p.313 CHAPTER XVIII.
AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
KING CHARLES OF ENGLAND AND PARLIAMENT.
By this time things had come to such a pass in England that one
must choose between the supremacy of King Charles, and the supre-
macy of Parliament. The question at issue was whether the King or
the House of Commons was the strongest power in the realm.1 Cer-
tainly things were not going well with those who supported the
Crown. Strafford had already been brought to the block as an enemy
of the country. Archbishop Laud, who mingled ecclesiastical matters
with those of state, and had given great offence in so doing, was
behind prison bars as early as 1641. In the opening of 1642, the
King, unable to discover the real significance of the great up-
rising against his arbitary rule, had separated himself still
farther from his opponents in Parliament by demanding the im-
peachment of Lord Kembolton, in the House of Lords, and Pym,
Hampden and three others in the House of Commons. When the Commons
returned an evasive answer to this demand, King Charles, followed
by a crown of armed retainers, proceeded to the House. As he stepped
to the speaker's chair he addressed the Commons, saying that he had
come to fetch the traitors. The words eliciting no respons, the King,
looking over the House and failing to discover any of the five look-
ing over the House and failing to discover any of the five whom he had
named, in his demand, turned to the Speaker and asked if the men he
sought were present. "May it please your Majesty, replied Lenthall,
"I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, but
as the House is pleased to direct me".
Footnote. 1. S. R. Gardiner, The Puritan Revolution, 118. Concern-
ing the attitude of the members of the House of Commons towards the
King, Gardiner says: "It is useless to ask whether they might not have
regulated the King's authority instead of shattering it. It was its
business to shatter it because, with King Charles on the throne, it
was impossible to regulate it."
Insert.
Subject: Trial of the Regicides
Source: History of New England
by John Gorham Palfrey.
p.426
The trial of the Regicides was not to be delayed till the angry loyalty of the
time might have opportunity to grow cool and merciful. No sooner was Parliament
dispersed, than a special commission, constituted of thirty-four persons - great
officers of state and others, was assembled to judge and to doom. The trials
lasted ten days.
Twenty nine persons were arraigned, all of whom were convicted and sentenced.
The punishment of nineteen was, by a royal grace, commuted for imprisonment.
The rest suffered death with all the horrible accompaniments prescribed by the
English law of treason as it then stood. Among them were Colonel Axtel and Col.
Hacker, who respectively were in command of the guard at the King's trial and
at his execution; Coke, who had acted as public prosecutor; and Major-General
Harrison. The remains of Cromwell, Bradshaw and Ireton were dis-interred and
hung on gibbets in conspicuous places in London.
The fate of one of the sufferers at this time appealed especially to the com-
passion of the people of New England. Hugh Peter had been one of the Company
of Massachusetts Bay before the emigration. Following the pioneers almost
immediately, he became the admired minister of one of their churches, a counsel-
lor largely trusted through a period when the new social fabric was in imminent
danger of overthrow, and a contriver and guide in methods of industry which
proved to be copious sources of public wealth. He had established what seemed
a permanent position in New England, and had given his step-daughter in marriage
to Governor
p.427
Winthrop's eldest son. But, after seven years' residence he returned to England,
early in the Civil War in England, with the purpose - if one of the witnesses
of his trial reported truly his unguarded talk - of "stirring up this war and
driving of it on." He became a prominent "agitator" among the soldiers. He put
himself forward at the trial of Bishop Laud, and at the execution of that
prelate stood armed upon the scaffold. At the siege of Bridgewater, the siege
of Winchester and the storming of Bristol, he did active service.
In Cromwell's conquest of Ireland, he is said to have "led a brigade against
the rebels," and to have "come off with honor and victory." "Drogheda is taken,"
he wrote from that place to the Speaker, "three thousand five hundred and fifty-
two of the enemy slain, and sixty four of ours; - Ashton, the Governor, killed,
none spared...I come now from giving thanks in the great church." When the
arms of the Commonwealth had completely triumphed, he withdrew from the military
service; and he was one of the household chaplains who stood by the Protector's
death-bed.
