Digging Down East: Bridgton

Showing posts with label Bridgton. Show all posts

Saturday, March 5, 2016

My 64 ~ Researching My 4th Great Grandparents : Daniel Miller and Patience Stevens of Limington, Denmark and Bridgton, Maine

Daniel Miller, my 4th great grandfather, was born about 1788, according to his gravestone in the West Bridgton Cemetery, stating he was 74 years old when he died. The Faylene Hutton Cemetery Collection record (available on familysearch.org) was dated July 1989. By the time the Bridgton Historical Society added his memorial to findagrave.com, in 2012, the gravestone had sunk further into the ground, and it was more difficult to read. They therefore recorded his birthdate as 1798.

The earliest census record that records his birthplace, the 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Bridgton, Maine, only records it as Maine. I have no information on his parents.

On October 4, 1812, Daniel and a young woman named Patience Stevens indicated their intention to marry, in Limington Maine.

On November 26th, they were married by an "Elder in the Baptist corporation in Limington and Limerick."

By the time Daniel and Patience were married, they were already parents to the first of eleven children. Son William had been born in January of 1812 in Limerick, Maine. It is William's death record, in 1906, which gives a hint as to his mother's origins. There, Patience's birthplace is recorded as Berwick, Maine.

I came across a burial record in the Nathan Hale Cemetery Collection (available on familysearch.org) which may indicate a connection.

The above Patience (Brown) Stevens was the wife of a Jacob Stevens, and she apparently came from Berwick. She was born around 1778, and could be my 5th great grandmother, given her age (20 years older than my Patience), and having the same first name. Further research, including finding this Stevens Plot, during my next trip to Maine, is definitely in order.

Map of Stevens Plot, courtesy of Steve Dow

1856 Map of Limingon, Maine

All tolled, Daniel and Patience had the following children:

William, b. 1812 in Limerick, d. 1906

Stephen, b. 1814 in Limington, d. ?

Mary, b. 1816 in Limington, d. 1819

with the following all born in Denmark, Maine

Eunice, b. 1820, d. 1886

Daniel, b. 1823, d. 1882

*Patience S., b. 1825, d. 1887

Lyona, b. 1827, d. 1853

Thomas, b. 1829, d. 1909

David, b. 1830, d. 1831

James O., b. 1832, d. 1916

Mary Jane, b. 1834, d. 1876

*my 3rd great grandmother

Daniel Miller died July 21, 1862, in Bridgton, Maine. His wife Patience passed away on June 6, 1881. They are buried side by side in West Bridgton Cemetery (sometimes referred to as Sawyer Cemetery) on No. High Street, in Bridgton, Maine.

Sources:

1850 U.S. Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 277A; Image: 251.

1860 U.S. Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 2; Image: 691; Family History Library Film: 803437.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Death Records, 1617-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Daniel Miller tombstone, West Bridgton Cemetery, Bridgton (Cumberland County), Maine; photographed by Pamela Schaffner on 7 July 2013.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 2 March 2016), memorial page for Daniel Miller (1798-1862), Find A Grave Memorial no. 98175991, citing West Bridgton Cemetery, Bridgton, Cumberland County, Maine.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 2 March 2016), memorial page for Patience Stevens Miller (1782-1881), Find A Grave Memorial no. 98176822, citing West Bridgton Cemetery, Bridgton, Cumberland County, Maine.

Lewis Stevens, Vital records of Bridgton, Maine: (Rockland, Maine: Picton Press, 2007), pp.118-119.

"Maine, Faylene Hutton Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1990," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-40626-6774-75?cc=2242151 : accessed 13 January 2016), Miller - Moor > image 92 of 3425; Maine State Library, Augusta.

"Maine, Nathan Hale Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1980," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-40627-40428-58?cc=2241461 : accessed 2 March 2016), Stevens, Micajah-Stinson, John F > image 93 of 1531; Maine State Library, Augusta.

"Maine Marriages, 1771-1907," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F46L-Y93 : accessed 14 February 2016), Daniel Miller and Patience Stevens, 04 Oct 1812; citing Limington, York, Maine, reference IN 215 p33; FHL microfilm 11,533.

