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974.102

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1359810

GENEALOGY COLLECTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1833 01091

8420

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019

https://archive.org/details/proprietorsofsacOOdeer

FRANK CUTTER PEERING

The ‘Proprietors of Sago

AND

A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE YEARS FOLLOWING THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN

ALSO

A Little About An Old Bank

IN

Saco, cMaine

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Privately Printed ***

YORK NATIONAL BANK Saco, Maine, 1931

1359810

THE PROPRIETORS OF SACO

INTRODUCTION

Shortly after leaving Harvard College in 1830, and while reading law in the office of Judge Ether Shepley, George Folsom, a native of Kennebunk, wrote the his¬ tory of Saco and Biddeford.

About i8pi, Daniel E. Owen made some additions to Folsom's History, and brought it down to a later date than 1830.

There is still an unfilled gap, which is a strong temp¬ tation to any local annalist.

As this is the three -hundredth anniversary of the first settlement of Saco, it seemed appropriate to give a brief sketch of the two proprietors, and it is impos¬ sible to do this without including the third proprietor who was given what is now the city of Biddeford.

I am indebted to my friend Walter Goodwin Davis, of Portland, for the sketch of the Lewis family. His contribution makes complete in a general way our knowledge of the three families. The balance of this article followed from notes accumulated over a period of thirty years.

FRANK CUTTER DEERING.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I England and New England . 13

II The Town of Saco . 33

III An Old Bank and Its Successor . 43

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

View near the mouth of Saco River . 15

Marshall House in Shrewsbury , The Home of Mrs. Lewis . 19

The Sextry Inn, Shrewsbury, England .... 21

Bonython Manor, England . 26

Plan of Saco 1825 32

Early Old Orchard . 34

The Prospect of Saco Fort 1699 . 38

Eben and Joshua Simpson . 40

Stockade and Block Houses on site of York National Bank . 44

Daniel Cleaves . 48

Ether Shepley . ... * .... 51

First Building erected by York Bank . 55

Present York National Bank . 59

I

ENGLAND AND NEW ENGLAND

The source of all land titles in Maine is the Crown of England, and the first English settlements here were authorized by Royal license, which guaranteed to the emigrants all the liberties and franchises enjoyed by British subjects.

The English law, as set forth by Sir Edward Coke, which applied to the ownership of the soil was in these words : “It should be known that there is no land in England in the hands of any subject but is holden of some lord by some kind of service. Secondly : All the lands within the realm were originally derived from the Crown, and therefore the king is Sovereign Lord or Lord Paramount, either mediate or immediate in the realm.” This law also referred to newly conquered or discovered territory, but with the Atlantic Ocean in¬ tervening, and a new and unsettled country to people, it was never destined to be permanently applied in America.

The first part of Coke’s declaration, however, was the underlying cause of nearly all of the early emigration, and the reason can be readily understood. Those who came here were free from landlords, there was an abun¬ dance of land to be had practically for nothing, also ab¬ solute ownership of land and improvements, with the

13

power to devise by will, or sell by deed, and thus receive a just return for individual labor and expense. These were privileges which were not enjoyed in England un¬ der Coke’s interpretation of the law, but which, for a time at least, were solid realities that drew men into the wilderness of America.

The Virginia Charter, granted by James I in 1606, gave to the North- and South- Virginia Companies license to plant two colonies between the 34th and 45th parallels of latitude. Later, in 1620, this charter was supplanted by another which recognized the two com¬ panies under different titles, and extended their original grant to the 48th parallel, and westerly from coast to coast. The Northern Company, designated in its char¬ ter as the Council of Plymouth, was given that part of the continent lying between the 40th and 48th parallels, and it was this company which gave grants of land, some of which still retain their ancient boundaries, while their history makes a larger part of the chronicle of a territory known for three centuries as New England.

Saco became a separate entity in 1629, to be exact, on the 12th day of February, corresponding under our modern calendar to the 22nd day of that month, and the year 1630, simply a coincidence, but in fact one hun¬ dred and two years to a day earlier than the birth of the so-called Father of this country, General Washington.

Two patents were granted by the Plymouth Company, one to Richard Vines and John Oldham, the other to Thomas Lewis and Richard Bonython. They especially designated two strips of land four miles in breadth along the sea and eight miles in depth adjoining the east and west banks of the Saco River at its mouth, in all

14

View near the month of Saco River

15

sixty-four squares miles of forest wilderness with a lovely river flowing through its center, numerous brooks to water its soil, and an average amount of fertile land for the fifty families which each patent required to settle thereon within ten years.

There were but three men who were the actual pro¬ prietors of the two patents, Vines, Lewis, and Bonython. John Oldham was named as the associate of Vines, but his activities in America were wholly confined to trad¬ ing in and around Massachusetts Bay. He may have visited Saco, but if so, it was for a short time only, and never to claim ownership with his partner.

Vines had evidently made every preparation for im¬ mediately occupying his patent, and on the 25th of June, 1630, he was given possession by “turf and twig” as was the custom at that time. It should be understood that when this action took place the year began the 25th of March, so by modern reckoning both patents were signed in 1630. If this date of June 25th was the day of Vines’ arrival, he had lost no time in leaving England.

It is commonly believed that Vines settled near the sea, and Folsom, in his excellent history of Saco and Biddeford, mentions old cellars and ancient apple trees to be found there. Vines, however, in a letter to Gov¬ ernor Winthrop, written while attending a session of court at the house of Richard Bonython near the falls, stated that he was unable to transact the business the governor required of him, because he was “two long miles from home and darkness was fast approaching.” It is more probable, indeed quite certain, that Church Point, so called, was the location of his home and where he resided until he left Saco.

