Maine Genealogy
Source: Francis Byron Greene, History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, 1623-1905 (Portland Me.: Loring, Short & Harmon, 1906).
[p. 378]Casualties.1624. The earliest loss of life by accident or disaster in this locality, of which record is found, was the wreck of a fishing vessel from Plymouth Colony at Damariscove. The captain and one man were lost; the vessel was raised by the use of casks, floated and repaired.
1739. The first murder in town (except such as may have occurred by Indians) was that of the killing of David Bryant by Edmond Brown in August. They were both settlers under Dunbar. Brown married Bryant's daughter. Bryant took up the land on the easterly slope of Pisgah, erecting his house about halfway from the top to the outlet of Echo Lake, north of the present road, nearly opposite to the house of Merritt Grover. Brown took up and built upon the land just east of the outlet and the old road leading toward the Leishman place. He kept the place as an inn. Being a blacksmith by trade he exchanged places with Bryant and after exchanging built a shop near his house. It is evident that liquor was kept at the inn and the supply was obtained from Pemaquid. Together they went there the day before the tragedy and brought home a quantity. The day of the murder Brown went down to Bryant's to get a firebrand to start a fire in his forge. As the story has come down, they were both under the influence of liquor and a quarrel commenced over some real or fancied grievance of one or the other in relation to the exchange of property then recently made. Brown struck Bryant with an ax, splitting his head open. The murder occurred in the main room of the house. Bryant was buried on what became the Allen Lewis place, near the Albion Foster house. Brown made no attempt to escape. The officers to the westward were sent for and while he, at his home, awaited their coming he sent for John Beath, John McFarland and others of his neighbors to come and see him. When all were arrived he gave them in trust a part of his real estate to be held for the use of the "first settled minister." It was so held and, by depositions recorded in the Lincoln County Registry, founded the title to the land where the first parsonage was built for Mr. Murray. John Beath's deposition tells us that Brown never returned but died in "gaol." It is thought he left a wife and children in Townsend.[p. 379]1764. Robert, Jr., and James Montgomery, sons of Robert and Sarah Montgomery, lost at sea during the year. They left wives, but it is thought no children; their estates were probated in September.
1777. Samuel, son of Robert and Martha Wylie, lost April 2, from the armed brig Tyranniside, homeward bound from the West Indies.
1784. Samuel, Jr., son of Samuel and Sarah Adams, drowned in Adams Pond, aged 17.
1789. Andrew, son of Samuel and Sarah Adams, lost at sea, aged 22.
1798. Capt. William Reed, drowned in early part of year by capsizing of his boat just off McKown's Point, aged 48.
1801. William, son of Samuel and Sarah Adams, lost at sea, aged 32.
1804. February 11, Jotham, son of John Grimes, drowned near Ocean Point.
1810. June 4, Thomas, son of Adam and Martha Boyd, lost at sea, aged 18.
1811. Samuel, son of Alexander Wylie, killed by lightning June 6, aged 20.—At Damariscotta, June 11, Samuel Smith, of the United States Garrison there, and his wife, who was Sally Adams, of Boothbay, both drowned in the river near the village.
1812-14. Joseph Grover, killed by British; see Chapter XIV.—July 14, 1812, Mary, daughter of Edmund Wilson, drowned in the harbor, aged 18 months.
1814. Late in January or early in February, George Kalloch and Thomas Boyd, killed at Plattsburgh Bay, under Commodore McDonough; see Chapter XIV.—On August 14, Esther, daughter of Michael Campbell, aged 13, drowned at Damariscotta Mills.
1815. Benjamin, son of Nicholas Barter, drowned June 13, aged 16.
1816. May, John, son of Major John McKown, drowned, aged 11.
1820. May 22, John, son of Samuel and Sarah McCobb, lost at sea, aged 20.—August 23, Amos, son of Joseph and Susanna Carlisle, lost at sea, aged 28.
1821. John, aged 26, and William, aged 23, son of Nicholas T. Knight, lost at sea.—July 7, Thomas L. Nelson, drowned.—October 15, Samuel Loomis, drowned.[p. 380]1823. March 27, John Horn, drowned.
1825. February 12, Paul, son of Robert Reed, 3d, lost at sea, aged 22.
1829. October, Jonathan Preble, aged 31, lost at sea.
1830. Alfred, son of Nicholas T. and Rachel Knight, lost at sea, aged 30.
1831. January, David, son of Robert Wylie, 4th, lost at sea, aged 22.—February 25, Benjamin P., son of David and Sarah Reed, drowned, aged 17.
1833. August 12, in Bay St. Lawrence, the fishing schooner Rising States, fitted and owned by Smith Brothers, West Harbor, was lost with all on board. They were: Patrick, son of William McKown, aged 27, who married Elizabeth Wylie the previous year; Jacob, son of Paul Reed, 2d, aged 11; Isaiah, son of John M. Reed, aged 15; Joseph McCobb (perhaps the son of James and Sarah); Lovell Hodgdon, who left a widow and three children; John, son of Major John McKown, aged 18.