He had not been a member of the court which condemned the King. What the public
prosecutor undertook to prove against him was "that he was a chief conspirator
with Cromwell at several times and in several places and that the King's death
was designed by them...he was the principal person to procure the soldiery to
cry out 'Justice! Justice!' or assist or desire those for the taking away the
life of the King....he preached many sermons to the soldiery in direct terms
of taking away the King, comparing the King to Barabbas; he was instrumental
when the
p.428
in the formation for the High Court of Justice (as they called it) was pro-
claimed, directing where it should be proclaimed and in what place; when the
King was brought upon the stage, that mock-work, he was the person that stirred
up the soldiery below to cry for justice."
The third day after their trial, Peter and the Solicitor, John Coke, who had
been one of the prosectutors of the late King, were dragged on hurdles from
Newgate gaol to the place of their execution, at Charing Cross. Their sent-
ences were the same. Coke suffered first. He was hanged by the neck and then
cut down alive. His body, after other mutilation, was opened, and the bowels
were taken out and burned. Then came the merciful blow which severed the head
from the body; and lastly the body was cut into four parts for permanent exhib-
ition in as many places. The executioner - his arms red to the shoulders with
this slaughter - approached the other victim, and asked, "Mr. Peter, how like
you the work?" "You have butchered one of the servants of God before my eyes,"
replied the sturdy man, "and have forced me to see it, in order to terrify and
discourage me; but God has permitted it for my support and encouragement."
Truly had Sir Ferdinando Gorges said of him thirty years before, that "his
courage was not inferior to any." The head of Coke and that of General Harrison
were set on poles at the northeast end of Westminster Hall, looking towards
London; and the head of Mr. Peter on London Bridge.
The offences of Peter against royalty had been substantially the same as those
of numbers who escaped unquestioned. As his death may be interpreted as a sacri-
fice on the tomb of Bishop Laud, so the doom of another eminent actor in New
England affairs was a propitiatory offering to the names of Strafford. The
convinction of that nobleman had been wrought about through a disclosure by
Sir Henry Vane
p.429
of matters which came to his knowledge from papers of his father. In respect
to the death of King Charles, Vane was entirely blameless. He had taken no
part in the transaction at any stage; he had protested against the project,
from the moment of his first knowledge of it; and, when it had been carried
into effect, he showed his displeasure by withdrawing for a time from Parlia-
ment and from participation in public affairs. Though he felt bound not to
withold his great abilities form the serice of the country that rejected his
counsel, he never lent himself to the personal elevation of Cromwell; and,
during five years before the Protector's death, he had been part of the time
self-banished from court, and part of the time in prison.
The hour had not yet arrived when a prosecution of Vane would have been prudent.
Dreamy recluse as he was apt to become when emergency and opportunity did not
summon into exercise the practical sagacity, promptness, vigor and resource, in
which no man, in that age of memorable men, surpassed him, it cannot be said
that he was ever a general favorite. But his great qualities and services, his
unimpeached disinterestedness, and his independence of spirit, made him the
object of a veneration which, marked as he was for vengeance, was for the
present his safeguard. When, after two years, Lord Clarendon's skilful politics,
and an extravagant reaction of the public mind, had made the mitre and the crown
seem to their wearers omipotent, the time was ripe for reckoning with Henry
Vane. Denied the aid of counsel, he conducted his own defence in a manner
worthy of his character and ability, and greatly adding to his reputation for
courage. His unanswerable reasoning, to the effect that the indictment charged
him with no acts but such as, according to the strictest tenor of the law of
England, were consistent with the duty of a good citizen during a suspension
of the established government, made
p.430
no impression upon the judges who had predetermined his fate. He was convicted,
and sentenced to die as a traitor. The King, who had induced the Convention
House of Commons to except him from the Act of Indemnity, by a promise, conveyed
through Lord Clarendon, that if convicted, he should receive a pardon, now wrote
to that minister, "He is too dangerous a man to let live, if we can honestly put
him out of the way."
Some of the horrible accompaniments of the penalty of treason were remitted.
He was beheaded on Tower Hill. He was magnanimous and intrepid to the end.
"Father, glorify thy servant in the sight of man," were his last words, "that
he may glorify thee in the discharge of his duty to thee and to his country."
Of the executions of the actors in the late troubles, Vane's was the last.