16

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I have made many efforts to trace Vines in England, but have been able to obtain little definite information. In 1883 the Clarendon Historical Society of London published “The Hearse of the Earl of Essex,” by Richard Vines, 1646. In response to an inquiry the sec¬ retary wrote that he hoped to get information which would connect this Richard Vines with the proprietor of our western patent. “I can, however, give you certain information as to your man. He was the son of a west country yeoman, and had two brothers, William and Henry. The former was killed, I believe, at Madrid, by order of the Inquisition in 1689 for having in his possession Edward the Sixth’s Book of Prayer. Henry was the father, I feel sure, of the author of the ‘Hearse.’ Richard apparently studied to be a physician, but for some reason abandoned the profession and entered the employ of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. There may be a possible relationship between the two, as an entry of marriage is noted between the son of Sir Ferdinando and Lady Frances ffynes. The name is so close in spelling that taking into account the orthography of the times, it is possible that they were of some con¬ nection.”

Vines was reported to have visited America as early as 1609, and we are certain through Sir Ferdinando Gorges’ own statement that he spent a winter at the mouth of Saco River in 1616-17. His movements be¬ tween that date and 1629 seem, so far, impossible to trace, but it was quite probable that he was still em¬ ployed by Sir Ferdinando, and still followed the sea. For fifteen years after his arrival in America he occu¬ pied a prominent position in the affairs of the Province of Mayne. His correspondence with Governor Win- throp of Massachusetts shows him to have been a man

17

highly educated, and the faithfulness with which he transacted business for his patron, Gorges, is sufficient testimony of his high character. He sold his patent in 1645 to Dr. Robert Child, and removing to Barbadoes, had no further connection with the town.

Lewis and Bonython did not arrive in Saco on the same vessel. There is nothing to show when they left England, or whether they made port here or at some other point along the coast, but court proceedings in Cornwall show conclusively that Bonython was delayed in sailing for nearly a year, and that Lewis, alone, took possession of the patent on the 26th day of June, 1631.

Thomas Lewis, the Saco patentee, was a descendant of a family of Welsh origin of which a branch was established in the town of Shrewsbury, on the English border, about the year 1540. In the library of Shrews¬ bury School, one of the earliest public schools in Eng¬ land, is a manuscript book of pedigrees of local families, written not long after 1623, in which the ancestry of the Lewis family is traced to a certain Hova Grigg who must have lived in the fourteenth century. While it would probably be impossible to prove this pedigree by documentary evidence, the Welsh, as a race, were keen¬ ly interested in their ancestors and their traditions, and lines of descent were commonly committed to memory from one generation to another. As there are no ex¬ traordinary claims made in the Lewis pedigree there is no reason to doubt its approximate accuracy.

When Thomas Lewis’s grandfather came over the border to Shrewsbury the use of surnames was uncom¬ mon among the Welsh and he was known as Lewis ap Jevan (Lewis, son of Evan). He married Anne Wilson

18

Marshall House in Shrewsbury The Home of Mrs. Lewis

19

of Shrewsbury and settled at Aimer Park, one of the town’s suburbs but a part of the town parish of St. Mary, as a yeoman farmer. His will, proved in 1558, and that of his widow, proved in 1573, show that he was successful in his principal business of sheepraising and that he had accumulated much land and personal property of value.

The sons of Lewis ap Jevan, four in number, aban¬ doned farming, used Lewis as their surname and be¬ came wealthy and prominent merchants of Shrewsbury, all marrying into families which were in process of evolving from the merchant to the landed gentry class. His only daughter became the mother of Lewis Proud, member of Parliament for Shropshire.

Andrew Lewis, the father of our Thomas Lewis of Saco, was a small boy when his father died. His mother entered him in the third class of the Shrewsbury School in 1562, and, if he remained there to complete his course, he had as schoolmates in 1564, two boys who later became famous in Elizabethan literature and arms, Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Fulke Greville. Andrew Lewis became a draper, or cloth merchant, the prevail¬ ing and most prosperous business in Shrewsbury, which was one of the centers of the wool trade. He married Mary Herring, a daughter of William Herring, a wine merchant, who had come to Shrewsbury from Coventry and had taken a wife from the family of Mackworth which owned an estate a few miles from the town. Andrew Lewis died in 1617 when he was serving as one of the two bailiffs, who, elected annually, were entrusted with local government, and Mrs. Lewis, his wife, sur¬ vived him until 1629, the burial of both of them being recorded in the registers of St. Mary’s church.

20

The Scxtry Inn, Shrewsbury, England

21

Thomas Lewis was apparently the only son of An¬ drew Lewis who survived his parents. He was a draper, as was his father, but he also seems to have inherited the wine business of his grandfather Herring, who had no sons to succeed him, and for some years before his emigration to America he owned the “Sextry Inn” which is standing in Shrewsbury today and is still used for its original purpose. He attended Shrewsbury School and in 1625, as “Thomas Lewis, vintner” he is listed as among the school's benefactors. Mr. Lewis was undoubtedly a man of wealth by inheritance from both sides of his house, and in 1618 he added thereto by his marriage with Elizabeth, one of the two daughters of Mr. Roger Marshall, a Shrewsbury merchant. Eliza¬ beth Marshall’s mother, Katherine Mitton, came of a family that had been lords of the manor of Weston- under-Lizard in Staffordshire for more than three cen¬ turies and that, because of the nearness of Weston to Shrewsbury, had close family and business connections in the town. The old manor house, which Mrs. Lewis doubtless visited many times with her mother, is no longer standing, but the parish church contains many memorials of her ancestors, and the great seventeenth century house built by her cousins is still the property of their descendant, the Earl of Bradford. Through her great-great-grandmother Mitton, who was born a Beaumont, Elizabeth Marshall inherited the blood of King Henry III and scores of the English feudal barons of the middle ages.