"Maine Marriages, 1771-1907," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F46L-Y97 : accessed 14 February 2016), Daniel Miller and Patience Stevens, 26 Nov 1812; citing Limington, York, Maine, reference IN 219 p 41; FHL microfilm 11,533.

Map of York County, Maine (https://www.loc.gov/item/2011588007/)

Patience Miller tombstone, West Bridgton Cemetery, Bridgton (Cumberland County), Maine; photographed by Pamela Schaffner on 7 July 2013.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

My 64 ~ Researching My 4th Great Grandparents : A Libby But Not A Direct Ancestor

My "4th great grandfather," David L. Libby, was born in Limington, Maine, on June 2, 1807, the second of ten children born to Daniel Libby and Dorcas McDonald, and their second son. After marrying Charlotte Stevens in Limington in 1827, and together with her, had one daughter named Eunice, he appears to have relocated his family to Penobscot County, farming in the town of Clifton.

Year: 1850; Census Place: Clifton, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M432_264; Page: 281A; Image: 565.

Ten years later, he, wife Charlotte and two of their children are still in Penobscot County, but in the town of Levant.

Year: 1860; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M653_446; Page: 985; Image: 480.

Twenty years later, David and Charlotte are empty-nesters in their 60's, still living in Levant.

Year: 1870; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M593_554; Page: 166A; Image: 336.

David and Charlotte had seven children:

Eunice, b. 1827

William Swasey, b. 1829

David, b. 1832

Charlotte, b. 1834

Hall J., b. 1836

Harriet, b. 1839

Isabelle, b. 1842

It is their son, William Swasey Libby, however, who married the single mother Patience Miller in 1854, who proves that David L. Libby and Charlotte Stevens are NOT my 4th great grandparents by blood. Let me explain.

Patience Miller, my 3rd great grandmother, is listed in the 1850 Bridgton, Maine, census as the 24 year old daughter of Daniel and Patience Miller. Also listed is a 7 year old female named "Heneryetta" Miller. I have been unable to locate a birth record for this child, and believe that she is the daughter (perhaps born out of wedlock) of the 24 year old Patience.

Year: 1850; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 277A; Image: 251.

William S. Libby and Patience Miller were married in Denmark, Maine, four years later in 1854.

By the 1860 census in Bridgton, William S. and Patience Libby have a 16 year old daughter named Heneritta.

Year: 1860; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 28; Image: 717.

And 20 years later, when Henrietta, by then herself a widow of Alexander Griswold, is listed in the 1880 Bridgton census as the step-daughter of William S. Libby.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Family History Film: 1254477; Page: 41A; Enumeration District: 023; Image: 0332.

I believe it is highly unlikely that there was a formal adoption, but it is clear that William S. Libby gave his wife's daughter his last name. He was not the natural father of Henrietta, however, and therefore, not my 3rd great grandfather by blood. Which means his parents, David L. Libby and Charlotte Stevens, are NOT my direct 4th great grandparents.

The lineage reads as follows:

Patience Miller (1825-1887), unmarried mother of Henrietta, married to William S. Libby
daughter Henrietta Miller/Libby, married to Alexander Griswold
daughter Nettie Griswold, married to Clarence Seavey
son Howard Seavey, married to Mattie Leighton
son Richard Seavey
daughter Pamela Seavey

I may never know the name of this 3rd great grandfather.....and hence, this set of 4th great grandparents.

Sources:

1850 US Census; Census Place: Clifton, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M432_264; Page: 281A; Image: 565

1860 US Census; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M653_446; Page: 985; Image: 480

1870 US Census; Census Place: Levant, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M593_554; Page: 166A; Image: 336.

1850 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 277A; Image: 251.

1860 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 28; Image: 717.

1880 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Family History Film: 1254477; Page: 41A; Enumeration District: 023; Image: 0332.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

52 Ancestors: #46 Charles L. Ingalls (1839-1864)

Charles L. Ingalls, the husband of my half 1st great grand aunt, was born on this date in 1839 in Bridgton, Maine, the fifth of seven children born to Ebenezer Ingalls and Irene Pierce Gray, and their second son.

