CHAPTER XI.
BEGINNINGS HERE AND REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
p.176 It should be noticed, however, that connected with these infant settlements now springing up on the Maine coast, there was no organization like that which planted the colony at Jamestown in Virginia, or that which attempted to establish the Popham colony at the mouth of the Kennebec. It was not even, as it was with the Pilgrims at Plymouth - a body of men and women who, not find- in the old world those conditions of civil and religious liberty under which they desired to live, sought such conditions in the new world, and associated themselves together for this purpose.
Here, even formal association preliminary to such beginnings was lacking, and only individual enterprise, pure and simple, is discoverable.
LEVETT AND THE INDIANS AT CAPE NEWWAGGEN.
JOHN BROWN of New Harbor.
THE FIRST DEED OF LAND IN THE STATE OF MAINE
THE TOWNS OF BRISTOL, NOBLEBOROUGH AND JEFFERSON AND
A PART OF NEWCASTLE.
When Levett was told by the Indians at Cape Newaggen that Pemaquid had been "granted", the reference evidently was to the beginning of a settlement that John Brown had made at New Harbor on the eastern shore of the Pemaquid peninsula. At that time, so far as is known, there was no such occupation at Pemaquid on the western shore of the peninsula; but in 1625, John Brown had been a resident on the eastern shore long enough to have become known as "John Brown of New Harbor" - this being his designation in the Deed for a tract of land acquired by him from the Indians July 15th of that year. As the first Deed of land within the limits of the territory of the State of Maine, and compromising most of the town of Bristol, all the towns of Nobleborough and of Jefferson, also part of the town of Newcastle,1 the document has especial interest:
Footnote. 1. Report of the Massachusetts Commissioners to Investigate the causes of the Difficulties in the County of Lincoln (1811), 23.
p.177 REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
CAPTAIN JOHN SOMERSET.
NEW HARBOR.
"To all people whom it may concern. Know ye that I, Capt. John Somerset and Unongoit (sic) Indian sagamores, they being the proper heirs to all the lands both sides of Muscongus River, have bargained and sold to John Brown of New Harbor, this certain tract or parcel of land as followeth, that is to say, beginning at Pemaquid falls and so running a direct course to the head of New Harbor, from then to the south end of Muscongus Island, taking in the island, and so running five and twenty miles into the country north and east, and thence eight miles northwest and by west, and then turning and running south and by west to Pemaquid where first begun - to all which lands above bounded, the said Captain John Somerset and Unnongoit (sic), Indian sagamores, have granted and made over to the above John Brown of New Harbor, in and for consideration of fifty skins, to us in hand paid, to our full satisfaction, for the above mentioned lands, and we the said sagamores do bind ourselves and our heirs forever to defend the above said John Brown and his heirs in the quiet and peaceable possession of the above lands. In witness whereunto, I the said Captain John Somerset and Unnongoit have set our hands and seals this 15th day of July in the year of our Lord God, one thousand six hundred and twenty-five (1625)
(signed)
CAPT. JOHN SOMERSET (seal)
Unnongoit (seal)
Signed and sealed in presence of us,
MATTHEW NEWMAN,
WILLIAM COX 1
Footnote.1 Both of these men probably came from Bristol, England with John Brown. Of the former, Matthew Newman, nothing is known. He may have died after a short residence in the new world, or he may have returned to England. Descendants of William Cox have been well-known residents of Bristol to the present day. Johnston, History of Bristol and Bremen, 55, 56.
p.178 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
July 24, 1626, Captain John Somerset and Unongoit, Indian Sagamores, personally appeared and acknowledged this instrument to be their act and deed at Pemaquid, before me, Abraham Shurte.
Charlestown, December 26, 1720. Read, and at the request of James Stilson, and his sister, Margaret Hilton formerly Margaret Stilson, they being claimers and heirs of said lands, accordingly entered.
Per Samuel Phipps. One of the Clerks of the Committee for Eastern Lands".1
An early document2 in the records of Bristol, England, men that this John Brown, as a son of Richard Brown of Barton Regis in Gloucester, England, and adds that he married Margaret, a daughter of Francis Hayward of Bristol, England. It is supposed that he came to the Maine coast directly from Bristol, England, probably in one of the fishing or trading vessels of that prosperous city. He not only became the possessor of the large tract of land above mentioned, but in 1639, he purchased of the Indians, land3 at what was then know as Naquasset, now Woolwich, on the Kennebec, a little above Bath, but on the eastern side of the river, and thither he removed. A daught- Elizabeth, married Richard Pearce,4 who in 1641 secured an Indian title to land at Muscongus, a part
Footnote.1. Johnston, History of Bristol and Bremen, 54, 55. An attested copy of this Deed was recorded in York County Register, August 3, 1739. With reference to the authenticity of the deed, those connected with the transaction offered the deposition of Simon Frost, formerly Deputy Secretary of the province under Josiah Willard, Esq., in which he testified that when he was in the office he drew from one of its books, called The Book of Records, the afore mentioned deed which was there fairly recorded, and of which the deed aforesaid is a true copy; and the deponent further testified that when the Court House in Boston was burnt, about the year 1748, he had reason to believe the said Book of Records was consumed in the fire. See Report of the Massachusetts Commissioners to Investigate the Causes of the difficulties in the County of Lincoln (1811), 16. 2. Johnston, History of Bristol and Bremen, 54. 3. Ib., 237. 4. He was a son of John Pierce of London, but spelled his name Pearce. Ib., 50.