Mr. and Mrs. Marshall, the parents of Mrs. Thomas Lewis, were buried in the church of St. Chad in Shrewsbury, and on their tomb appeared a brass effigy of Mr. Marshall, the arms of the Marshall and Mitton

22

families and an inscription. St. Chad’s church col¬ lapsed and was destroyed in the eighteenth century and the tomb is no more, but fortunately a description of it and a copy of the inscription, made in 1660 by Sir William Dugdale, whose wife was a great-niece of Mrs. Marshall, is contained in a manuscript at the College of Arms in London.

The baptisms of six children of Thomas and Eliza¬ beth Lewis are recorded in Shrewsbury and the burial of one of their sons: — Mary, baptized 1619; Margaret, baptized 1622 ; Elizabeth, baptized 1623 ; Andrew, bap¬ tized 1624 and buried 1625 ; Judith, baptized 1626 ; Andrew, baptized 1628. The fate of Margaret and Andrew is not known. Possibly they died on the voy¬ age or in the early years in Maine, as no record appears of their burial at Shrewsbury, but Mary, Elizabeth and Judith certainly came to Saco with their mother and married respectively Rev. Richard Gibson, Robert Hay¬ wood and Lieut. James Gibbins, whose names are fa¬ miliar to students of Saco’s early history.

Lewis died before 1639, and his wife about 1640. Elizabeth, the elder daughter, married Robert Haywood, and moved to the Barbadoes. Judith lived for a time in the family of her father’s executor, Francis Robin¬ son, and later with Captain Bonython. Mrs. Haywood seems to have been sufficiently occupied with her family in Barbadoes to take little notice of the patent, and Judith ultimately became the sole representative of the family in Saco, and in later years disposed of the bal¬ ance of what was recognized as her individual property.

Captain Richard Bonython was the most distinguished of the three proprietors. He was descended from Simon

23

de Bonython, who was prominent in 1380, during the reign of Richard the Second. The implication is that the name was taken from the family place of residence which is still called Bonython in the guide books of Great Britain. Cornwall, the home of the Bonythons, occupies the most picturesque portion of England. Its tiny coves and rambling villages are the delight of the painter. From the English Channel on the west to Devonshire on the east, it is a succession of wild and rocky cliffs, its headlands covered with luxuriant vege¬ tation. The surface of the country is extremely irregu¬ lar, and from Tamar to Lands End it is a series of rugged hills alternating with wide stretches of moor¬ land. The climate is mild, and in most parts the soil is rich, while the tin mines and fishing stations still furnish occupation for the inhabitants. It is a country full of prehistoric remains and many ruined castles, also a large number of fine mansions, some of them dating back to very early days. Of these, Bonython, in the parish of Cury, dates back several centuries. The elder branch of the family rose to eminence and wealth and subse¬ quently descended to extinction in 1720 when Richard Bonython, a lawyer, set fire to his chambers in Lin¬ coln’s Inn, London, then stabbed himself with his sword, and not effecting his deadly purpose, immedi¬ ately threw himself out of the window and was instantly killed.

The younger, or Carclew branch of the family, still continues, I believe, and is represented by Sir John Langdon Bonython of Adelaide, South Australia, now apparently well and hearty at ninety-one years of age.

Our Richard was the youngest of seven children of Sir John and Elinor Mylliton Bonython. He was bap-

24

tized at St. Columb Major, close by his birthplace, on the 5th of April, 1580. The house where he was born was removed many years ago, and in its place the pres¬ ent structure erected. The manor house is located in one of the most picturesque portions of the south of England, and is not far from Penzance, a town made famous by one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s sprightly operas which was produced some thirty or more years ago. It looks out across the open sea, where today the ocean steamships pass, on their way to and from Liverpool, and is approached through a sunken driveway, bordered on either side by stately oaks.

As a young man Bonython seems to have accompanied Sir Ferdinando Gorges to the continent and to have seen sufficient fighting to win the title of Captain. Later he was warden of the Stannary Courts in Cornwall, and keeper of the gaol at Lostwithiel. He married Lucretia, daughter of William Leigh of Launceston, a family al¬ most as distinguished as the Bonythons. After their marriage her family moved to Shrewsbury, and it is possible that while on a visit to his wife’s people Bony¬ thon may have come into contact with Thomas Lewis. There were three children born to them, Elizabeth in 1610, Susanna in 1614, and John in 1619.

While Bonython could not have been called a wealthy man, he was well to do and was not compelled to emi¬ grate because of poverty. John, his son, after he grew up and succeeded to the patent on the death of his father, which took place about 1650, was described as being of a quarrelsome, litigious disposition. George Folsom, the historian of Saco, goes to considerable length in detailing his quarrel with the Massachusetts government. He is hardly to be condemned, however,

25

26

Bonython Manor, England

for his attitude toward the Puritans, as he was a Church-o f -England man, and without any question rightfully resented the rather high-handed methods of the Massachusetts authorities. He may have been what we call a “throw-back,” and the following anecdote may account for some of his peculiarities. According to a Cornish tradition, William Mylliton, John’s great¬ grandfather, married Honor, daughter of Sir William Godolphin. They lived a cat-and-dog life, and hated each other with a deadly hatred. At length they re¬ solved independently that this incompatible union must come to an end. William said, “Honor, we have lived in wretchedness too long, let us resolve on a reconcilia¬ tion, forget the past, and begin a new life.” “Certainly do I agree thereto,” said she. “And,” continued Wil¬ liam, “as a pledge of our reunion, let us feast tonight.” So a banquet was spread in Pengerswick Castle for the two, and none others. When they had well eaten, Wil¬ liam said, “Let us drink to our reunion.” “I will drink, if you will drink,” said she. Then he drained his glass and after that she drained hers. With a bitter laugh she said, “William, you have three minutes to live ; your cup was poisoned.” “And you,” returned he, “have but five minutes to live, for yours is poisoned, too.” “It is well,” said Honor, “I am content. I shall have two minutes to triumph over your dead carcass, and spurn it with my foot.”

