaan, was 1). in England, and came to Canaan in 1815. He cleared the farm and built the buildings now occupied by Frank Penny. Very soon after his coming he built the mill which has given the name of Moore's Mills to that part of the town. Later lie built a grist mill on a ledge near the saw mill, and this was sold and a new one erected about 1842. This last mill is the one which, revised and remodeled, is at present operated by Frank Penny, the grandson of Stephen Moore. The children of the family were: Ann, Joseph, Mary, born in England, Sarah, born in Halifax, Stephen, Hannah, Patience, John, Silas. Eben Tuttle came in 1806 from Berwick and settled at Canaan village. He took up and cleared a large tract of land. His second wife was Sarah Nason, who lived to be 95 years old. Their children were: Wentworth, Reuben, John, Levi, Eben, Asa, Hiram, Jefferson. David Kimball came about 90 years ago and cleared a farm at Brown's Corner. He m. (1) Belinda _____ and they had the following children: George, James d. in Michigan, Joseph, David, Levi, res. Cornville, Hannah m. Hurlbert, res. Mass., Anne m. Hurlbert, res. Littleton, N. H., Eliza m. Elbridge Gower. The second wife was Delia Jewett, and she had three children, Howard, Laura and Nellie. Near the western side of Chase Hill settled Benjamin Crom- mett, who cleared the farm now occupied by C. N. Nichols, building a log house near the brook, not far from where the Nichols brothers have their mill. He bought his land of Ben- jamin Chase, one of the first settlers of the town, and for some time worked for Mr. Chase, who bad a mill on the brook. Benjamin Chase mentioned above, was probably the first settler in his part of the town. He cleared the farm on the side of the Hill that bears his name, which is now occupied by Charles Allen. The old county road over the hill used to pass by the door and the passing of the stage from Bangor to Nor- ridgewock must have been a great event for the lonely settler's family. Mr. Chase was a soldier in the war of 1812. He be- came one of the prominent citizens of the town owning large tracts of land and being interested in the growing industries of the settlement. His descendants are numerous throughout the town today. Among the other settlers in that part of the town was Jonas Wheeler who made a clearing near Herrin Hill. Samuel Wheeler settled to the south of Canaan village. south of Canaan village. About 1806 William Rand came from New Hampshire and settled on the farm in Canaan now occupied by Asa Goodrich. He married Sally Pearson of Clinton, and to them were born: Olive m. Barrett, William, Isaiah, Thomas, Prescott, Darius, Sally m. Richardson, Frank, Samuel. Of these children Isaiah was the only one to settle in Canaan, and Mrs. Susie Rand, widow of Frank, lives on his farm. James Goodwin cleared a farm not far from the stream near Canaan village. He had a large family: Caleb, Jerry, Miles, William, James, Anne, Esther m. Augustus Hubbard. The son James cleared the farm which is now occupied by L. Goodwin, his son. Samuel Jewett lived on the east side of Herrin Hill. He m. Betsey Stewart, and they brought up a family of ten children: Isaac, Fifield, Samuel, Henry, Solomon, William, Joseph, Amanda, Zilphia and Eliza. Jeremiah Goodridge came to Canaan from Berwick about 1816, with his wife Sarah Wentworth and eleven children, two more being born after their coming to Canaan. He bought a large tract of land in the southern part of the town and erect- ed a large set of buildings which have since burned. In his old age Mr. Goodridge divided his land among his children, who settled around him. Among those were Samuel, who settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Jerold, who lived to the remarkable age of 104 years; Jonathan who lived on the farm now occupied by Eugene Goodridge and Timothy, whose farm is now owned by Charles Farnum. Enos Jewell, the first of the name to come to Canaan, settled in about 1810. He came from Berwick with his wife, Mary (Fairbanks) and they built a log house and cleared the farm where their grandson, Washington, lives at present. The story is told that they occupied the house before the roof was done, and that they were obliged to shelter themselves from a shower one night by covering the bed with pans. To them were born five boys and seven girls, all of whom are now dead: Katherine, Anson, Alford, Albert, Henry, Sylvanus, Moody, Mary, Claris- sa, Fanny, and twin girls, who died in infancy. Jesse Washburn (b. in Joy, 1800) came from Waterville with his wife Deborah (Wilson) (b. 1802) and set up a shoe- maker's shop in the village. He had a large family: Charles, b. 1821; William, b. 1823; Mary, b. 1825, m. Alexander; Seward, b. 1827; Calista, b. 1829, m. Jenkins; Joseph, b. 1831; Albion, b. 1833; Hannah, b. 1835, m. Holden; Marcelle, b. 1845, m. Stocker; Adeline, b. 1849. John Bailey was b. in Canaan in 1798. His parents, of whom the records have been lost, were among the earliest settlers of Canaan., Mr. Bailey m. Sally Richardson, who was b. in Litchfield, also in 1798, and moved to a clearing on the land now owned by their son, Wesley Bailey. There they cleared a farm and, after living in a log cabin for some time, built the house now standing. Mr. Wheeler is said to have been the seventh man to settle in Canaan. He built at first a log house about a mile below the location of Canaan village and later a frame house a little farther from the village on the spot where Fifield Mitchell lives at present. One of his sons, Samuel, settled on his father's clearing, building a second log house. The family consisted of five sons and two daughters: Samuel, Roswell, res. Aroostook; Alvah, res. Winslow; C. Bradford, res. Canaan; Seth, res. Canaan ; Almira, m. Win. A. Davis, res. Skowhegan; Elvira, m. Gideon Davis, res. Canaan. Jeremiah Goodwin (b. 1772) came from Wells among the earliest settlers of Canaan, and settled in the neighborhood of the village, where he built and operated for some time the first mill there. His wife was Miss Fannie Powers (b. 1772) of Deer Isle. They had the following children: Clement, b. 1804; Fannie, b. 1807, m. Hale; Rachel, b. 1813, m. Richardson; Mary Ann, b. 1805, m. Cobb; Eliza, b. 1809, m. Graves. The oldest son, Clement is said to have been the first born in the town. He became later one of the early settlers of the town of Hartland. Mr. Goodwin at one time owned a large part. of the land where the village now stands. The son Clement went to Hartland and in 1840 settled on place where Wallace now lives, about 70 years ago, and made the farm. Clement was the first boy born in the town of Canaan. He married Sarah Thomas (b. 1817) by whom be bad eight children: John, b. 1838; Fanny, b. 1840, m. Nichols; Thomas, b. 1842~; Chas., b. 1844; Sarah, b. 1847, m. Smith; Geo., b. 1849; Jeremiah, b. 1853; Wallace, b. 1856.