p.179 THE REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
of the same being within the bounds of Brown's purchase in 1625, the father-in-law being a witness to the transaction. Brown sold his land at Naquasset in 1646, and returned to his eastern possessions. In 1654 he was living at Damariscotta. In a deposition of Benjamin Prescott, made at Salem, Mass. in 1765, Brown is mentioned as living during the last years of his life, in Boston, with his son, John Brown, Jr. Another daughter, Margaret, married Sander or Alexander Gould.1
Concerning Somerset, one of the Indian sagamores, from whom John Brown obtained the large tract of land described in the above deed, mention has already been made. Unongoit is known only in connection with this transaction.2
Abraham Shurt,3 before whom the acknowledgment of John Brown's Indian deed of land was made July 24, 1626, was not on this side of the ocean when the deed was executed, but came hither in 1626, and soon after his arrival took up his residence at Pemaquid, where he spent the large part of his long and useful life, engaged in business relations that extended to Massachusetts on one side and to Nova Scotia on the other.
In his participation in the acknowledgment of the above deed, Shurt appended no title to his signature, and probably claimed no legal authority for
Footnotes.
1. History of Bristol and Bremen, 56.
2. It was creditable in Brown that he obtained possession of these lands by a recognition of Indian rights. 3. Johnston, History of Bristol and Bremen, 56, 57. Evidently he had been in Robert Aldworth's employ
Bristol. In his Will, dated August 30, 1634, Aldworth bequeathed to him, two hundred pounds in current English money, and mentions him as "my servant", meaning doubtless one in his employ. Abraham Shurt was a brother of George Shurt of Biddeford, England. Waters, Genealogical Gleanings in England, II, 983.
In 1653, he was a witness to an instrument in which he is recorded as "Abraham Shurt of Chartlestown" in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. York Deeds, II, folio 84. He lived to a ripe old age. In connection with a deposition made by him, December 25, 1662, he is said then to have been "aged fourscore years or thereabouts". Accordingly at the time of this transaction, he was about forty-four years old.
Johnston, History of Bristol and Bremen, 59, says, "It is altogether probable that he ended his days at Pemaquid".
p.180. THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
the service he rendered; but familiar with common English forms in business transactions, evidently a man of ability and integrity, he was doubtless recognized as the best fitted for the service of any of the residents on the Pemaquid peninsula.1
ROBERT ALDWORTH AND GILES ELBRIDGE.
Shurt came to this country from Bristol, England, as the representative of Robert Aldworth2 and Giles Elbridge,3 prominent
Footnotes. 1. John Wingate Thornton, Maine Historical Society's Collections, 5, 195, wrote, "There was no precedent for the acknowledgment, or the formuly, and Mr. Shurt is well entitled to be remembered as the father of American conveyancing". Nathaniel I. Bowditch dedicated his Suffolk Surnames to him. Mr. Thornton learned later, however, that the same form was in use in England long before. Johnston, History of Bristol and Bremen, 57, note.
2. Robert Aldworth was a son of Thomas Aldworth, who in 1582, as Mayor of Bristol, interested the merchants of that city in Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition to the American coast in 1583. The son was born in Bristol, England, November 8, 1561, and evidently inherited his father's business qualification. One of the historians of Bristol (Barrett, History of Bristol, 688) mentions him as "a great adventurer in trade and successful in merchandise". He was master of the Merchant Venturers of Bristol, England, in 1609, and he served in the same office in subsequent years. He was one of those who assisted in sending Pring to the Maine coast in 1606. He was prominent also in civic affairs.
In 1596 he was sheriff, mayor of Bristol, England in 1609, and Alderman 1614-1634. As a merchant, he was so successful that he might have retired with a competence at an early period in his business career, but he seems to have preferred to retain his connection with his extensive commercial interests because they furnished him with added means for large assistance to the poor of Bristol (Pryce, History of Bristol, 219), whom he remembered not only while living, but also in his Will. His elegant mansion in Bristol, in the rear of St. Peter's church, which was purchased by him in 1607, and in part was restored by him at that time, is still standing and some of the rooms are shown to visitors. After Aldworth's death, which occurred November 6, 1634, it was occupied by Giles Elbridge and later by others.