The Suffolk records afford very detailed information about John Bonython and his relations with the Massa¬ chusetts government, which is of little interest, and per¬ haps deserves the same reviewing as Mr. Folsom’s

27

disposition of him. He says that John was called “Sag¬ amore of Saco,” and the following couplet was inscribed on his gravestone :

“Here lies Bonython Sagamore of Saco,

He lived a rogue and died a knave and went to Hobomocko.”

As a matter of fact John took refuge in Marblehead after his house was burned in September, 1675, and the following February, according to the deposition of Sam¬ uel Cheever and Sarah Martin, he dictated a nuncupa¬ tive will which was recorded some time later. He was then, by his own statement, on his deathbed, and as Indian hostilities still kept the settlers from returning to their homes he was without question buried in Mar¬ blehead. The title “Sagamore of Saco” more likely applied to John’s father, whose grave has recently been located in the old burial ground at Rendezvous, on the Ferry Road, in Saco.

I have a fairly accurate genealogy of the descendants of Richard and Lucretia Bonython, but it is too exten¬ sive to be included in this article.

Having traced the families of all three proprietors as far as it is possible within the limits of this short sketch, one feature, which our own county records disclose, added to what is known of Vines, Lewis, and Bonython, reveals the fact that these men came here with a very definite object in view. All three were beyond middle age, none of them accustomed to any sort of menial labor — they were gentlemen of good birth and educa¬ tion — and farming, fishing, or trading were, one may be sure, farthest from their thoughts. They intended to establish here three English manors and to induce settlers to come in and take up farms under lease, trusting, in all probability, to receive rentals sufficient

28

to support them, or added to whatever property they had at that time, to afford them a good living, in fact, continue the land policy which so many emigrants came here to avoid. The plan miscarried, however, because land was too plenty, and absolute ownership too easily obtained.

During the time that Vines lived on the patent, and during the lifetime of Lewis and Bonython, no land was ever sold, and after John Bonython succeeded to his father he pursued the same policy, and never alien¬ ated any of his inheritance.

It would be interesting if we knew the type of manor house which the proprietors erected. From the fact that they possessed means it is evident that they em¬ ployed labor in erecting their homes and clearing up such land as they needed for gardens and orchards.

Lewis, undoubtedly, built his house at Rendezvous, as it was here that his daughter and at least two of her children, Elizabeth Sharp and Rachel Edgecomb, lived.

Bonython built just below the falls on the high bank of the river overlooking the wooded heights of the west¬ ern shore, an outlook which is still beautiful in spite of disfiguring buildings which partly cover it.

As up to 1650, no immigrant had any idea of build¬ ing log houses, although they came into general use later on, it is my belief that the structures were made with solid timber frames, either hewed or sawed with a pit-saw, the spaces between timbers filled with stones laid up in clay. The roofs undoubtedly followed the English custom in early homes, and were made of marsh grass put on in the form of thatch. Our early

29

records show that the thatch beds were protected, and officers regularly appointed to superintend their cutting.

Bonython, as the wealthiest man of the three, must have erected a house of good size and of some archi¬ tectural pretensions, as it was the chosen meeting place for the commissioners sent over by Sir Ferdinando Gorges when, in 1636, civil government in Maine was organized for the first time.

The English people have always been great sticklers for ceremony, and their public gatherings are surround¬ ed by more solemnity and formality than we more dem¬ ocratic Americans are accustomed to, therefore we may be sure that this meeting was as spectacular as the home and the dress of the men would permit. There could hardly have been magnificence in this pioneer home ; it is certain, however, that proceedings were conducted with due solemnity and dignity.

Immediately after the government was organized, the same officials proceeded to sit as a court. Bonython’s house, therefore, was the scene of the first judicial pro¬ ceedings held in the province, as well as of the first government.

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II

THE TOWN OF SACO

For nearly fifty years the proprietors and their tenants lived in amity with the Indians. If there were any troubles, they were of minor importance. In 1675, however, peace was broken. The few inhabitants on the eastern side of the river seem to have had sufficient warning of the approaching Indian hostilities. On September 18th, the Indians burned Bonython’s house, but no lives were lost, as the family had taken refuge on the western side of the river in a garrison house belonging to Major Phillips. The other residents ap¬ parently took refuge at Winter Harbor.

Most of the inhabitants, on both sides of the river, seem to have removed to the westward, settling in Portsmouth, Gloucester, Marblehead, and Salem.

In 1680, the Rev. Benjamin Blackman purchased from James and Judith Gibbins one hundred acres of land, and erected a mill at the falls on the eastern side of the river. Probably a few families moved back into town at that time, but with the outbreak of fresh Indian troubles, improvements made by Blackman were aban¬ doned and remained undisturbed until the mill lot and additional land were purchased in 1716 by William Pepperell, Jr., Nathaniel Weare of Hampton, mill-

33

34

Early Old Orchard

wright, and Humphrey Scamman, Jr., mariner. They erected a double sawmill in the place of the old Black¬ man mill, and on the site of the present York National Bank building, which was then a slight eminence, they built several houses, surrounded by a stockade, which for some years was known as Brown’s Garrison. This served as a shelter for the men employed in the mill, and during succeeding years for the early settlers who came in and purchased farms in surrounding territory.