Lambert, excepted with him in the Act of general amnesty, had now ceased to
be cared about. He was sentenced to die, but the punishment was commuted for
perpetual imprisonment. He lived twenty-three years in gaol on the Island of
Guernsey and at Plymouth, and then died in the communion of the Church of Rome.
Three other persons owed their fate to the newly awakened loyalty of a New
England man - a man eminent among the most able and the most unworthy that the
venerable University of Massachusetts has reared.
Emanuel Downing, of the Inner Temple, who had married a sister of Governor
John Winthrop, followed him to New England after a few years, bringing with
the rest of his family, his son George Downing, who became a member of the class
first graduated at the American Cambridge college.
p.431
Three years after the completion of his studies there, he was one of the
"three honest young men (as they were considered) good scholars and very
hopeful,' who 'went in a ship to the West Indies, to instruct the seamen."
In three of the Island, Downing "gave such content, as he had large offers
made to stay with them. But he continued in the ship to England, and, being
a very able scholar, and of ready wit and fluent utterance, he was soon taken
notice of and called to be a preacher in Sir Thomas Fairfax his army to Colonel
Okey, his regiment. He was at the battle of Worcester, of which he wrote an
account to Parliament; and in the following year was Scout Master General to
the army in Scotland. The Protector, Oliver Cromwell, employed him in
negotiation with the Duke of Savoy; and he sat in Cromwell's last Parliament
and was sent by him as Ambassador to the Low Countries.
End.
The Execution of King Charles I.
Source: Cromwell The Lord Protector by Antonia Fraser
Knopf, 1973. (with her permission)
"Proceeding against the King capitally"
Jan 1, 1649 Ordinance passed setting up trial.
Heading the committees were Henry Ireton (to advise
council) and Edmund Ludlowe (prepare for his defense)
Jan 6, 1649 "Charges Act"
Jan 15, 1649 Agreement on High Court (Commons and Lords)
Jan 20, 1649 Court Opens
John Bradshaw who was the Chief Justice of Cheshire, England,
appointed President of the Judges for the trial of King
Charles I (p.279)
Jan 22, 1649 2nd Hearing.
Jan 24, 1649 Hearing barring public.
Jan 25, 1649 Public hearing announces that the King shall
be put to death by beheading.
Jan 26th, 1649 There were 62 signed Judges for the
Warrant for the death, however, Fairfax, Vane and Steele
did not appear at any session.Actually only 59 did sign.
John Cook read the charges. The charge, in part read:
"tyrant, traitor, murderer and a public and implacable enemy
of the Commonwealth of England".
When the signers asked (privately)
what should be said when the King asked by what authority
was this trial, Henry Marten coined: "In the name of the
Commmons and Parliament assembled and all the good People
of England."
Just before the trial King Charles was brought to the
home of his father's friend Sir Robert Cotton, near West-
minster Palace and St Stephens Court. By Jan 27th he had
been moved to St. James Palace.
Jan 27, 1649 King is sentenced for execution. He was refused
his request to address the Court. The original date of Jan 27th
for the execution that was on the Death Warrant was altered to
Jan 30th. It is assumed that rather than make a new Warrant
wherein some might not sign it again, the original (still
extant) was poorly and hastily erased as to date. Note: the
original document was signed with each signer's thumbprint
next to each name.
On Tuesday, Jan 30, 1649 at 2 p.m. King Charles I - was walked
from St. James Palace to his place of death at Whitehall. He
had had red wine and bread for strength just prior to the walk.
He was accompanied by his Chaplain, Bishop Juxon. There were
two masked executioners. The one who actually executed the
king was named Brandon it was later found. Colonel Hacker and
Colonel Tomlinson supervised the execution. The King addressed
the crowd. The death occured within a minute of the first
axe.