In 1698, it became that "spacious and general asylum for the poor, the old, the infirm, the diseased and the helpless", which has since been known as St. Peter's Hospital (Pryce, History of Bristol, England, 224, 225). Aldworth's costly monument, surmounted by the arms of the Merchant Venturers of Bristol, England, is in St. Peter's church. On it, Aldworth and his wife are represented in effigy, kneeling and facing each other. The inscription to the wife is as follows:
Martha Aldworth the loving and beloved wife of Robert Aldworth, merchant, adventurer & Alderman of this citie of Bristol – lyeth heere.
(pictured, the Aldworth and Elbridge Memorial in St. Peter's Church, Bristol).
p.181 THE REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
merchants of that city, who doubtless already had large fishing and trading interests on the coast and wished to avail themselves of better facilities in conducting their business. In some way it had become known to them that Abraham Jennings of Plymouth,
Under interred, to whose pious and everlivinge Memory, and as a perpetual testimonie to his Dear love and her matchless virtues, her Sorrowful surviving husband aforesaide Hath dedicated this monument.
She died on May 2nd, 1619, aged 58.
The following is a translation of a Latin inscription on the central panel of the base of the monument:
Although this statue of the venerable man is silent
Learn, O reader and beholder who he was ____
A famous merchant, a successful voyager through
Many seas, seeking rather the glory of his country
And the relief of the poor, than thirsting for
The accumulation of hoards of wealth.
And therefore, by the will of God,
He became richer, an exemplary Magistrate of the City,
Full of honor and fidelity, serving Christ and God
According to the teaching of the Church of England
Which was dear to his heart; he closed his life in peace
And now enjoys eternal peace beyond the stars.
In the panel under the effigy of Aldworth's wife are the following lines in English:
What riches, grace and nature coulde betowe
In her, that's here interred, as streames did flowe
A second Martha, one whose faith did even
Wing'd with hope and love mount up to Heaven,
Here sweetly sleepes her dust, her soul devine
It fled from hence and now above doth shine;
As loathinge earth shoulde longer kept inthrall
From Christ, to be with whome is best of all,
Where now she lives in bliss and left us here
To mourn her loss yet joy to meete her there.
The entire monument was thoroughly cleaned and decorated in 1901. Formerly the whole of the monument was richly embellished with gilt and colors. Now, the figures are not painted, but the cushions on which Aldworth and his wife are kneeling are painted red, and there is some ornamentation in red and gold.
p.182 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
England, who had secured the ownership of Monhegan as already stated, was willing to seel the island. Here were the facilities they desired to secure, and Abraham Shurt, in their employ, was commissioned by them to proceed to Monhegan and purchase the property in their behalf. This he did, and he made payment for the same by a bill drawn upon Robert Aldworth for the sum of fifty pounds.
ABRAHAM JENNINGS' WILLINGNESS TO SELL THE ISLAND OF MONHEGAN.
BRADFORD AND THE PILGRIMS AT PLYMOUTH.
When he declared his willingness to sell the island of Monhegan, Abraham Jennings also let it be known that he wished to close out his business interests on the island by a sale of the stock of goods in his storehouse there. Such information reached the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Bradford says: "Wanting goods they understood that a plantation, which was at Monhegan, and belonged to some merchants at Plymouth (England) was to break up, and divers useful goods was there to be sold, the Governor, Mr. Winslow, took a boat and some hands and went thither". This was in the the summer of 1626.
On their way they stopped at the mouth of the Piscataqua and called on David Thomson, who had established himself there as already mentioned. It was a somewhat regretable call on the part of Bradford and his associate, for, as the Governor records, Mr. Thomson had not heard of the sale, and now "understanding their
Footnote. 3 Giles Elbridge married a niece of Robert Aldworth and became not only his partner in business, but the sole executor of his Will. In that instrument Aldworth mentions Elbridge as his "well
beloved kinsman", adding "I have found him always true, honest and careful in the managing of my businesses and in his employment in mine affairs"; and to him, after making mention of various bequests to
relatives, friends and public charities, he bequeathed the residue of his large estate. Elbridge was Warden of the Merchant Venturers of Bristol, England, in 1620, 1621, 1639 and the treasurer, 1633, 1634 and Sheriff, in 1629 and 1630. A son, Thomas Elbridge, came to the Province of Maine about the year 1647, and will be mentioned later. Giles Elbridge died February 4, 1643-4. His monument in St. Peter's Church, Bristol, England, adjoins on the left of that or Robert Aldworth, and is of like design as the Aldworth monument.