Until the building of the cotton mills, the only in¬ dustries in Saco were shipbuilding and lumbering, car¬ ried on at the falls. Farms were purchased from time to time, and trade between the farmers and stores slowly increased the size of the village.

In 1762, by act of the Massachusetts Legislature, the name of Saco was changed to Pepperellborough and was retained until 1805, when the earlier and better name was resumed.

In 1826, the first cotton mill began operation and from that time on the growth of Saco was slow but

marked 1359810

The census under our government was begun in 1790, and at that time there were 342 males residing in the town. There was one parish, consisting of three what might be called compact settlements, the village, or the Falls as early residents called it, the Ferry where farming and fishing formed the principal occupation, and Old Orchard, a strictly farming center.

Referring to the census again: in 1800 there were 287 male, and thirteen female, heads of families ; in 1810, 375 males and 26 females; in 1820, 399 males

35

and 48 females ; in 1830, 486 males and 70 females ; and in 1840, 559 males and 106 females. These figures do not include children, but between 1830 and 1840, during which time the cotton factory was in operation, they show a marked increase in population.

As the town grew during the years between 1725 and 1800, mere cart tracks and paths, which straggled through field and forest, gave way to regularly laid- out highways. The road to Old Orchard, surveyed in 1753, seems to bear the earliest date, and followed sub¬ stantially the same route as today except for the part, which was abandoned many years ago, leading from Common Street across present fields and house lots to Beach Street.

Main Street from Saco River to Dunstan in Scar- boro was laid out by a jury summoned and sworn Nov. 29, 1754, and followed in as direct a course as possible between the lands of Sir William Pepperell and James Scamman to Goose Fair Brook, thence skirt¬ ing the southwest side of Foxwell’s Mill Pond, so called, and continued northeasterly to the line between Biddeford and Scarboro. This last description is con¬ fusing unless it is understood that the two towns, Biddeford and Saco, were so nearly one that for many years both names were applied to each side of the river. The record, therefore, should read “to the line between Saco and Scarboro.”

The town was lax in building this highway, and three years later was called to account by the General Court, and a committee, together with the sheriff, ordered to begin at the fort at Saco Falls and, following the di¬ rections given in 1754, to clear and make good the New Highway, as it was called.

36

In 1755, Buxton Road, from Narragansett Town No. 1 to Biddeford Lower Falls on the easterly side of the river, was surveyed and laid out, “the road to be four rods wide in all places.”

Boom Road was laid out in 1774, “From the Mill Privilege, between Robert Bond’s house and Humphrey Pike’s shop at the county road that leads from the Lot¬ tery Bridge to the Scarboro line.” This was substantial¬ ly Water Street, Lincoln Street, and the present River Road, as far as the lane leading to the Saco River Boom, except that for a part of the way beyond the eastern division of the Boston & Maine Railroad, it followed the bank of the river and was later moved to its present location on higher ground, probably to avoid spring floods from the river.

The Loudon Road was a continuation of Boom Road, and was laid out to connect with Buxton Road in 1798.

Elm Street and the Simpson Road were laid out in 1798. The latter was named for Benjamin Simpson, our distinguished Saco citizen, who took part in the Boston Tea Party. In 1851 there was a slight change in the location of this road, and reference was made to a large willow tree, which was standing in my young¬ er days, and which tradition said grew from a switch which Benjamin threw away when returning on horse¬ back from a day’s work at the Falls.

All the other roads now in use within the town limits were laid out in the following century, and naturally kept pace with the town’s growth in population.

Previous to 1762 all religious services were held on the western side of the river.

37

38

.

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39

40

Eben and Joshua Simpson

Before me is a copy of the Diary of Rev. John Fair- field, beginning when he started teaching school in Rox- bury in April, 1759, at a salary of £170 “and my board.” He was installed as pastor of the First Church in Saco, July 20, 1762, and preached here until at his request he was dismissed April 29, 1798. During this time he re¬ corded his various activities from day to day, and the word “activities” may be appropriately applied to the thirty-six years of his service in Saco. On the 16th of October, 1759, before coming to Saco, he “omitted school all day on account of reduction of Canada, and celebrated by dining in Boston at Joseph Ruggles at a cost of 5d on hashed beef, cold roast chicken, apple pie and cheese.” The following will serve as an example of his weekly entries : He dines with Doctor and Samuel Fairfield at Lower Ferry, carries his wife to Arundel for Ordination, preaches on a stormy Sunday to a thin congregation, has Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Plummer in to tea, goes to the Falls for training day, and rode to Dunstan with Rev. Little, “who goes to Penobscot to treat with Indians.” He was eternally busy, never idle, always cheerful, and continually recording his social calls. On May 4, 1791, he “bought a lottery ticket for 7J4 dollars at Post Office, then set out for home.” And a week later, “Went bassing on the beach, the first time for years.” On October 14, 1793, he was in Boston and saw in the Common the companies mustered for the funeral of Governor Hancock, who was buried with great military parade in the Common burying ground a little before sunset. One entry is remarkable : “Oct. 22, 1795. Rode to falls & bot a hind qr of lamb of Benj. Durin who lives beyond the white hills, who came on foot from thence 160 miles, the lamb wt pd him 2/2.”

41

“The Parson,” as he was nearly always called, built three houses in Saco. The first stood just below Laurel Hill Cemetery, and many years ago was moved across the street and is now a storehouse for the Seal Rock Spring Bottling Company. The second was two stories in height, nearly square and, until moved to its present location on Bay Avenue in Old Orchard, stood on the ground now covered by the eastern end of the Old Or¬ chard House. His third house was at Saco Ferry, and is still occupied as a dwelling. His great-grandson told me the reason he built so far from the village was to avoid the expense of entertaining visitors to Saco, who at that period made it a point to stop with the Parson, partly out of respect for the cloth, and partly to save tavern bills.