1836. Sewall, son of Benjamin Wheeler, aged 25, lost at sea.—Andrew, aged 25, son of Jonathan Hutchings, lost at sea.—July 21, William, son of Alexander Wylie, thought to have been unmarried, aged 52, together with Joseph A., son of Samuel and Betsey Davis, drowned near home.
1838. January 15, Warren, son of John Swett, aged 25, together with Phineas Kimball and another by name of Caswell, all residents of Boothbay, drowned at the mouth of the Damariscotta by capsizing of the herring schooner Florida.—July 1, John K., son of Isaac and Martha Kelley, drowned aged 19.
1839. Near the last of September the fishing schooner Atlantic disappeared. At the time a severe storm passed over Bay Chaleur, while one of moderate intensity prevailed here. Capt. Merrill, son of John and Sarah Hodgdon, was master; while the crew were: John, son of Nicholas T. and Sarah Knight; Jonathan, son of Capt. John Reed, of Indiantown; James, Jr., son of James Adams; Ephraim, son of William Durant; Harvey, son of Israel Holton; Samuel M., son of Joseph and Frances Thompson, and Nathan H. Nason. A strange instance is related by Mrs. Rosanna Campbell, a daughter of William Durant, who, as a child, distinctly remembers the incident. Breakfast was about ready at the Durant home when their neighbor, Nicholas T. Knight, called in. Tears were trickling down his face and he was nearly overcome with emotion. His first words were: "William, we have lost our[p. 381]boys; they went down in last night's storm. I am sure of it. I saw it in a dream as plain as I could have seen it in reality." The storm here had been so slight that no one anticipated any danger to the fleet in Chaleur. But it was generally supposed after their disappearance that this storm, which was learned to have been severe to the eastward, was the fatal one. Nearly twenty years after, while John M., brother to Capt. Merrill Hodgdon, was on a fishing trip and while at Wolf Head, one of the North Madeleine Islands, he became acquainted with a resident, who told him of a wreck, twenty years before, which occurred there. He mentioned the names of some of the crew and Capt. John at once recognized them as his long-lost relatives and friends. They had gone ashore on the suspected night, beneath an overhanging cliff with two treacherous arms, one on either side. One hundred feet either way would have saved them. When this party saw the wreck, the day following its occurrence, no vestige of the crew, except a few articles of clothing, was to be seen, and a number of French and Indian natives were taking out the fish still remaining in the hull of the wreck.
1840. November 30. Charles H., aged 18, and John, aged 15, sons of Henry and Mary Gray, lost at sea.—December, John, son of John and Susan Gove, lost at sea, aged 22.—Thomas Williams lost at sea within the year.
1841. October 4, Joel T., son of Jeremiah, Jr., and Sarah S. Beath, aged 30, lost at sea. His widow, Mary Sales, daughter of James Adams, afterward married Augustus Whittaker.—October, William Preble, lost at sea.—October, Richard, son of Samuel, Jr., and Mary Adams, lost at sea, aged 49, leaving a widow, who was Elizabeth Grover, and nine children.
1842. April 19, John, son of Paul and Jane McCobb, washed overboard and drowned.—October 4, William Clark, living north of Adams Pond, lost at sea, aged 57, leaving widow and children.—November 8, Thomas M., son of David and Sarah Reed, aged 19, and Reuben P., son of John and Mary Alley, aged 13, lost at sea.—November 14, Benjamin, son of William and Mercy Carlisle, aged 24, drowned at Maryland.
1844. July 7, Samuel Barter, 2d, lost at sea.—October, Benjamin P., son of David and Sintha Adams, aged 21.—December 11, Willard, son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Montgomery, lost at sea, aged 24.—December, Artemas, aged 35, and Ichabod, aged 32, sons of John and Lydia Tibbetts. Artemas left a widow and eight children; two sons among the number were lost at sea seven years later.—In that year Joseph,[p. 382]son of James Campbell, aged 24, was drowned on the coast of Sumatra, and John Q. A., son of William and Peggy Kennedy, was drowned in the harbor, off Spruce Point.
1845. Martin V., son of David and Sarah Lewis, lost at sea, aged 11.
1846. July 10, Elihu Bryer, Jr., drowned near the shore at Carlisle's Point, aged 46.—November 23, Amos, son of Henry and Miriam Reed, lost at sea, aged 22.
1848. March 31, Rufus Sargent, lost at sea, aged 12.—July 2, John Tibbetts, Linekin, aged 73, thrown from a carriage on way to attend court at Wiscasset and neck broken.—July 4, Marston, son of John and Sarah Hodgdon, aged 22; Samuel M., son of Joseph and Frances Thompson, aged 24; and John Harrington, washed overboard by a heavy sea, from a fishing schooner, near Cape North.—November 19, Marshall S., son of Matthew and Sally Reed, lost off Hatteras.