Indeed, the position of the Venturer's Arms over the center of the Aldworth monument is the only indication that the Elbridge memorial is not a part of the Aldworth structure (Boucher, Transactions of Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaological Society for 1909, XXXII, 24).
p.183 REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
purpose, took opportunity to go with them, which was some hindrance to them both; for they (the parties representing Jennings in the sale) perceiving their joint desires to buy, held teir goods at higher rates, and not only so, but would not sell a parcel of their trading goods, unless they sold all". The result was that "least they should further prejudice one another, they agreed to buy all", and divide the goods equally between them. This was done. Also, "they bought a parcel of goats, which they distributed at home as they saw need and occasion, and took corn for them of the people, which gave them good content". The Pilgrims' expenditure in this transaction amounted to four hundred pounds sterling. Bradford gives this further information, that a French vessel, "in which were many Biscay rugs and other commodities", was wrecked that spring at Sagadahoc, and that those who were conducting the sale at Monhegan, had secured from the wreck some things that were saved from the cargo, also some secured by the Damariscove fishermen. These also were purchased by Bradford and Thomson, and the total purchase of the Pilgrims at the sale amounted to more than five hundred pounds sterling.1
MONHEGAN AS A TRADING STATION.
This large sum and that paid by Thomson furnish evidence with reference to the importance of Monhegan at this time as a trading station. There is no inventory of the sale, but the goods that were sold doubtless included such as the fishermen on the the coast were likely to need during the fishing season; also such supplies as the scattered settlers, who had established themselves at favorable locations on the main land, here and there, would need for themselves and for trading with the Indians.
At this time Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his associates in the
Footnote.
1. Bradford tells us that for the most part, the Pilgrims raised the money for the purchases made by them at this time, from the sale of "the beaver and commodities they had obtained during the preceding winter', and also by "what they had gathered up that summer"; and the Governor adds: "With these goods and their corn after harvest, they got good store of trade, so as they were enabled to pay their engagements against the time and to get some clothing for the people". History of the Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts. Historical Society, Ed. 1913, I, 449.
p.184 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
GORGES, A DEVOTED ROYALIST.
council for New Englad, were giving little attentiion to affairs on this side of the sea. Gorges was still in command of the Fort at Plymouth, and being a devoted Royalist, other interests engrossed his attention. His correspondence in this period, illustrates the fact that he found abundant occupation in connection with public concerns, especially those pertaining to England's relations with France and Spain.1
KING JAMES OF ENGLAND, DIED MARCH 27, 1625.
KING CHARLES I.
King James of England, died March 27, 1625, and was succeeded by his son, King Charles I, whose marriage with the Princess Henrietta Maria of France, followed on May 11. His first Parliament assembled on June 18. It soon became evident that the new King and his advisers had learned nothing from the ill-success that had attended King James in his dealings with the House of Commons. "We can hope everything from the King who now governs us", exclaimed Sir Benjamin Rudyerd, in a moment of optomistic enthusiasm; but that hope soon vanished.
The declared purpose of the House to take up public grievances before proceeding by any other business, enraged the King and Parliament adjourned to meet in Oxford, England, on July 11. As the King proceeded to levy the disputed Customs in defiance of the law, the members of the House of Commons, when Parliament reassembled, were in an angry mood.
SIR ROBERT PHELPS.
"England", said Sir Robert Phelps, "is the last monarchy that yet retains her liberties. Let them not perish now". The King madenanswer by the dissolution of Parliament, which followed on August 12th.
THE SECOND PARLIAMENT OF KING CHARLES I.
SIR ROBERT PHELPS.
SIR JOHN ELIOT.
The second Parliament of King Charles I, assembled February 6, 1626. Sir Robert Phelps and four others, who had been prominent in asserting the rights of the House of Commons, were prevented from taking their seats in that body by Buckingham's act in making them sheriffs. But the new House, under the leadership of Sir John Eliot, was no less determined in its opposition to misrule than was the last; and early in the session, the attention of the King was called to the matter of grievances. His answer was not satisfactory, and on May 24, 1626, Mr. Whitby, seeking still for
Footnote: Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine, III, 191-251.
p.185 REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
BUCKINGHAM, THE KINGS FAVORITE MINISTER.
SIR JOHN ELIOT.
SIR DUDLEY DIGGES.
government action concerning "liberty of free fishing in the parts of America, with the incidents of timber, etc.," referred to the King's answer as a grievance.1 Strong opposition to Buckingham, the King's favorite minister, rapidly developed, and Sir John Eliot and Sir Dudley Digges were imprisoned in the Tower. The House of Commons, however, demanded their release, refusing to to proceed with the affairs of the Kingdom until this was done.