From an intimate acquaintance with six of his great¬ grandchildren it is possible to make what I am sure would be a fair portrait. He must have been short, well rounded, with dark hair and eyes, and a ruddy com¬ plexion. His animation made him an agreeable com¬ panion, and tempered the austerity to be found in many clergymen of that period. He was intensely interested in everything connected with his parish and the com¬ munity, and at the same time avoided provincialism by frequent journeys to Boston, also by exchanges with neighboring ministers.

In searching for the material used in this article, I found a description that varies from mine, which says that the parson’s eyes were blue, and that he was spare in figure. Without absolute proof, I still cling to my description.

42

Ill

AN OLD BANK AND ITS SUCCESSOR

I had always supposed that the history of the York National Bank began with the record book dated 1831, now carefully preserved in the vaults of the present in¬ stitution. Recently, an earlier record book has turned up which shows that the beginning of banking in Saco was in 1803, when the Saco Bank was organized by James G. Thornton, Col. Thomas Cutts, Capt. Seth Storer, Daniel Cleaves, Esq., and Mr. Joseph Leland, which continued with varying success until 1831, when its business quarters and customers were turned over to the York Bank.

The records of the Saco Bank do not state the num¬ ber of shares subscribed, or give the names of the shareholders, but from entries of the dividends paid it would appear that the capital was one hundred thousand dollars. This from a town having a population in 1800 of two hundred and eighty-seven male heads of families was no mean effort, and it is certain that the stockings of both male and female must have been searched to the toe for every dollar that could be found to assist in this novel enterprise.

No mention is made of a charter, although this must have been obtained later, if not at the beginning. Maine in 1800 was a part of Massachusetts ; judging, there-

43

44

Stockade and Block Houses on site of York National Bank

fore, from subsequent entries, if there were any banking laws they must have been vague, and ignored to a con¬ siderable extent, but the quality of the bank’s invest¬ ments, and the security of the bills it issued, seem to have been very carefully guarded.

During the early years of the Saco Bank the records are much more detailed than in later years. Apparently before any banking quarters were obtained, Mr. Sam¬ uel Pierson was engaged as cashier at a salary of $350.00 per annum, and Col. Thomas Cutts appointed a committee to notify Mr. Pierson of his election, and to get his answer. He evidently declined to serve for the sum mentioned, and at the next meeting, held in July, the sum was increased to $400.00, and Mr. Pierson ac¬ cepted the position.

While the records do not explain the details, there was a meeting September 12, 1803, in the office of T. G. Thornton, Esq., when it was voted “that the cashier be directed to advertise in two public places in this place and Biddeford, and that attendance will be given at the office of T. G. Thornton, Esq., from the 15th to the 22nd instant inclusive, from ten to twelve in the forenoon, and from two to four in the afternoon to re¬ ceive the installments of Fifty Dollars per share voted to be paid on each share in specie.”

The directors must have been active in the interval, because on October 31, they voted to pay Mr. Joseph Leland One Thousand Dollars “as he may call for it on the account of the building for the bank, and to take his receipt accordingly.”

In October the directors remembered their promise to Mr. Pierson, and increased his salary to $500.00,

45

with a promise to increase it to $600.00 when the next installment should be paid in on the shares.

On January 3, 1804, it was recorded “That Thomas Cutts, Esq., the President of this bank, should take with him to the Westward Ten Thousand Dollars of the Bills of this Bank, and of the Bills of other banks now on hand, and to endeavor to exchange them for specie or for the Bills of any other bank he may think advisable, and that the cashier deliver the same to the president, and take his receipt therefor, the bank to risk the property” and “That the president be empow¬ ered to make arrangements with one or more persons with extensive business in Boston to clear all the banks in Boston of Saco bills, and to keep them clear for one year, and that he may give a sum therefor not exceeding Two Hundred Dollars.”

It was evidently a custom which the bank adopted very shortly after its opening to appoint one of its directors to be in close touch with the cashier, and the books record each meeting that some specially ap¬ pointed officer “shall be weekly DIRECTOR for the week ensuing,” all notes discounted were entered as voted upon by the directors, and from time to time as it became necessary to enforce collection on notes, the particular method of bringing suit was fully recorded.

Affairs of the bank seem to have progressed smoothly until September 15, 1814, when the cashier recorded that in the present alarming state of business the cashier be directed to alter the time of attendance, and that he open at ten and close at one, and “that we consider deposits made at this bank merely as the property of the Depositors, and that the specie and other property

46

of the bank ought first to secure and pay the persons all their deposits.” This vote evidently came about through the unsettled condition of the country caused by the War of 1812, and the officers intended that the assets should apply only to stockholders and depositors, as shown by the books, previous to the date the vote was passed.

On December 14, 1814, the Directors appointed Daniel Cleaves, Esq., agent to procure a loan of four¬ teen or fifteen thousand dollars, and to secure him for his endorsement of the bank’s note by delivering to him eighteen thousand dollars in bills of the bank. The notes, besides bearing the endorsement of Mr. Cleaves, were signed by T. G. Thornton, William Pitt Preble, Joseph Leland, Daniel Granger, Samuel Hartley and James B. Thornton as Directors, and in their private capacity. Five days later the bank borrowed three thousand dollars of Thomas G. Thornton under like conditions, and in both cases entered a vote of thanks to the gentlemen for their services.