1849. March 26. Capt. Abraham Mussenden, a creole from the West Indies, settled in Boothbay about 1845. He was a thrifty person and owned half of the schooner Pearl. On Friday, March 25, he and his crew, consisting of Thomas, son of Jonathan and Mary Hutchings; George, aged 25, and William F., aged 15, sons of William and Mary McCobb; Rufus, son of Samuel and Polly Brewer, aged 13; William F. Brewer, brother to Rufus, and James Adams, a passenger, sailed to Portland to fit for a trip to the Western Banks. Early Saturday evening they started home. When off Seguin they encountered ice cakes from the mouth of the Kennebec, driven before a stiff northwest breeze. Some they avoided, but at least struck one which broke in the wood ends, though at first they were not aware of the extent of the damage. They started the pumps and as the water was making upon them rapidly others commenced to bail with tubs. Some wanted to beach the schooner on Popham, which might have been done, but the captain would not listen to the plan, as it would have been certain loss of vessel and cargo. They soon saw they must abandon her, however, and launched a skiff. All got into it, but when the last one did it began to take water, so all but William F. Brewer and Adams went back aboard the schooner. The two had just pushed clear when the schooner went down with all the rest. There were no rowlocks on the skiff, but Adams cut two holes through the laps, put in a becket and rowed to keep head to the sea. They hoped to make Damariscove, but were twelve miles to leeward when morning broke. the wind blew a gale from the northwest and they were continually in danger of filling, but before noon were picked up by schooner[p. 383]Metallic, Lubec for Boston, landed at the latter place and Tuesday, following, reached home.—During the year Thomas, son of John and Abigail Roberts, was lost at sea.
184_. During the forties Nathaniel Knight, born 1808, was drowned at Eastport; left a family. Also Samuel, Jr., son of Samuel and Elizabeth Giles, who settled on the Mississippi, was lost on a West India voyage; he also left a family.
1850. Jackson, son of Capt. John Reed, Indiantown, lost at sea.—September 26, Edward H., son of Thomas and Emma Pinkham, lost at sea, aged 16.
1851. For fatalities to our town that year has eclipsed all others, and its disasters were severely felt by Gloucester and all other towns engaged in a similar business. February 10, James, son of Jason and Jane Fuller, lost at sea, aged 18.—April, the fishing schooner Grampus, owned by E. & E. Holbrook, lost with all on board. They were Capt. William, son of Ezekiel Holbrook, aged 27; Augustus, son of James Auld, aged 48, and his son, Elup Faxon, aged 17; William G., aged 22, and Ambrose C., aged 19, sons of Ansel and Mina Farnham. The storm in which they were supposed to have been lost occurred a few days after they started for the Banks.—Also in April, and probably in the same storm, was the loss of the Forrester, with all on board, owned by Capt. Allen Lewis. The lost were: Parker Wylie, master, aged 31; Alvin Sargent; Thomas B., son of William and Catherine Farmer, aged 28; William F., son of John, 2d, and Eunice Lewis, aged 27; James O., son of James and Abigail Linekin, aged 18; John Lyon; Daniel, aged 13, and John, aged 17, sons of Artemas and Sarah Tibbetts.—In October, at Prince Edward's Island, the C. G. Matthews with all on board, numbering thirteen, all Boothbay residents: James, son of John Love, aged 26; John Ellenwood, son of John Lewis, 2d, aged 29; Charles A., son of Alfred Hodgdon, aged 20; Marshall, son of Allen Lewis, aged 19; Albion L., son of Andrew Farmer, aged 16; Charles E., son of Luther Weld, aged 22; James R., son of John Weymouth, aged 21; Henry, son of Arber Marson, aged 21; Andrew Farmer; Edward, son of Alfred Matthews, aged 21; James, son of Jason Fuller, aged 18; Charles, son of Richard Adams, aged 26; Capt. Joseph P. Harris, master, aged 33. The Matthews was owned and fitted by Paul and Joseph P. Harris. Captain Harris left a widow and three children. This crew, for the most part, had engaged to go that year in the C. G. Reed, but she capsized at the "rolling" when launched, which frightened them from shipping in her and they went in the Matthews instead. The Reed was afterward fitted and was[p. 384]in the vicinity of the Matthews through the same storm, but rode it out safely. A monument to this captain and crew was erected, properly inscribed, in the Wylie cemetery, by Samuel Donnell.—June 2, Samuel, Jr., son of Samuel and Lydia Sawyer, lost at sea, aged 23.—In the summer, the schooner Stephen C. Phillips, Freeman Orne, master, was lost on the way home from the banks, but no loss of life.—In October, schooner Burnham, owned by John Cameron, his son Daniel, master, lost in Bay Chaleur, crew saved.
1852. July 27, Stephen ,son of Jeremiah and Ellice Blake, lost at sea, aged 24.—August 5, Michael C. Webber, aged 21, lost at sea.—October, Charles Adams, lost at sea.—November, Harry Barter, his son and William Beaton, Westport, were capsized and drowned between Hockomock and Westport Upper Landing. The accident was seen by Timothy Hodgdon, who was in the locality. He made rapidly for them and picked up Barter and Beaton, dead, but still afloat, bent over an oar. The body of the boy was not recovered.
1853. March 7, William Lewis, lost at sea.—December 24, Robert Osborne, lost at sea from brig Rainbow.—December 29, Stillman B. Matthews, aged 29, and his wife, Arabella, aged 27, drowned at Wellfleet Bar, Mass., in the great gale that then occurred.