Their release followed, but King Charles dissolved Parliament on June 15th, thus widening the breach that already separated him from the representatives of the people, whose liberties he had sworn to maintain, and foreshadowing events that were to characterize his unhappy reign.
MILES STANDISH.
Meanwhile, the Pilgrims had firmly established themselves at Plymouth, Massachusetts, but their indebtedness to the London adventurers for money advanced in fitting out the ship, Mayflower, interest charges, etc., had loaded them with increasingly burdensome obligations; and in 1625, Miles Standish was sent to London to make some arrangement, if possible, with the creditors, whereby it would not be necessary for them to pay "such high interest, or to allow so much per cent". But he reached England "at a very bad time", says Bradford, "for the state was full of trouble, and the plague was very hot in London, so as no business could be done"; and he returned to Plymouth without accomplishing what he and his fellow colonists hoped would be the result of his negotiations.2
But happily, a trip to the Kennebec after the abundant harvest of that year, enabled Winslow to exchange with the Indians of that river a shallop's load of corn for "seven hundred pounds of good beaver and some other furs"; and when at length in the fur-laden shallop, he floated down the river to its mouth, and made
Footnote.1. "Mr. Whitby reported grievances...3rdly. That the subject may have liberty of free fishing in the parts of America with the incidents of timber, etc. Which being restrained in the King's answer, to desire that it be enlarged, and the restraint to be presented as a grievance." Journal of the House of Commons, May 24, 1625, I, 863. 2. Bradford, History of the Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts Historical Society, Ed. 1913, I, 436.
p.186 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
his way back to Plymouth, he had laid the foundation of an exceedingly profitable Indian trade.1
MR. ISAAC ALLERTON, PILGRIM.
MYLES STANDISH.
In the following year the Pilgrims sent another of their number, Mr. Isaac Allerton, to London and directed him, "upon as good terms as he could" to renew the negotiations with the Adventurers undertaken by Myles Standish; but he was not to conclude any arrangement with them until the Pilgrims themselves "knew the terms and had well considered of them." Allerton returned, having succeeded in making a settlement with the adventurers, whereby the Plymouth colonists were to pay their London creditors eight hundred pounds in nine annual payments of two hundred pounds each, the final payment to be made in 1628. This agreement was approved by the colonists, "though they knew not well how to raise the payment, and discharge their other engagements and supply the yearly wants of the plantation...yet they undertook it", seven or eight of the colonists, "the chief of the place", becoming jointly bound to meet the annual payments at the time agreed upon.2
p.187 REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
give, grant, bargain, sell, alien, enfeofe, allot, assign and confirm unto the said William Bradford, his heirs, associates and assignees, all that tract of land or part of New England in America, aforesaid, which lyeth within or between and extendeth itself from the utmost extent of Cobestcont, which adjoineth to the river of Kenibeck, towards the western ocean, and a place called the Falls of Nequamkick1 in America, aforesaid and the space of fifteen English miles on each side of the said river, commonly called the Kennebeck River, and all the said river called Kenebeck that lies within the said limits and bounds eastward, westward, northward and southward, last afore mentioned, and all lands, grounds, soils, rivers, waters, fishing, hereditaments and profits whatsoever situate, lying and being arising and accruing or which shall arise, happen or accrue in and within the said limits and bounds or either of them together with free ingress, egress and regress, with ships, boats, shallops and other vessels from the sea commonly called the western ocean to the said river called Kenebec and from the river to the said western ocean, together with all prerogatives, rights, royalties, jurisdictions, privileges, franchises, liberties and immunities ... And by virtue of authority to us derived by his late Majesty's letters, patents, to take, apprehend, seize and make prize of all such persons, their ships and goods as shall attempt to inhabit and trade with the savage people of that country within the several precincts and limits of his and their several plantations", etc. 2
Footnotes.
1. On what is known as Johnston's map, compiled from "an ancient plan of E. Hutchinson's, Esq., and from Jos. Heath in 1719, and Phineas Jones' survey in 1731, and from John North's late survey in 1752", the "falls of Nequamkick" (Negumkikee on the map) are about half-way between Augusta and Waterville. The copy of this map herewith, presented is from the original in the possession of the Maine Historical Society.
2. The above is an extract from what is known as 'The Charter of Plymouth Colony', which was confirmed to William Bradford and his associates by the
p.188 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
CUSHENOC, NOW AUGUSTA
The territory on the Kennebec, thus acquired by the Pilgrims, extended from Gardiner to the falls in the river, about half way between Augusta and Waterville, and they proceeded at once, on obtaining the grant, to take possession of it by the erection of a trading house at Cushenoc, now Augusta, which they conceived, says Bradford, to be the most convenient place on the river for trade.1
Williamson says the Pilgrims had three stations for local traffic on the Kennebec - one at Popham's fort, one at Richmond's landing, and one at Cushenoc.2 There is no evidence, however, that they had any other trading post on the river than that at Augusta. Neither of the other places mentioned were within the limits of their patent. Moreover, the early Pilgrim writers make mention of only one.