On July 3, 1815, the Directors voted “that the cashier answer the Sec’y of the Treasury of U. S. letter of the 24th as follows : That consistantly with the other engagements of this bank it cannot at present receive reissue and circulate treasury notes at par at 6% and that this bank does, always has done and intends to continue to pay its notes on demand in Gold & Silver.”

On February 28, 1824, the cashier entered the fol¬ lowing communication :

47

Daniel Cleaves

48

“To the board of Directors of Saco Bank.

Gentlemen : I return you thanks for the honor of your repeated elections of me as your President for the twelve years last past. From ill health and approaching Dissolution I am under the necessity of resigning that honorable trust and also that of Director. I now give you this information that you may choose some other gentleman in my stead and place — wishing you many years of prosperity and happiness in this world and everlasting felicity in that which is to come I am gentlemen with esteem and respect

Your friend and humble Servt Thos. G. Thornton”

“Answer agreeably to the vote of the Directors, viz : Thomas G. Thornton, Esq.

Dear Sir In behalf of the Directors of Saco Bank, I am directed by them to express to you the affliction with which they have received your communication resigning your offices as President and Director of the Bank and to return you their thanks for the long and faithful services you have rendered to that institution while you have presided over it. They sympathize with you in your present sufferings and earnestly desire that your health may be restored and that when called to leave all you may receive the reward of a good and faithful servant in that world of Spirits and from that tribunal to which we are all hastening.

Respectfully

S. Pierson, Cash’r.

49

Joseph Leland was elected to succeed Mr. Thornton but declined to serve, so a second ballot was taken, and Ether Shepley, Esq., elected and being present, accepted the office. There is no record of the resignation of Samuel Pierson as cashier, and the Directors made no comment on his retirement from the office, but on December 2, 1825, Henry S. Thacher was elected cashier. Ether Shepley, Esq., served as President for several years, giving way to Samuel Pierson who was elected to that office October 3, 1831, evidently to act as liquidating agent, although the record does not so state.

Mr. Pierson, who was born in Boston Feb. 22, 1759, and died in Biddeford in May, 1852, served as cashier of the Saco Bank from 1803 to 1825 and was elected president of the bank in 1831. He was also a director of the Manufacturers Bank from 1826 to 1830, and secretary and treasurer of the Saco & Biddeford Sav¬ ings Institution from 1827 to 1845. For a time he served as a clerk for General Washington, a fact to which he frequently referred in later years. Up to the time of his death he carried a cane in lieu of a dress sword, and dressed in the small clothes of the Revo¬ lutionary period, always wearing a dark blue swallow¬ tail coat with brass buttons, a black stock in place of collar, and long black silk stockings with knee trousers. His shoes were oxfords with large steel buckles.

Ether Shepley, Esq., was appointed later by vote of the Directors to act as Agent for the bank “To draw for all the funds of the Saco Bank in the Suffolk Bank, and that he be authorized to receive all the Bank notes of Saco Bank from the Suffolk Bank, or any other bank or person and to hand them over to the Directors of Saco Bank, wherever a Majority of said Directors

50

Ether Shepley

51

shall so request of him, to be by them Burned and destroyed.’"

The last entry on the record book called for a meet¬ ing of the stockholders “to determine the manner of making a full adjustment of their concerns. To meet at the banking rooms of the York Bank and to burn the last of the Saco Bank notes.

Samuel Pierson, Clerk.”

Some two years were required to finally wind up the affairs of the Saco Bank, during which time all business was transacted in the rooms of the York Bank.

Early in 1831 application was made to the Maine Legislature, which was then in session, to grant a charter for a bank, to be capitalized at $50,000.00. In the following April, the governor, Samuel E. Smith, together with Benjamin White, on the part of the House, and Robert Dunlap, president of the Senate, signed the charter applied for by the petitioners. The twentieth of the following July, Joseph Leland, Jona¬ than King, Robert Rogers, George Thacher, John Chadwick, Daniel Cleaves, Joseph M. Hayes and John Shepley assembled and voted to appoint Jonathan King a committee of one to solicit subscriptions to the stock. The eighth of August, Mr. King reported that he had been successful and all of the stock to be issued was subscribed for, so the incorporators proceeded to or¬ ganize, choose a cashier, and make arrangements for a place in which to transact their business.

After recording the names and amount of stock sub¬ scribed for, by-laws were drawn up, and associates pro¬ ceeded to elect a board of directors : Ether Shepley re-

52

ceived 147 votes, Jonathan King 147, Daniel Cleaves 84, Samuel Bachelder 101, John Chadwick 154.

After several adjournments, during which time the assessments on the stock were called, a cashier was en¬ gaged, and on October 3rd the bank opened for business with Jonathan King, president, and Henry S. Thacher, cashier. From this time the bank appears to have made fair progress in business, increasing its capital in 1834 to $75,000.00. In 1838 Daniel Cleaves retired from the board and James M. Deering was elected in his place. Two years later the bank seems to have re¬ ceived a check in its prosperity, as the directors voted to petition the legislature for permission to reduce its capital stock $25,000.00.

In 1847 an effort was made to move the bank to Biddeford, but a majority vote decided to retain it in Saco.

In 1854 the capital was increased to $100,000.00, and from this time on until its affairs were wound up, the bank enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity.

In 1850 John C. Bradbury was chosen cashier to suc¬ ceed Mr. Thacher, and in 1849 Daniel Cleaves was elected president in place of Mr. King.

A special meeting was called, January 6, 1865, to de¬ cide upon the surrender of their state charter and or¬ ganization as a national bank. The vote was affirma¬ tive, but no further meetings were held until July 12th of the same year, when the directors met, unanimously electing Joseph G. Deering a member of their board, and adjourned without further action, the cashier some¬ what facetiously writing at the end of the record Sine Die.