1854. January 12, Alexander, son of John and Nancy Linekin, lost at sea, aged 28.—July, Daniel Rose, lost at sea, leaving widow and two children.
1855. April 14, Stephen Webster, lost at sea, aged 48; left widow and children.—George M., son of Joseph C. Auld, lost at sea, aged 14.
1856. March 14, Merrill, son of Nathan and Hannah Day, killed by accidental discharge of gun, aged 16.—December, Allen, aged 36, and Granville, aged 24, sons of Tyler and Jerusha Hodgdon, lost at sea.—December, Samuel Tibbetts, lost at sea.
1857. September 15, the schooner W. F. Tarbox, Capt. Ebenezer Lundy, was lost in Bay St. Lawrence with all on board. Captain Lundy was 31, left family; Paul, aged 28, and Charles C., aged 18, sons of Franklin and Elizabeth C. Jones, Southport; Joseph Preble and ______ Westman, both of Cape Newagen. They were thought to have been run down and sunk as there had been no storm; vessel owned by Samuel Pierce.
1858. March 22, Westbrook P., son of William and Olive Hodgdon, lost at sea, aged 21.—May 31, William H., son of[p. 385]Willard and Mary Holton, aged 16, drowned just off McFarland's Point. In company with his brother, W. R., and Charles Emerson they were coming in with a load of mackerel on a punt, which they had gathered at Harbor Island. It foundered from overloading. His companions reached shore in an exhausted condition.—October 1, James D., son of William and Olive Hodgdon, lost at sea, aged 16.
1859. January, John Rackliff, lost at sea.—April 5, Isaac Furbush, drowned near home.—Robert, son of Joseph Maddocks, in schooner E. S. Pendleton, 120 tons, loaded with oats, dressed hogs and geese, left Georgetown, P. E. I., for home in November. No tidings were ever had of them after sailing. His mate was William Brown, Southport. Crew: Simon Bushee, Bath; Stephen Kehail, Westport; Crossman Timmons, Bowdoinham.
1860. During the year Benjamin, son of Waterman McClintock, lost in fishing schooner Foaming Billow, aged 21.—Franklin L., son of James and Hepsibeth Pinkham, fell from aloft in New York Harbor and was killed, aged 20.
1861. July, David L., son of John and Adeline Wylie, lost at sea, aged 19.
1862. February, William, son of John and Elizabeth Weymouth, lost at sea, aged 26; left a widow and children.—March 7, Daniel, Jr., son of Daniel Bennett, bound from Portland to Havana, wrecked by a waterspout, aged 26.—August, Charles Brown, Southport, son of the Brown who was lost with Robert Maddocks, drowned near Green Island by capsizing of boat, aged 22.—December 29, William B. Tibbetts, from wounds received at battle of Fredericksburg.—August, Albert B., son of Samuel McClintock, was killed by the blowing up of a gunboat in the United States Navy, aged 22.
1863. Samuel Miller Reed, lost in a bark built in Calais, of which he was master; was never heard from after sailing.—July 2, George P. Fogler, killed in battle.—July 3, James A. Knight, aged 19, killed at battle of Gettysburg.—July 4, Lieut. Charles S. McCobb, killed at the battle of Gettysburg, aged 26.—October 17, John Hilton, died from starvation at Andersonville.—November 3, Benton, son of David and Sarah Lewis, lost at sea, aged 22.—November, Jason, son of Waterman McClintock, aged 18, lost overboard from schooner American Eagle, fishing for Cyrus McKown.
1864. March 14, on George's, the Gloucester fishing schooner John G. Dennis, with ten men, four of whom were from Southport: Capt. Andrew D. Bartlett, his brother, Joel[p. 386]W. Bartlett, William F. Dunton and Franklin Towle.—May 14, Thomas Z. Tibbetts, killed at the battle of Drury's Bluff.—June 6, Weld, son of Stephen Sargent, died from wounds received in battle.—October 27, Levi Wylie, killed in Battle of Pleasant Hill, aged 21.—Robert, Jr., son of Robert Montgomery, lost at sea, aged 50.
1865. January, John M. Sawyer, lost at sea; left widow and children.—George G., son of Capt. William S. Emerson, lost at sea, aged 20.—October, John Martin, drowned while on a trading trip on the Kennebec. His remains were not found until the following spring.
1867. April 29, John, son of Rufus Tibbetts, lost at sea, aged 21.—May 20, Julius Kinchelow, a native of Virginia, drowned with his boat's crew, engaged in the United States Coast Survey, at Tillemook Bar, Ore. He married Nancy J., daughter of Benjamin Reed. His age was 36.—August 30, Reuben P. Jones, East Boothbay, with his daughters, Laura E., aged 16, and Martha E., aged 14, was drowned just below the Narrows near that village, by capsizing of a sailboat.