The signers were:
"To Colonell Ffrancis Hacker, Colonell Huncks and Lieutenant Colonell
Phayre and to every of them -
Jo. Bradshawe
Ri.Deane
Tho.Horton
Tho. Grey
Robert Tichborne
J. Jones
Oliver Cromwell
H. Edwardes
John Moore
Edw. Whalley
Daniel Blagraue
Gilbert Millington
M. Liuesey Owen
Rowe G. Fleetwood
John Okey
William Purefoy
J. Alured
J. Dauers
Ad. Scrope
Robt. Lilburne
Jo. Bourchier
James Temple
William Say
H. Ireton
A. Garland
Anth. Stapley
Tho. Mauleuerer
Edm. Ludlowe
Greg. Norton
Har. Waller
Henry Marten
Tho. Challoner
John Blakiston
Vinct. Potter
Tho. Wogan
J. Hutchinson
Wm. Constable
John Venn
William Goff
Rich. Ingoldesby
Gregory Clement
Tho. Pride
WilliamCawley
Jo. Downes
Pe. Temple
Jo. Barkestead
Tho. Wayte
T. Harrison
Isaa. Ewer
Thomas Scot
J. Hewson
John Dixwell
Jo. Carew
Hen. Smyth
Valentine Wanton
Miles Corbet
Per. Pelham
Symon Mayne
p.314 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
The King, again using his own eyes, remarked "I see that all my birds
have flown". He then renewed his demand, saying that if the men he
had named were not surrendered to him upon their return, he would be
obliged to take his own course to find them. As the King left the
House, shouts of "Privilege! Privilege!" followed him.
Echoes of this Parliamentary struggle soon reached every part of
the Kingdom, and the lines of the two great parties contending
for the mastery, were now still more closely drawn. The affairs
of the nation weighed heavily on all hearts, and Gorges, unable to
throw himself into the conflict on account of advancing years,
sought relief by directing his thoughts toward his Province of
Maine. Reference has already been made to a grant of land on the
"west most side" of the Agamenticus river made December 2, 1631,
by the Council for New England to Ferdinando Gorges, Sir Ferdin-
ando's grandson and heir; and also to a grant on the east side of
the river made at the same time to Lieut. Colonel Francis Norton
and others.1 In his Briefe Narration, Gorges, referring to these
grants, says his grandson, Ferdinando and some of his associates
hastened to take possession of their territories, carrying with
them their families and necessary provisions; "and I sent over for
my grandson, my nephew, Captain William Gorges, who had been my
lieutenant in the fort at Plymouth, with some other craftsmen, for
the building of houses and erecting of saw mills; and by other
shipping from Bristol, some cattle with other servants, by which
the foundation of the plantation was laid, and I was the more hope-
ful of the happy success thereof, for that I had not far from that
place Richard Vines, a gentleman and servant of my own, who was
settled there some years before."2
Gorges' statement is a general one covering a number of years.
Captain William Gorges came hither as Governor of New Somersetshire
probably in the spring of 1636 and therefore several years after the
Agamenticus grant was made. It at any time during his
Footnotes. 1. Farnham Papers, I, 159-161. Baxter, Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, II, 57. 2. Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, II, 58.
p.315 AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
governorship he made his residence at Agamenticus, there is no
record of the fact. He established his government at Saco, and
apparently he resided there during the short time he remained in
the province. But Sir Ferdinando had not lost sight of his name-
sake's grant. As early as 1630, Edward Godrey was living at Aga-
menticus. It is possible that Godfrey went there in accordance
with an arrangement made with Gorges before he left England.
At all events, his first appearance in this country was as the
"lawful attorney" of the Council for New England, in trans-
ferring to Gorges and Mason the grant made to them November 17,
1629, and known as the Laconia patent. Godfrey served the
grantees for a short time at Piscataqua in connection with their
fishing interests, but with broader aims in view, he soon took
up his residence at Agamenticus, "being the first that ever built
or settled there".1
Another indication of Sir Ferdinando's acquaintance with Godfrey,
and of the favorable opinion he held concerning him, is found in
the fact that when, in 1634, Gorges and Mason made a division of
the lands they had received from the Council for New England, in
1622, Godfrey acted as one of the referees. Also, when Sir Ferdin-
ando organized the government of his province in 1636, with William
Gorges at its head, Edward Godfrey of Agamenticus received an appoint-
ment as a member of the Court of Commissioners, and took his seat with
his associates at the opening of the court March 21, 1636, in the
house of Richard Bonython of Saco. In a letter to John Winthrop
under date of January 25, 1640, Richard Vines wrote: "Three or four
years since, Mr. Cleeve, being in England, procured a writ out of
the Star Chamber office to command Mr. Edward Godfrey, Mr. John
Winter, Mr. Purchase and myself to appear at the Council table to
answer some supposed wrongs". It is known that Godfrey proceeded
to England in answer to the summons, and made a successful defence
against the charges Cleeve had preferred. Probably this was in the
year 1637. Godfrey remained in England, it is supposed, a
Footnote. 1. Maine Historical Society's Coll., First Series, IX, 344.