53

The next meeting was held as a national bank, and the affairs of the institution have since been conducted under the present name, York National Bank.

It does not appear on the record when the first bank¬ ing house was erected. For some time during the pe¬ riod of organization of the York Bank, meetings were held at the rooms of the Saco Bank, the institution that preceded the York Bank. In 1833 a vote was taken, appointing John P. Mellen a committee “to purchase the lot of Ross, the tailor, if the price does not exceed $1,200.00.” Apparently his negotiations were success¬ ful, for not long after, though the time is not definitely stated, the bank erected its first stone and brick build¬ ing. In 1896, when the York National Bank decided to move from the second to the ground floor, the old granite block over its entrance, with the name of the in¬ stitution cut in the surface, was taken down and built into the foundation of the present vault, and most of the remaining cut stones of which the vault was constructed were used in the foundation of the new vault. The lower story of the building, which had been let previ¬ ously for store purposes, and which was very low studded, was raised and the present handsome terra cotta substituted for the old granite front.

Of the men who made up the list of incorporators of the York Bank, George Thacher was the able son of a distinguished father, who, as a lawyer, won unusual prominence, and for many years was a leader of the York bar, succeeding James Sullivan, who had removed to Massachusetts. He was elected our first representa¬ tive to Congress in 1788, and while there showed re¬ markable resource in the heated debates which took place. He had a keen sense of humor, and when the

54

First Building erected by York Bank

55

discussion over choosing an emblem for our coins was under way, he suggested the goose, as he said that capa¬ ble fowl had once saved Rome, and might be of assist¬ ance in calming our troubled waters, also, the little gosling's could be used on our smaller coins.

When challenged to fight a duel by one of his col¬ leagues, he replied that before leaving home he had prom¬ ised his wife never to endanger his life, but if the gen¬ tleman insisted, he would write home for her consent, and in the meanwhile, to appease his wounded feelings, he could draw a figure on some barn door and pepper away at it.

George Thacher, the son, served as director for some years until his removal to Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the later years of his life he made a very exact plan of Biddeford as he knew it in 1840, with the names of all the stores, houses, owners, and streets carefully writ¬ ten in. At King’s Corner, which is on the Post Road from Portland to Portsmouth, he wrote: “When I was a youth, here is where I have sat many times with a bag of money in my lap given me by my brother Henry, cashier of the York Bank, to give to the stage driver when he passed, who would take it to Boston and de¬ liver it to the Globe Bank.” The corner is practically unchanged since then, but the times have changed, shall we say for better, or for worse?

Joseph Leland, the first subscriber to the stock, was a Revolutionary soldier, who located in Hollis on his return from the war. He married a sister of Governor William King after locating here and engaging in busi¬ ness. Three substantial structures remain in Saco to mark the period of his residence — the dormitory, at

56

present in use by the teachers at Thornton Academy, Mrs. Almira McArthur’s home on Middle Street, and the two-story brick block on Main Street, occupied by D. F. Littlefield and a hardware store.

Ether Shepley, one of the directors, lived here but a few years, long enough, however, for George Folsom, a young lawyer from Kennebunk, to read law in his office and write the well-known History of Saco and Biddeford. Mr. Shepley built for his occupancy a two- story wooden house on the east side of High Street, which, when he moved from Saco to Portland, was sold to Foxwell Cutts. Mr. Shepley was later Chief Jus¬ tice of the Supreme Court of Maine.

Daniel Cleaves was the son of Daniel and Sarah (Fairfield) Cleaves, and succeeded his father in busi¬ ness as a merchant in a building located on the easterly side of Main Street, near Cataract Bridge. He married Marcia, daughter of Jonathan Tucker, and lived in the brick house on Middle Street, already described as hav¬ ing been built by Mr. Joseph Leland.

Samuel Bachelder was the first agent of the York Manufacturing Company, and lived in the old Cutts house on the hill opposite the mills. He came here from Lowell in 1831 and remained until 1846, removing to take up his duties as treasurer of the company for which he had been agent for fifteen years. While agent of the York Manufacturing Company, he built a block of wooden stores on the east side of Main Street, just west of Cataract Block, which burned some years later, also a two-story wooden house, for his sons John and William, which is still standing, at the head of a short court, just below the Catholic parochial residence on Main Street.

57

John Chadwick was the son of an earlier John who resided in Biddeford. In company with Joseph Leland he built the brick block on the corner of Pleasant and Main Streets, and was in business there as late as 1866 with Samuel C. Storer. He was married twice, and both wives were the daughters of Edward Sherburne Moulton, a silversmith and clock maker, who lived and had his store in the east end of Mr. Chadwick’s block. He was survived by two children, the late John Chad¬ wick and Miss Lydia, the latter for many years a teacher in Saco High School.

This year Saco is celebrating the three-hundredth anniversary of its first settlement. It is, therefore, one of the oldest communities in the United States, and may feel pride in the fact that it has contributed in a small measure to the triumphant democracy of a great nation.

With appropriate modesty, our institution, one of the earliest in the country, after one hundred and twenty- eight years of constant service, maintains its identity, and still offers to the public all of the advantages to be obtained from a safe and sane depository of individual and public funds.

When Sir William Pepperell was appointed to com¬ mand the expedition against Louisburg in 1745, George Whitefield, the great revivalist, who was a guest at his house, counselled him to undertake the enterprise with a single eye, and offered as a motto “Nil desperandum Christo duce.” The York National Bank has no motto ; it does strive, however, to keep a single eye to the wel¬ fare of its patrons and in spite of rapidly changing de¬ mands not to despair of fulfilling its obligations in an old New England community.

58

Present York National Bank

59

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