1868. March 6, Capt. John Wylie, killed at sea by the falling of the mast; left widow, son and daughter.
1869. January, Randall McLellan, in schooner Forrest Belle, on the Grand Banks, fishing from Gloucester with twelve men. It was her first voyage; all lost. He left a widow and children.—February 26, Hiram Marr, Southport, aged 55, drowned by dory capsizing between Five Islands and his home.—February 28, William Gardner, Southport, fishing from Gloucester in schooner Sophronia.—May, the schooner Nellie Short, on a trip to the Banks, lost with all on board: Samuel, son of James and Rachel McDougall, aged 29; Cyrus B. Hagan, aged 26; Abiah Vanhorn, aged 30; his brother, Roland Vanhorn, aged 33; Albert and Nelson Vanhorn, brothers, and cousins of the preceding.—July 4, Fynette, daughter of William and Martha Greenleaf, aged 15, drowned near home.—July 5, Fred, son of Rufus Caswell, drowned, aged 11.
1870. January 3, William J., son of John Lyon, aged 29; Romanzo F., aged 26, son of Benjamin Orchard, and Jeremiah Quimby, drowned at Small Point. Their schooner went ashore and they took to their dory, which capsized and they were all found on the beach in the morning. Capt. Moses Rowe brought the remains of all three to Boothbay and their funerals were held together at the Baptist Church at the Center.—April, John Bryer, Jr., lost at sea.—During the year Moses Pierce, aged about 50, was drowned at San Francisco.—Albert S. Dyer,[p. 387]Southport, fell from aloft on the Constellation in the harbor of Naples and was instantly killed.
1872. February 18, Lester, son of John M. and Caroline Hodgdon, lost on a voyage from New York to Demarara, with Captain Greenleaf and crew from Wiscasset. The vessel disappeared during a severe storm on that date, all being lost. He left a widow and son, Lester E. Hodgdon.
1875. July 14, Alvah L., son of George L. Hodgdon, lost at sea, aged 17.
1878. July 25, Laura Linscott, aged 16, daughter of Mrs. Willard H. Adams by a former marriage, and Addie, daughter of Stephen E. Welch, aged 16, were drowned in Adams Pond. Together with Albert Spring, Bradford and Celia Reed, all younger than themselves, they took a float and went out to gather pond lilies. An oar was dropped and Miss Welch reaching for it caused the boat to take water; suddenly leaning to the other side it capsized. All but Miss Linscott obtained a hold upon the boat. After being in the water about half an hour they were rescued by George Dunton, Edward Page and Llewellyn Wylie, returning from their work at the Knickerbocker Ice Works. Miss Welch was taken from the water alive but insensible and lived but a short time. Miss Linscott's body was found in about twenty feet of water. The others, though in a state of exhaustion, recovered.—August 18, Frank Decker, Southport, was drowned near Squirrel Island by capsizing his boat in a squall.—On September 27, schooner Annie Freeman, Capt. Charles W. Reed; Harry Apps, mate; D. C. Tibbetts and Frank Scott, all of Boothbay, with J. C. Ewing, Charleston, S. C., and George N. Smith, Wiscass[e]t, from Baracoa to Charleston with fruit, and were never heard from after sailing.—December 21, the St. John schooner Charlie Bell, Capt. William Knox, New York to St. John, went ashore on Thumbcap Ledge. Capt. Knox, David Knox, mate, James Whitten and another sailor drowned. Charles Kimball was washed ashore and sustained himself until the next afternoon, when he was rescued by Capt. Harvey Oliver.
1879. February 1, while returning from their lobster traps near Fisherman's Island, Isaac T. Sargent and Albert Murray were capsized by a squall. Sargent was drowned, aged 31; he left three children. Murray was picked up in an exhausted condition.—April, Frank, son of William and Nancy Giles, lost a Wood's Hole, Mass., from schooner Lawrence Haynes.—June, Arthur, son of Jeremiah and Ellice Blake, lost at sea, aged 55.—August 15, Hattie, wife of Nathaniel Westman,[p. 388]with her brother-in-law, William Field, and his daughter Hattie, drowned above the upper gate on the way to Bath in their boat. They were caught between the wake of two steamers which met at the place.—October, Edward Malony was killed by a piece of rigging falling on him from a stranded vessel.—December, Capt. John Loring, master of the schooner Rhoda B. Taylor, died at Pensacola from exposure on the wreck of his vessel.
1880 January 15, Eben Bennett was drowned and his body washed ashore on Linekin Neck. He had started a few hours before to go to Bristol in a dory.—March 28, Stanford J., son of Robert and Mary Montgomery, lost at sea, aged 27.—August 11, Eunice L., daughter of Morrill and Martha McIntire, drowned near Sawyer's Island, aged 8.—August 14, William Lawton, with his two sons and one other man, was run down just off White Islands by the Rockland schooner, D. H. Ingraham, and all drowned. They were residents of Bristol, but fishing in the chartered schooner Treaty, owned at East Boothbay.—October 16, Benaiah P. Dolloff was injured by being thrown from a wagon. The accident occurred by jumping into the rear end of a wagon, the horse having started, and the seat not being fastened he fell backward, producing a paralysis by the fall, from the effects of which he died December 28. He was 38 years of age and left a widow, two sons and one daughter.