p.316 THE BEGINNING OF COLONIAL MAINE.
year or more.1 A part of his time, he says, was employed in an en-
deavor "to provide a patent from the Council for New England for him-
self and partners, the south side to Ferdinando Gorges and only the
north side to himself and divers others, his associates".2 This was
the tract of land granted by the great council December 2, 1631, to
Ferdinando Gorges (grandson and heir of Sir Ferdinando), Walter
Norton and others. Vines, in his statement with reference to the
matter, says that he was obliged to take this course with reference
to the patent "by oppression of Sir Ferdinando Gorges.3 What is
meant by the word "oppression" is not indicated.
It may be that the right to that part of the tract of land granted
to Norton and others had lapsed, partly because of failure to fulfil
prescribed conditions with reference to settlement which became the
occasion of disagreements with Gorges, or partly because of claims
against those who had settled upon these lands and were not legally
in possession of them. As there was a renewal of the grant to Ed-
ward Godfrey and others March 22, 1649,4 the matter seems to have
been adjusted amicably, and if there had been differences between
Godfrey and Gorges previous to this visit, they were now forever
settled. From that time on, Gorges in various ways manifested high
regard for Godfrey and gave him appointments to positions of honor
and influence.
While Godfrey was in England at this time, he performed a service
that could not have been otherwise than helpful to the colony of
Massachusetts Bay. This service was in connection with Quo Warr-
anto proceedings brought in England against the Bay colony by
Sir John Banks, as attorney general, the charge being that the
colony, without any warrant or Royal Grant, had usurped certain
"liberties, privileges and franchises".5 During these proceedings,
when the agents and friends of the Puritan colony were "called
Footnotes. 1. Maine Historical Society's Coll., First Series, IX,
310. 2. Ib., IX, 344. 3. IX, 344. 4. Farnham Papers, I, 159.
5. Hazard, Historical Collections, I, 423, 424.
p.317 AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
THE DEMAND FOR THE SURRENDER OF THE MASSACHUSETTS CHARTER.
on to confront a peremptory demand from the Lords Commissioners
in England for the surrender of the Massachusetts Charter, coupled
with the threat of sending over a new governor general from England",
and these agents and friends of the colony "stood mute",1 Godfrey,
who was present, rose and made an effective plea in their behalf.
Apparently this service was not estimated by the Massachusetts col-
onists at its real value. At least, John Winthrop and his associates
preferred to attribute their deliverance in such a crisis to the fact
that "it pleased God so to order in his good Providence".2
An important result of Godfrey's interviews with Sir Ferdinando
Gorges at this time is discoverable in the latter's thoughts and
plans with reference to his Province of Maine. First of all,
Gorges turned his attention to measures for securing "the better
government and welfare of the inhabitants" of his province, a need
which doubtless Godfrey had not failed to impress upon him.
But especially at this time were Gorges' thoughts and plans di-
rected toward Agamenticus. In all probability it was not with-
out his suggestion, inspired by Godfrey, that Thomas Gorges, in
coming hither and taking up his duties as deputy governor, de-
cided to make his residence there. Agamenticus as yet was a
small community, and the character of its inhabitants, as in-
dicated in Court records, was not of the best; but by making
Agamenticus the seat of the provincial government, and with ade-
quate provisions for securing a firm and just administration of
law, better conditions, it was believed, would inevitably follow
with the result that Agamenticus would soon develop into a large
and prosperous community.
In thus making Agamenticus the center of his thoughts in his
colonial undertakings, Sir Ferdinando first of all sought to
confer distinction upon the place by elevating it into a borough.
This was done by a Charter3 signed and sealed April 10, 1641.
With
Footnotes. 1. Gardiner, New England's Vindication, 5. Hazard,
Historical Collections, I, 564. 2. Winthrop, I, 161. 3. Hazard,
I, 470-474.
p.318 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
characteristic regard for his official relation to the "humble
suitors" who had asked for the incorporation of Agamenticus,
Gorges, in the Charter, referred to himself not only as "Lord
of the Province of Maine", but as "Lord of the Province of Maine
within the territories of New England", calling attention in this
way to that wider field over which the King had made him govern-
or general, and toward which his colonial dreams at this time
seem very frequently to have attracted his thoughts.