Bradford, in referring to events that occurred on the river in 1631, mentioned "the house there".3 Again writing of events that occurred in 1634, he refers to some who "would needs go up the river above their house (towards the fall of the river) and intercept the trade that should come to them" [the Pilgrims].4
great Council for New England, January 23, 1630, and is now in the Registry of Deeds at Plymouth, with the box in which it was brought from England.
For a time its location was unknown, but in 1741, it was found at Plympton, Massachusetts, "after a deal of labor and cost". It is printed in full in the Farnham Papers, I, 108-116. Bradford assigned the patent to the freemen of the Plymouth Colony, March 12, 1642.
"WAMPUM"
Footnotes.
1. Bradford, Massachusetts Historical Society, Ed. 1913, II, 41.
2. History of Maine, I, 237. In another place (I, 252) he mentions two - one at Fort Popham, and one at Cushenoc.
3. Bradford, II, 113.
4. Bradford, II, 176. Concerning the Pilgrim trade on the Kennebec, Williamson (I, 235, 236) says: It was "trade" in a new article called "wampum"; which her people were pursuing with great profits. It consisted of white and blue beads, long and as large as a wheat corn, blunt at the ends, perforated and strung; possessing a clearness and beauty which rendered them desirable ornaments. They were only known to the Narragansetts, the Pequots and the natives on Long Island; from whom they were obtained at a low price for corn, or small articles of foreign fabric, and transported into this eastern country and bartered for furs." The Pilgrims also kept, for their Indian trade, such articles as coats, shoes, blankets, biscuits, fruits and trinkets, but wampum commanded a more ready market than any other commodity. Prince's Annals, 172, 3.
p.189 REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
BRADFORD AT PENOBSCOT.
THE ENGLISH ADVENTURERS AND EDWARD ASHLEY.
After they had thus firmly established themselves on the Kennebec, Bradford and his Plymouth associates came into possession of a trading house at Penobscot. In 1630, some of the English adventurers, who were interested in the Pilgrim enterprise, entered into business relations with one Edward Ashley, and furnished him with goods for trading purposes. Bradford describes Ashley "as a very profane young man", who had "for some time lived among the Indians, as a savage".1 Ashley opened his trading house at Penobscot. While the Pilgrims had no confidence in the man, they foresaw that a trading house at that place, in unfriendly hands, would be prejudicial to their interests on the Kennebec.
So, "to prevent a worst mischief", as Bradford says, they resolved to join in the enterprise and furnished Ashley with supplies. But he soon exhibited his true character; and having been detected in selling powder and shot to the Indians, which he was under bond not to do, he was arrested by parties not mentioned and taken to England, where he was imprisoned in the Fleet.2 In this way the trading post at Penobscot wholly passed into the hands of the Plymouth colonists.
But it was not altogether a source of profit to the Pilgrims. In 1631, the house was robbed by some Frenchmen, who secured beaver and goods valued at four or five hundred pounds. The man in charge of the post and some of his assistants were at the westward in order to get a supply of goods, when one day a small French vessel came into the harbor.
The story of those on board was that they knew not where they were, that their vessel leaked, etc. Discovering soon the absence of the officer in charge, and the weakness of the post, they noticed the guns in the racks, praised them, and one was taken for examination. The man who had secured it, and another who had a pistol, then ordered the unarmed garrison of three or four men, to surrender, which they did, and they were held as prisoners and compelled to aid them in carrying the goods to the French vessel. Then setting the
Footnote.
1. Bradford, II, 83.
2. Ib., II, 107, 108.
p.190 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
prisoners at liberty, the Frenchmen sailed away, mockingly telling them to say to their master on his return, "that some of the Isle of Rey gentlemen had been there".1 Of course the Plymouth colonists could not expect reparation for their loss, and Bradford closes his account of the affair without comment, but evidently not without a groan.
Meanwhile, Levett had not lost sight of his far-away possessions on this side of the sea. On November 29, 1626, writing from Dartmouth to Sir John Coke, chief secretary of state and one of the King's privy council, he earnestly called the attention of the government to the importance of New England to the nation, and his desire to serve his country there. "No man knows better than myself, he wrote, "what benefit would accrue unto this Kingdom by that country, if it were well-planted and fortified, which makes me so desirous to tread out a path that all men may follow";2 and he urged the Secretary to place him in command of a vessel for this purpose.