1882. January, at Boston, a son of William P. McCobb was killed on an elevator; interment at Boothbay.—February 21, Benjamin Cunningham, washed overboard from schooner R. S. Hunt, Carthegena to New York.—Capt. Sanford Greenleaf, son of John and Loama, residing at Cape Elizabeth after 1876, drowned on Jeffries, while away from his schooner, Maggie Willard, setting trawls, aged 39.—March 18, Martin Stover was killed while trying to cross the elevator at the Knickerbocker Ice Works. He was caught in the machinery, dragged through a narrow opening, one of the lugs coming across his neck, severing his head from his body; aged 17.
1883. March 11, Capt. Llewellyn Baker, lost at sea, aged 47. He left one daughter, Annie, who married R. G. Dewolfe.—Neal McPhea, residing on Barter's Island, killed by being struck with a hawser on schooner Solitaire. They were being towed into Boston, when running upon flats it caused such a shock to the vessel that the hawser was thrown out of place.—November 9, Almond L., son of Charles H. and Emmeline Lewis, mate of the schooner Annie E. Palmer, was killed at Ward's Island, N. Y., by the explosion of the tug boat James[p. 389]N. Thompson. The schooner was lashed to the starboard side of the tug when the explosion occurred.
1884. On May 24 a double drowning accident occurred in Boothbay Harbor by capsizing a boat. Edwin G., son of Daniel H. and Hattie B. Moody, aged 10 years, 9 months, and Harry A., son of J. O. and Lizzie Farnham, aged 12 years, 9 months, were drowned; Fred, son of Eliphalet Tibbetts, about the same age, being the other occupant, was rescued.—May 30, Emery D. Winchenbaugh was killed in Portland by the falling of a derrick. He had been a merchant in Boothbay and Master of Seaside Lodge.—December 18, George Pierce, Southport, drowned in the cove opposite the Maddocks fish stand. He fell overboard while mooring his vessel.
1885. January 28, Capt. John W. Lewis, lost in the wreck of the schooner Australia.—April 15, Abial, son of Samuel and Clarissa Wylie, drowned in the dock east of Central Wharf, Portland, aged 33; unmarried.—May, Melville Reed, East Boothbay, was struck by the main boom in the wreck of the schooner Cyrus McKown. He was brought ashore but died soon after.—July 27, Benjamin Odlum was drowned in Adams Pond while in swimming, aged 18 years, 10 months.—October 23, Emerson P. Tibbetts, aged 21, and Joseph M. Tibbetts, aged 16, brothers, living at Christmas Cove, Southport, drowned in Eastern River, Dresden. They with another brother, Artemas, were there with fish on a trading trip. Their boat grounded and in trying to move it they took an anchor into a dory and rowed out into the river to throw it, intending to draw into water that way. In throwing it the dory was capsized. Emerson was a good swimmer, but in trying to save Joseph, who was not, both were drowned.—December 5, Capt. Alonzo, son of Davis and Sarah Lewis, was lost at sea from the schooner Emma S. Briggs, on a passage from Jacksonville to New York, aged 48 years, 3 months. He left a widow and children. They lived at Back River.
1886. January 18, Edward H., son of William and Nancy Giles, lost at sea, aged 27.—July 12, Albert, aged 15, and Justin, aged 11, sons of ______ Matthews, who had died a few years before at Boothbay Harbor, drowned at Highland Lake, Bridgton; interment at Boothbay.—October 5, Henry, son of Clifford B. Lewis, drowned in Campbell's Cove, aged 9.—Willard, son of William and Esther McKown, thrown from an express team in Boston that year and killed, aged 35.