The Charter, in its unfoldings, conferred upon "his Majesty's
liege people" at Agamenticus the right to exercise civil govern-
ment among themselves, freed from the jurisdiction and authority
of any other officer or officers whatsoever, unless called upon
as assistants in repelling armed invasiion or in suppressing re-
bellion against the due course of justice. In the Charter, provi-
sion was made for the election of a mayor, eight aldermen and a
recorder by the voices of the burgesses; but in order to assist
in the organization of the new government, Gorges proceeded to
nominate in the Charter, as the first Mayor of the borough, his
"well-beloved cousin", Thomas Gorges, the deputy governor of the
province.
As the first eight aldermen, he nominated Edward Godfrey, Roger
Garde, George Puddington, Bartholomew Barnett, Edward Johnson,
Arthur Bragington, Henry Simson and John Rogers. Edward Godfrey
was also nominated as Justice of the Peace for the first year and
Roger Garde as the first recorder.
The Mayor and Aldermen were authorized by the Charter to make
such laws, orders and ordinances as were "accustomed to be made
in towns corporate in England", and they were to execute the same
for the benefit of the inhabitants of the borough and the peaceable
ordering of the business of the corporation. They had power, also,
to make as many free burgesses as they should "think fit", and also
to disfranchise any for just and reasonable cause. Provision, also,
was made for "one town hall", which should also serve for Court uses
in hearing and determining civil cases. There were to be court sess-
ions also for the "dispatch of criminal causes" by indictment and
trial before jurors, provided,
p.319 AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
however, that no proceeding in such causes should be contrary to the
laws of England, nor for offences committed outside of the limits of
the borough.
however, that no proceedings in such causes should be contrary to the
laws of England, nor for offences committed outside of the limits of
the borough.
To the mayor was given authority to muster men and levy arms for the
defence of the borough, in case of hostile invasion, and to appoint
and commission such officers as should be found necessary; also to
erect fortifications and provide armaments for the same.
In granting to Agamenticus such extraordinary powers and privileges,
it was evidently the design of Gorges to give the place a prominence
that would attract to it additional settlers, and at the same time,
make it a fitting location for the residence of the deputy governor
of the province. For awhile the scheme thus outlined occupied Sir
Ferdinando's thoughts and gave him pleasing occupation; but other
dreams followed and the scheme was enlarged to such an extent that
March 1, 1641, only on year later, Gorges gave to Agamenticus a 2nd
and more elaborate charter,1 transforming the borough into a city,
and bestowing upon it the designation, Gorgeana. Flattering him-
self with the assertion that he had settled the Province of Maine
in a helpful way of government, Sir Ferdinando now announced his
purpose by all good means, to further and advance the same; and he
increased the borough limits, extending them "from the beginning
of the entrance in, of the river commonly called and known by the
name of Agamenticus and so up the said river seven English miles
and all along the east, and northeast side of the seashore three
English miles in breadth from the entrance of the said river and
up into the main land seven miles, butting with the seven miles
from the seaside up the said river the breadth of three miles
opposite thereunto".
It was a grand scheme and the territorial boundaries of Agamenti-
cus required such ample expansion as the second charter outlined.
But with the enlargement of the territory of Agamenticus, there
was a corresponding enlargement of the governing body
Footnote. 1. Hazard, Historical Collections, I, 480-486.
p.320 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
which was now made to consist of a mayor, twelve aldermen and
twenty-four councilmen. The first mayor of Georgeana, and also
the aldermen were to be appointed by the deputy governor of the
province, while the councilmen were to be elected by the free-
holders. Courts were to be instituted, one to be held twice a
year in the interest of the public weal, and for the punish-
ment of all offenders; also a Court of Justice to be held on
Monday of every week for hearing and determining "all actions
and differences", the proceedings to be "as near as may be to
the course of his Majesty's Court of Chancery at Westminster,
England, wherein the mayor for the time being was to sit as
Judge, with the Recorder and aldermen, or so many of the said
aldermen as shall be there". The right of appeal from any decree
of this Court to Sir Ferdinando, or his deputy, was granted. Pro-
vision also was made for two or four sergeants, known as serg-
eants of the white rod, who should serve and return all precepts
issuing out of this court. They were to be appointed by the Mayor
and the Aldermen, and were also to wait on the Mayor. A market,
also, was established to be held on Wednesday of each week; also
two fairs annually "upon the feast days of St. James and St. Paul,
the benefit of the toll, and other customs incident and belonging
to fairs and markets", to redown "to the use and advantage" of
the mayor of Gorgeana. In a word, Gorgeana, as a municipality,
received "such and so many privileges, liberties and freedoms as
the city of Bristol", of which Thomas Gorges was a resident.