No response seems to have been made to this appeal, and October 10, 1627, Levett wrote again to Secretary Coke, inclosing in his letter, a communication he had received from a New England correspondent - some one in charge of his fortified house on an island in Portland harbor, it may be - in which he urged the secretary not to let the multiplicity of weighty affairs crowd out of his thoughts vast interests in New England, suggesting also an audience in order that he might more fully lay before him considerations of national importance.2
In returning from his disastrous French expedition, Buckingham landed at Plymouth, and on his way to London, passed through Sherborne, where Levett lived. Here the latter had an interview with one near the King. Doubtless Buckingham was
Footnotes.
1. This illustration of French pleasantry has reference to the Duke of Buckingham's disastrous expediton of July, 1627, for the relief of Rochelle, in which he lost two thousand men and his opponents not one. Isle de Rhe isn on the French coast near Rochelle.
2. Baxter, Christopher Levett of York: The Pioneer of Casco Bay, 58.
3. Ib. 61, 62.
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glad to seize hold of any matter of concern that would draw public attention from a great national defeat; and he promised Levett that on reaching London, he would look into matters pertaining to New England. Levett, so far as is known, had not received any encouragement in answer to his previous letter to Coke; and he now wrote again to the Secratary, informing him of the interview he had held with the Duke - the letter is dated November 17, 1627, probably immediately after Buckingham's departure for London - and inclosing a statement1 that he had prepared to be used in connection with the matter, in any consideration it might receive. He was willing, he said, to go to London, if his presence there was desired; and he closed his letter to Coke by informing him that further neglect on the part of the government would compel him to orde his men "now going to fish there", that is, on the New England coast, to come away with their vessels.2
In this added attempt to reach the ear of King Charles, Levett was successful, calling attention to existing "differences" between England and England's rivals, France and Spain, and the necessity of protecting English interests on the coast of New England from those whom he designates as "foreign enemies". He referred also to the fact that those who were inclined to become adventurers there had become "altogether discouraged and disabled to proceed to their intention"; while at the same time the conditions were such in England, that the government could not give needed assistance to these remote parts and so secure to the nation "the many commodities and merchandise thence to be had, and the store of timber there growing, very necessary for the provision of shipping".
Not to protect such interests meant loss and dishonor to the nation, and advantage and encouragement to England's enemies. Levett's appeal, had awakened the King to a consideration of conditions not only on this side of the sea, but also in England. The government was handicapped because of the
Footnotes.
1. Baxter, Christopher Levett of York; the Pioneer of Casco Bay, 64-66. 2. Ib., 63, 64.
p.192 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
strained relations existing between the King and the House of Commons. What then? Something must be done, and it must be done speedily. In a proclamation, accordingly, King Charles now outlined a plan of procedure, and called for public contributions in Levett's behalf.
"Whereas we have been informed that our well-beloved subject, Captain Christopher Levett, being one of the council for the said plantation, and well knowing the said country and the harbors of the same and the strength and disposition of the Indians inhabiting in that country, hath undertaken and offered to add unto his former adventure there, all his estate, and to go in person thither, and by God's assistance either to secure the planters from enemies, keep the possession of the said country on our behalf and secure the fishing for our English ships, or else to expose his life and means to the utmost full in that service. Upon which his generous and free offer we have thought fit, by the advice of our Privy Council and appointed him to be the Governor for us in those parts, and because the charge in preparing, furnishing and setting forth of ships for this service at the first will be very great, so as without the help and assistance of others (well wishers of those plantations) those designs be so well accomplished, as we desire:
"Know ye that we, out of the love and affection which we bear to works of this nature and especially for the propagation of the true religion, which by this means may be effected, by converting those ignorant people to Christianity:
"Have thought fit, by the advice of our said privy council, to command this so pious a work to the consideration and assistance of all our loving and well-disposed subjects; not doubting but they (well weighing the necessity of this work, and considering the present troubles of these times) will be rready and willing to yield such assistance to the same, by their voluntary contributions towards the effecting
p.193 REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
thereof, as may in some measure help to defray the present charge, now to be dispended for the accomplishing thereof, for the honor and safety of this Kingdom and the upholding of the said plantation: Wherefore our Will and pleasure is, and, we do, by these presents will, require and command all and singular Archbishops, Bishops, Archdeacons and Deans, within their several dioceses and jurisdictions, that forthwith, upon sight of these our letters patent, they command and cause the same, or the true belief thereof, to be read and published in all the several parish churches of and within their several dioceses, precincts and jurisdictions, and that the Church wardens of every several parish shall gather and collect all such sum and sums of money, as shall be freely and voluntarily given, and contributed to the purposes aforesaid, and the same being gathered and collected, forth-with to pay and deliver over unto the said Captain Christopher Levett, or to such person or persons as shall by him in writing under his hand and seal thereunto authorized and appointed, whom we do think most fit in regard of his said employment to be trusted with the disposing of the same. In witness whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patents for the space of one whole year next ensuing, the date of these presents to endure."1
This document invites attention to considerations in old England as well as to those in New England. King Charles was in sore conflict with the House of Commons, as his father had been in his unhappy reign; but the conflict had become increasingly bitter, both on the side of the King, and of the Commons. The King had refused to listen to the grievances that the representatives of the people had laid before him and the Commons had refused to vote such subsidies as the King demanded, unless he would first listen to their demands concerning their grievances. In this state of affairs King Charles proceeded to levy taxes by his own authority,
Footnote. 1. Baxter, Christopher Levett of York, 68-71.