1887. September 15, Frank, son of John Knight, drowned in the Damariscotta River, near Pleasant Cove, aged 34.[p. 390]1888. May 9, William Kenniston, aged 81 years, 6 months, was murdered in his house at Boothbay Center by Llewellyn Quimby. This was the second known homicide within the original Boothbay limits and the only one in the memory of persons living. The murderer was about 19 years of age. His father, Harvey Quimby, was born in Boothbay and bore a good reputation, as did his father's family. Harvey died under suspicious circumstances in Swanville, passing for a suicide, but always doubted. The mother continued living in Swanville for a time, but finally married Nelson Harding, of Boothbay, and settled here with her children. Llewellyn lived with his grandparents, but for larceny was sent to the State Reform School at about 14 years of age. Having typhoid fever in 1886, when he was 17, he was released on probation. That fall he came to William Kenniston's to do chores for his board. In the spring of 1887 he was engaged for the year at wages and Mr. Kenniston purchased him an outfit of clothing in advance. Almost immediately after obtaining the clothing he ran away in the nighttime and when next seen by any one in town it was a year later, when brought a prisoner for the murder of his benefactor. It seems after running away in May, 1887, he became, practically, a tramp, spending the following winter about the Boston wharves. Early in May, 1888, he took passage to Rockland on the steamer, beating his fare; from there came across to Boothbay, passing through the northern part of the town on the night of the 8th to Barter's Island. There he took a boat and rowed to Bath. During the day he bought a butcher's knife and a quantity of whiskey. He already had a revolver. Late in the afternoon he returned with his boat to where he took it and traveled across to Boothbay Center, reaching there when, as he afterward confessed, but two lights were to be seen. When these had been extinguished for the night he left his hiding place, which had been a grape trellis in the garden south of the house, obtained a piece of timber about twelve feet long and raised one end of it to the sill of the low porch window, opening into a low, unfinished chamber used to store grain. He carried with him besides the knife and revolver an iron cart pin about eighteen inches long. After gaining the grain chamber he went about the upper rooms, leaving charred matches in nearly every one. These chambers had been occupied by F. B. Greene and wife (the latter being the daughter of Mrs. Kenniston) all the time Quimby was at the house in '86-'87, and had been vacated by them about a month before the murder. From there he descended to the cook room, which adjoined the sleeping room of Mr. and Mrs. Kenniston. Mrs. Kenniston just then awoke and realizing some[p. 391]one was in the next room aroused her husband. Quimby hearing this burst open the sleeping room door, which was fastened by a wooden button, and rushed to the front side of the bed, with the location of which he was familiar, and struck Mr. Kenniston over the head with the iron pin. The victim fell forward to the floor. He then reached over and struck Mrs. Kenniston a blow with the same instrument, inflicting a bad scalp wound. He then went back to the kitchen door and lighted a match. While burning, Mrs. Kenniston saw the figure of a man plainly, but stated he had over his face a white cloth with holes cut out at the eyes. The brave old man, who evidently was only stunned by the blow he had received, came to his feet and rushed upon his assailant, grappling him and forcing him into the kitchen. The iron pin was found in the bedroom, where he knocked it from Quimby's grasp. But the butcher's knife, purchased that day in Bath, came next into use. Several wounds were inflicted with this before breaking it, which he did by wildly striking in the dark against the cooking stove. The blade was broken within two inches of the bolster, and with this ragged stub one more blow was made upon the forehead. In his confession he said that up to this point he felt himself being overpowered and, throwing away his knife, drew his revolver and fired two shots, the second of which he imagined struck his victim, for at that point he fell to the floor. But the deadly knife had done its work earlier in the struggle. A cut from that, before it was broken, from the top of the shoulder through to the armpit, severing the vein, caused death. The two bullets were found lodged in the walls of room, neither striking Mr. Kenniston, but from loss of blood he fell just as the second was fired. Mrs. Kenniston, from a side door, was escaping from the house just as the two shots were fired. She reached the house of Truman E. Giles and gave the alarm. It was then 11.30 p. m.. Mr. Giles aroused the neighborhood, and several together proceeding to the house found Mr. Kenniston lying dead in a pool of blood in the kitchen where he fell. Dr. F. H. Crocker was called to attend the injured woman, while George B. Kenniston, Albert H. Kenniston, sons, and F. B. Greene, son-in-law, living at the Harbor, were aroused at their respective houses and were at the scene of the tragedy shortly after midnight. There was no clue at first; a tramp who had been in the neighborhood was suspected. Quimby was not thought of until Greene, examining the surroundings of the house with a lantern, discovered the timber slanting from the porch window to the ground. Instantly he was impressed with this, for a year before, when he was living there, he remembered that the night[p. 392]Quimby ran away he had left the house from that very window on a joist arranged in the same manner, which was placed in its position before retiring for the night. With this impression he went at once into the house, where he congregated the men of the neighborhood, and said: "Gentlemen, if Llewellyn Quimby is where he could do this he is the one for us to look for." It did not require long for the suggestion to gain ground to that extent that every one present felt that the whereabouts of Quimby should first be settled. Teams were started in various directions; every vessel in the harbor was boarded to ascertain if any had left or come on board during the night; the coroner at Wiscasset was sent for; the selectmen were got together at the house and a legal reward on the part of the town was offered; and the entire coast line of the town was visited as soon as day broke to ascertain if any boat had been taken during the night. About four o'clock in the morning it was discovered that the horse had been taken from his stall and was missing. Nothing else save a bridle belonging to the team was gone. It was evident that the murderer had escaped on the horse, riding bareback. It was also found, by tracking, that he had taken the road leading toward Rufus Holton's and thence toward Damariscotta. With this knowledge A. H. Kenniston and Truman E. Giles started for that town. Reaching there they changed horses, Samuel D. Wyman continuing with Mr. Kenniston. A clue was at once gained, for about daybreak a man riding a black horse, bareback, had gone through toward Damariscotta Mills. Passing through the latter place a few miles more were traveled when, from the crest of a small hill they saw ahead, reined in a yard by the roadside, a man sitting upon a dark horse. Mr. Kenniston told Wyman to drive up rapidly and check the horse quickly when opposite. This was done, but when within a few rods Quimby, recognizing them, slid from his horse and ran for the woods. Kenniston at the same moment sprang from his wagon, in close haul, after him. They ran several rods when Kenniston pulled a revolver from his pocket, firing as they ran. The second shot struck Quimby nearly on top of the head, above the ear, inflicting a scalp wound and dazing him so that he ran into a wire fence a few feet further on and, stumbling, became an easy prey to his pursuer. He was taken between them, bound, the horse he had been riding in tow, back to Damariscotta and thence to Boothbay. So rapid was the work of his capture that the reward offer had but been telegraphed from Boothbay and placed on the bulletin boards in the various centers when dispatches from Damariscotta announced the taking[p. 393]of the murderer more than twenty miles from the scene of the tragedy. He was bound over and placed in the Wiscasset jail to await the action of the Grand Jury the following October. The next day at the jail he was visited by G. B. Kenniston and F. B. Greene, to whom he made a full confession of his crime, alleging his motive to have been robbery. At his trial he was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to State's Prison for life. There he died some three years later of consumption. The funeral for his victim was held at the First Congregational Church at Boothbay Center, attended by friends and neighbors for miles about, for no man in the town enjoyed a wider acquaintance, or was more pleasant to meet, than William Kenniston. The services were conducted by Rev. L. D. Evans, the funeral discourse appearing in full in the next issue of the Boothbay Register, extracts from which appeared in several other State papers. Mrs. Kenniston after the tragedy made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Greene, where she died January 24, 1890. The shock she received completely shattered her nervous system, unquestionably shortening her life.