When, in 1642, Sir Ferdinando Gorges drew up this charter of
Georgeana, he was living, it is said, at Bristol in the Great House
at St. Augustine's Back, so long known, at a later date, as Col-
ston's School. He had married September 28, 1629, as his fourth
wife, Lady Elizabeth Smyth, a daughter of Sir Thomas Gorges, and
widow of Sir Hugh Smyth of Ashton Court, near Bristol.1 The Great
House was the property of his wife, as also was the Ashton Phillips
residence in which Gorges is said to have died. At this time Sir
Ferdinando, by several years, had passed the limit
Footnote. 1. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, II, 167.
p.321 AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
of threescore years and ten. He was too old for the duties of camp
and field, but he was not too old to busy himself with his poss-
essions on this side of the sea. Accordingly, as Gorges mused and
the fire burned, he saw a new empire springing up on the shores of
New England, and stretching westward over an unexplored continent.
Imagination was enkindled. Even if Gorges should not cross the sea
and assume the governorship of New England, he could still be in-
fluential through others; and thoughts of Gorgeana filled him with
new and brighter hopes. Again the aged knight was young and he saw
visions, he was old and he dreamed dreams.
In the Charter of 1641, Thomas Gorges, the deputy governor of the
province, was nominated by Sir Ferdinando, as the first mayor of
Agamenticus, then elevated into a borough. In the Charter of 1642,
Thomas Gorges was not mentioned, and it is supposed that Edward
Godfrey was made the first Mayor of Gorgeana.1 In all probabil-
ity, Thomas Gorges was already in sympathy with Parliament in its
contentions with the King; and when, in the summer of 1642, King
Charles set up his standards at Nottingham, and summoned his loyal
subjects to come to his aid against rebellious Parliament, Thomas
Gorges with others could hardly have failed to raise the question
of personal duty and to give it thoughtful consideration.
When his decisiion was made, cannot now be ascertained, but it was
in favor of a return to England; and he commenced to arrange the
affairs of the province with reference to that end. The precise
date of his retirement from the deputy governorship is not known.
In a letter to Governor John Winthrop, dated June 28, 1643, how-
ever, he announced his purpose soon to sail for England; and in
all probability, his arrival in England followed in the autumn
of that year. How he was received by Sir Ferdinando can only be
conjectured in the absence of any known record. Interviews the
two, doubtless had. Gorges naturally desired to have a full re-
port of the conditions of things in the
Footnote. 1. Maine Historical Society's Collections, First Series,
IX, 314.
p.322. THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
SIR FERDINANDO'S LOYALTY TO KING CHARES.
CLOUDS AND THICK DARKNESS.
Province of Maine, and such a report the Deputy Governor would ex-
pect to make. Thenceforward, each went his own way, Sir Ferdinando
still adhering to the fortunes of the King. No opportunity, in
which it was possible for him to manifest his loyalty to King
Charles, was overlooked. At one time he sought permission from
the Mayor of Bristol, England, to bring within the city's de-
fences a body of cavalry, under Lord Paulet, and designed to serve
the King, but the Mayor declined to gratify Gorges, on the ground
that that part of England had declared for Parliament and not for
the King. At another time he manifested his devotion to the inter-
ests of King Charles in such a way that he was summoned before Parlia-
ment to answer for his conduct.1 On account of his age, probably, he
was not made to experience "the sadness of the times" as were Tre-
lawny and others, and he was allowed to return to his home, probably
accompanied with admonitions that he deemed it wise to heed. It was
not sunshine with Sir Ferdinando, but clouds and thick darkness.