Charles was a descendant of one of the earliest settlers of the town of Bridgton, Phineas Ingalls. Phineas Ingalls (1758-1844) was the second of six brothers who came to Bridgton from Andover, Massachusetts. These six Ingalls brothers prospered in Bridgton, and left their mark on the history of Bridgton.

Charles was an Ingalls who, though he lived a very short life, connected to my family, through my 2nd great grandmother, Harriet Cross Libby.

Before Harriet married my second great grandfather, Jonathan Seavey, she was married to Eben R. Richardson. Together Harriet and Eben had two children, Mary Frances and Elizabeth B. Elizabeth B, died at age 3, and is buried in Sandy Creek Cemetery, in Bridgton, near her parents.

It is the surviving Mary Frances, known as Fanny, whom Charles L. Ingalls married on May 26, 1861. He was 21 and Fanny was 20.

Although Charles was eligible for the Civil War draft, I have found no evidence that he served.

In any event, Charles died at the young age of 24, in Bridgton, on August 23, 1864. He and Fanny had no children. After the war, Fanny went on to marry a second time Albion Simpson, a war veteran, with whom she had three children.

I found Charles' grave in Sandy Creek Cemetery during my trip to Maine this fall.

Sources:

Year: 1850; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 289A; Image: 275.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Birth Records, 1621-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Marriage Records, 1713-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Charles L. Ingalls tombstone, Sandy Creek Cemetery, Bridgton (Cumberland County), Maine; photographed by Pamela Schaffner on 17 October 2014.

History of Bridgton, Maine 1768-1994. Bridgton Historical Society, Camden, Me. Picton Press, c1993, p.27.

"Maine, Births and Christenings, 1739-1900," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F4HT-L21 : accessed 30 Nov 2014), Ebenezer Ingalls in entry for Charles L. Ingalls, 03 Dec 1839; citing BRIDGTON,CUMBERLAND,MAINE; FHL microfilm 10591.

"Maine, Vital Records, 1670-1907 ," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-31553-19379-75?cc=1803978 : accessed 01 Dec 2014), Delayed returns for vital records 1670-1891 > Huntoon, 1862-Ireland, 1818 > image 4226 of 4851; State Board of Health, Augusta.

"United States Census, 1860," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MDC9-NVV : accessed 01 Dec 2014), Ebin Ingalls, Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine, United States; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," Fold3.com; p. 40, household ID 326, NARA microfilm publication M653; NARA microfilm publication M653. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; FHL microfilm 803437.

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This is the 46th in a series, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks,” coordinated by Amy Johnson Crow at

No Story Too Small.

Monday, December 1, 2014

52 Ancestors: #45 Harriett Elizabeth Seavey (1847?-1925)

Harriett Elizabeth Seavey, my great grand aunt, was born on this date around 1847 in Bridgton, Maine. Her father was Jonathan Seavey. The record of her birth, giving her birth year as 1846, states that her mother was Mary, meaning Mary G. Blake, Jonathan's first wife.

There's a problem with this record, however. Mary G. Blake died February 9, 1845, if her tombstone is to be believed.

1845 was an important year in Harriett's father life. He lost his first wife, Mary, and married a second time Harriet Cross Libby. The first child from this union appears to be Harriett Elizabeth. Whether she was born in 1845 (as documented in the 1900 U.S. Census), in 1846 (as in the old birth record, but with the wrong mother), or in 1847 (as calculated from her tombstone and the 1850 U.S. Census) is open for debate.

If Harriett was the child of Jonathan Seavey and Harriet Cross Libby, she was the first of seven children, and their first daughter.

Harriett spent most of her single life as a housekeeper in the Bridgton home of Luther Billings. It wasn't until she was 40 years old, in 1886, that she became the second wife of a Sweden, Maine, man named Reuben Morrison.

Harriett and Reuben, who lived their whole lives in Bridgton, had one child, a son Harold, on April 13, 1887.

Reuben passed away in 1907. Harriett remained a widow another 18 years, until she died in 1925.

They are buried side by side in the Ingalls Hill Cemetery in Bridgton.

Sources:

1850; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 291A; Image: 279.

1860; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 52; Image: 741; Family History Library Film: 803437.