p. 194 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
with the result that the hall of the House of Commons rang with indignant protestations at such an outrage upon their ancient rights, King Charles angrily responded by dissolving Parliament. But each succeeding Parliament prove more intractable, and the relations of the King to the no less angry members of the House of Commons were greatly strained.
It was in this state of affairs in England that King Charles issued this remarkable proclamation. It is difficult to escape the impression that the underlying motive of the King in issuing the proclamation was not so much that he might render assistance to Levett in New England, as a desire to divert attention from the sad condition of England itself by an appeal to the patriotism of his subjects in connection with national interest abroad, whither Charles' eyes had been turned by Levett's urgent, stirring words.
How much money came into Levett's hands from contributions gathered at this time in the parish churches in England is unknown. In all probability the amount was not large. The sympathy of the people throughout the realm was with the House of Commons, rather than with the King. Moreover, money for any purpose, however commendable, was not abundant. Levett was in England in 1628, for in that year he published in London his book entitled "A Voyage into New England. Begun in 1623 and ended in 1624"1. It was dedicated to the Duke of Buckingham, and other of Levett's fellow members of the Council for New England, and evidently its publication at that time was designed to promote the objects to which the proclamation of the King had called attention. The Journal of the House of Commons shows that on April 19, 1628, a petition from Christopher Levett was presented to that body; and that on May 27 following, Levett was summoned to appear in the House and bring with him the
Footnote.
1. Christopher Levett of York, England, the Pioneer Colonist in Casco Bay, Gorges Society, Portland, Maine, 1893, 79-139. To the memoir of Levett in this volume the writer is chiefly indebted for the main facts in Levett's life. Mr. Baxter, in his researches in England with reference to Levett, apparently left nothing to be gleaned by later pilgrims.
p.195 REAWAKENINGS IN ENGLAND.
papers relating to the Petition he had presented. We learn nothing at this time concerning his enterprise here.1.
THE GREAT PURITAN MOVEMENT TO NEW ENGLAND.
But if the parish churches in England failed to render to Levett that assistance for which he asked and doubtless hoped to secure, the King's proclamation certainly had this result - that it called the widest possible attention throughout the Kingdom to England's American possessions, and inevitably awakened in may hearts and homes a rapidly wide-spreading conviction that on this side of the sea, opportunities were opening for the average man that England did not afford. As these considerations became matters of conversation at the fireside, in the shop, or wherever the people were employed in their daily occupations, an impetus, in all probability undesired by the King, was given to the great Puritan movement to New England, which was very soon in evidence on the Massachusetts coast, as also in those colonizing efforts that were discoverable here and there on the coast of the Province of Maine not long after.
ENDICOTT & HIS COMPANY, ON JUNE 19, 1630 ENTERED SALEM HARBOR.
Unquestionably, some contributions made in Englis parish churches reached Levett; for when Endicott and his company, on June 19, 1630, entered Salem harbor, leading a band of Puritan colonists under the authority of a Charter granted by the Council for New England, Captain Christopher Levett was one of those who welcomed them to New England.
The proclamation of the King, February 4, 1627, made Levett, the Governor-of "those parts". Evidently, however, he was not in New England as its governor. There is no record of any such claim on Levett's part. Concerning when and why he came hither is as yet unknown. That he was in command of a vessel is ascertained from Winthrop, who records in his Journal, Levett's departure for England not long after the arrival of the ship, Arabella. At that time, he had disposed of his interests in and about Casco Bay, to some Plymouth merchants, and apparently there were no ties that now bound him here. On the homeward voyage, Levett died and was buried at sea.
Footnote.1. Baxter, Christopher Levett of York, England, 73.
p.196
The records of the Probate Court at Bristol, England, the port which Levett's ship entered on the return voyage, show that on January 22, 1630, Levett's widow, having journeyed thither from her desolate home in Sherborne, administered on his effects brought by the ship; 1 and with this record the story of her husband's eventful life was brought to an end. Others were to witness, in growing, prosperous American settlements, what Levett had seen only in the dreams that lured him to our coast.
Footnote. Christopher Levett of York, 74-77. |