August 11, Fred E. Upham, Dorchester, Mass., a summer boarder at Squirrel Island, was drowned near Pumpkin Rock by his sailboat capsizing in a squall.—September, Capt. Woodbury D. Lewis lost at sea.—November 19, Capt. Gardner G. Tibbetts was drowned at Cambridge, Md.., by the anchor cable catching and carrying down the boat he was in. His body was recovered and interment made at Boothbay with Masonic honors.
1889. January 21, Howard M., son of William and Catherine Alley, Southport, lost at Pensacola from schooner Georgia Wither, Portland, aged 23.—January 28, Charles P., son of Isaiah and Mary A. Reed, killed by a coasting accident, aged 10 years, 11 months.—Capt. Freeman K., son of Freeman and Martha F. Reed, lost off Jersey City, aged 48. He left a family of two daughters and one son.
1890. December 24, Laura, daughter of Isaiah and Ellen M. Dewolfe, killed instantly in the vicinity of Boston by being thrown from a carriage, aged 25 years, 3 months.
1891. August 15, Hattie E., wife of Convers O. Hodgdon, killed by a runaway accident, being thrown from her carriage near the house of Wesley Pinkham.—December 26, Quincy A. Dunton, killed at sea, aged 52.
1893. March 17, Freeman G. Thompson, Southport, drowned while drawing lobster traps near Isle of Springs; left a widow and one son, Richard; aged 31.—August 26, William Nickerson, Parker Smith, Eleazar Penney and William Friz-[p. 394]zell, on schooner Cora Louise, owned by S. Nickerson & Sons, loaded with iron, on passage from New York to Boston.
1895. February 8, Truman H. Odlum, lost at sea, aged 31.—August 10, Frank, aged 32, and Richard, aged 27, sons of Doctor Robinson, a cottager at Ocean Point, drowned while returning from the Harbor, by their boat capsizing in a squall.—August 24, Edward C. Heselton, Skowhegan, aged 29, proprietor of the Samoset House, Mouse Island, and Edward F. Sanders, a summer boarder, aged 8, drowned near Mouse Island by their boat capsizing in a squall. Captain Reed, who was sailing the party, by great effort saved Mrs. Sanders, mother of the boy, and Miss Powers, a boarder from Skowhegan.—December 22, G. Jack, drowned.
1896. May 24, Frank, son of Albert Wheeler, killed in Boston by falling from a team, aged 30 years, 8 months.—September 30, William, son of Alexander Adams, drowned near the vessel of which he was one of the crew at Newport, R. I., aged 35.—December 6, John L., son of Frank W. and Emma Woodward, drowned while skating on Adams Pond, aged 12 years, 6 months.
1898. Millard F., Jr., son of Millard F. and Agnes I. Harris, killed in the destruction of the Maine in Havana Harbor.—February 15, Capt. Herbert D., son of Morrill B. Lewis, lost at sea.—November 28, George B., Jr., son of George B. and Antoinette E. Kenniston, a student in Bowdoin College, lost on the steamer Portland in the great gale of that date.—Capt. Bert Dunbar, a native of Castine, who had recently settled at Boothbay Harbor, also lost on the steamer Portland.
1899. Richard M., son of J. Edward and Jennie Knight, disappeared in the woods of Bemis, easterly from the railroad and southerly from the lake, on a hunting trip one afternoon in October. He entered the forest to the east of the railroad, and a friend who accompanied him to the west of it, arranging to meet at their hotel at the close of the day. He did not return and no trace was ever found of him, though hundreds of men familiar with the country joined in the search until the snows fell later in the season. It has remained an unsolved mystery. He was 20 years of age.
1904. May 4, Mrs. Mary E. Blatchford, burned to death by clothing catching fire, aged 62.—July 11, Howard B., son of George and Betsey Reed, died of injuries inflicted the preceding 4th by explosives, aged 8.—September 5, Mrs. Clem Barter, Barter's Island, burned to death by clothing catching fire.