1870; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M593_539; Page: 16B; Image: 37; Family History Library Film: 552038.

1880; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Family History Film: 1254477; Page: 44C; Enumeration District: 023; Image: 0338.

1900; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 589; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0035; FHL microfilm: 1240589.

1910; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: T624_538; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 0041; FHL microfilm: 1374551.

1920; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: T625_641; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 2; Image: 1090.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Birth Records, 1621-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Harriett E. Seavey tombstone, Ingalls Hill Cemetery, Bridgton (Cumberland County), Maine; photographed by Pamela Schaffner on 31 July 2013.

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This is the 45th in a series, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks,” coordinated by Amy Johnson Crow at

No Story Too Small.

Monday, August 11, 2014

52 Ancestors: #32 William S. Libby (1829-1894)

William S. Libby, my third great grandfather, was born on this date in 1829, in Eddington, Maine, the second of seven children born to David L. Libby and Charlotte Stevens, and their first son.

At the age of 25, William married a single mother named Patience Miller, in Denmark, Maine, on August 12, 1854. By the 1860 Census, the couple, along with 16-year-old "Heneritta Libbey," were living in Bridgton, Maine. At some point after their marriage, William adopted Patience's daughter Henrietta.

In October of the following year, however, he left his young family, and enlisted in Company C of the 10th Maine Infantry Volunteers, known as the "Portland Light Guard," which was being reorganized and raised in Portland. He lasted until March of 1862, when he was discharged "on account of disease."

10th Maine Flag preserved in the Maine State Museum

As often happened to military units during the Civil War, portions of the remaining 10th Maine were transferred to the 29th Maine, and William re-enlisted in Company C on December 17, 1863. This enlistment lasted until July of 1864, when he was mustered out "at hospital." One wonders if this indicates a recurrence of the prior illness.

By 1870, the 40-year-old William was back in Bridgton, where he lived for the next 24 years, working variously in a sawmill and a tannery.

William S. Libby died in Bridgton on November 10th, 1894, at the age of 65, and is buried in High Street Cemetery there. I will be traveling there this fall to visit his grave.

Sources:

1850 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland,Maine; Roll: M432_251; Page: 277A; Image: 251, Patience Miller, age 24, and Heneryetta Miller, age 7.

1850 US Census; Census Place: Clifton, Penobscot, Maine; Roll: M432_264; Page: 281A; Image: 565, William Libbey.

1860 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M653_437; Page: 28; Image: 717; Family History Library Film: 803437, William S. Libbey.

1870 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: M593_539; Page: 19B; Image: 43; Family History Library Film: 552038, William S. Libby.

1880 US Census; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 477; Family History Film: 1254477; Page: 41A; Enumeration District: 023; Image: 0332, Wm. S. Libby.

1890 Veterans Schedule; Census Place: Bridgton, Cumberland, Maine; Roll: 6; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 30, William S. Libby.

Ancestry.com. Maine, Death Records, 1617-1922 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Gould, John Mead. History of the First-Tenth-Twenty-ninth Maine regiment. In service of the United States from May 3, 1861, to June 21, 1866. By Major John M. Gould. With the history of the Tenth Me. Battalion, by Rev. Leonard g. Jordan. Portland (Me.): S. Berry, 1871, p.319.

Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.

Historical Data Systems, comp.. American Civil War Soldiers [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.

Libby, Charles Thornton. The Libby Family in America, 1602-1881 (Portland, B. Thurston and Co., 1881), p. 524.

"Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/246J-GCD : accessed 10 Aug 2014), William S Libby, 1863.

"Maine, State Archive Collections, 1718-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21942-24999-30?cc=1877829 : accessed 10 Aug 2014), Maine > Military Records-Civil War > Civil War soldiers index Lavington, Joseph-Littlefield, George W., 1861-1865 > image 1102 of 1409; citing State Archives, Augusta.

"Maine, Veterans Cemetery Records, 1676-1918," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-26281-45009-30?cc=1985567 : accessed 10 Aug 2014), King Philip's War to Spanish-American War > Jeffers-Lyman, H. > image 2931 of 3746; citing State Archives, Augusta.

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This is the 32nd in a series, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks,” coordinated by Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small.