Not much has come down to us concerning the life of Thomas Gorges
after his return to England.2 While his sympathies were with the
Parliamentary forces, he seems not to have held any conspicuous
position, either civil or military, until 1649, when he was made
Lieutenant Colonel of a cavalry regiment in the Somerset militia.
Both before and after the Restoration, he was made a member of
Parliament from Taunton, England. He lived an honored and use-
ful life at Heavitree, near Exeter, England, where he died Oct.
17, 1670 and a monumental stone in Heavitree Church marks the
place of his burial.3 In his Will4 he bequeathed to his son,
Thomas
Footnotes. 1. Barrett, History of Bristol, England, 414. 2. For
more prominent facts of his life, see Baxter's Sir Ferdinando
Gorges, II, 186-190. His Epitaph. 3. "Here lyeth the bodye
of Thomas Gorges of Hevitree, Esquire, and Rose, his wife. He
departed this life the 17th of October, 1670 and she the 14th of
April, 1671." Ferdinando, a son of Thomas Gorges, died at York,
Maine, in February, 1683, "having come to New England as early as
1674, perhaps in the interest of his kinsman, Ferdinando, the
grandson of Sir Ferdinando, and a proprietor of the Province of
Maine". Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, II, 189.
p.323 AGAMENTICUS BECOMES GORGEANA.
Gorges, five thousand acres of land at "Ogungigg" (Ogunquit), "of
which five thousand acres", with cattle thereon, the father took
posession on August 18, 1642, the territory having been granted
unto him by Deed bearing date August 4, 1641.
Amid many discouragements, Godfrey, Garde and others upheld for
awhile, the interests of Sir Ferdinando at Gorgeana. But no assist-
ance came to them from England. In the battles of Marston Moor,
July 2, 1644, and Naseby, June 14, 1645, the Parliamentary forces
were victorious. At Naseby especially, King Charles I suffered
overwhelming defeat. Indeed, so decisive in that action, was the
result, that the King was unable at any later period to rally his
forces upon any other great battlefield of the English Civil War.
RAGLON CASTLE.
A few months later the counties were cleared of Royal troops and
their garrisons capitulated. Raglon Castle held out the longest
against the Parliamentary troops, but surrendered in August, 1646.
Meanwhile, "in these sad seasons", Sir Ferdinando Gorges found em-
ployment1 in writing his Briefe Narration, in which he reviewed his
long connection with colonial enterprises. It is the work of an old
man, and furnishes abundant evidence of the writer's failing mental
powers and his enfeebled condition by reason of his advanced age;
but, notwithstanding, it is a record of great value with reference
to colonial beginnings upon the coast of Maine.
Having finished this task, Gorges rested from his labors, and
patiently awaited the final call. It came in the springtime of
1647. His Will2 was dated May 4, 1647 and his burial in the par-
ish church at Long Ashton followed ten days later. In the last
words of the Briefe Narration, Gorges gave fitting expression to
his most serious thoughts as he approached the close of his life:
"I end and leave all to Him, who is the only author of all good-
ness and knows best his own time to bring His Will to
Footnote. 4. The Will is inserted in full in Baxter's Sir Ferdin-
ando Gorges, II, 190-192. See also, York Deeds, Book I, Part II,
folios 5, 6, 7. 1. The words occur in a letter written by Gorges
at Ashton, June 1, 1646. See Baxter, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, III,
299. 2. Ib., II, 149, 150.
p.324 THE BEGINNINGS OF COLONIAL MAINE.
be made manifest, and appoints his instruments for the accomplish-
ing thereof, to whose pleasure it become every one of us to submit
ourselves, as to that mighty God, and great and gracious Lord, to
whom all glory doth belong."1
1. Sir Ferdinando Gorges, II, 81. It may be asked why it was that
one who stood in high favor with two of England's Kings, and in
close official relations with men of prominence and influence, re-
ceived only scanty notice in contemporary history. The explanation is
doubtless to be found in the fact in the great movements of his time,
Gorges was on the unpopular side. In the fight for free fishing, he
was clearly in the wrong, and while in the Civil War of England, this
was equally true, he was too old to have any important part in it.
Equally, was he on the losing side in his new world enterprises. It
was the Puritan Colony of Massachusetts Bay and not the Province of
Maine, that was aided by the time spirit. |
