The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-06-14


grateful and acceptable to Brunswick cti-
zens, at this their sesqui-centennial, this
paper is now brought forward.
AT first II seemed but supererogatory to at
tempt to add aught to the comprehensive
sketch Of his life, times and character so adj
mirably presented by the Messrs. Wheeler in
their comprehensive history of your town
"a, and which must be so well known to you
that a re-description of his life and deeds
would be trite and well-worn theme; but
SO fruitful are our only partially explored
helds OF research that be given tract never
SO thoroughly harvested, careful search and
comparison may bring to light overlooked
gleanlngs that will round out and embellish
the garnered SheaveS.
And your critical indulgence is crayed for
this, hastily prepared paper from notes
confessedly Incomplete, produced rather in
the hope of stimulating further research
than as satisfactory offering to your laud-
able curiosity, or complete tribute to the
man whose memory we today In part COM
memOrate.
But upon the assurance that you will now,
Tor the first time, learn Purchases last wife's
name; the names of all his five children the
names OF the persons each one married a
part, II not the whole of his grandchildren;
his relationship to his partner George Way;
others OF his very respectable relatives; the
probable disposition OF the Way and Pur-
chase patent. or at least its whereabouts, as
late as A. d., 1877; and an extract that will
further aid in locating the exact place of his
abode-upon the fulflment of this assur-
ance, 1t is hoped that this audience, unlike
old Juvanaps. will admit that in this day
and generation the genealogst's is not
wholly thankless avocation.
In attempting to straighten out the rela-
tlonships OF his family confusion has been
worse eonfounded by the facts that there
were three Thomas Purchases; that
Two oil them married women whose Chris
tian names were Elizabeth; that there were
three Elizabeth Purchases. two of whom
married men each named John Blany: and
that two OF Purchases sons married sisters
surnamed Williams. From such tangled
smart, small wonder that writers have so far
Jailed to deduce straight lines. Ours then
the pleasing task to unrayel this knotted
skein. u54s
The first difficulty is easily resolved by a
reference rel to the" York Deeds" published by
to Richard Wharton in 1888 by Mrs. Elizabeth
Blany, the late relict and Administrative of
Thomas Purchase of Pejepscott, is also
signed by elizabeth Purchase, the relict of
There Is plain enough distinction, and the
| Salem Records(3)also show that "Thomas
| Purchase and Elizabeth Williams were mar
rled 3d-l0mo 70, or year and half after
the death q the elder man, which will be
| 1875. This Elizabeth Williams is the woman
| who has been so often enormously but per-
sistently assigned to the elder Thomas.
| THOMAS Purchases first wife, or at any
rate rate his n ilrst American wife. Mary Cove,
| that no children by her survived their father
for when he died at Lynn, May /, 1878, he
left by his will(5), dated May 2, 1877, pro-
bated June 4, 1878, one-third of bis estate to
to his five children. Of these. his SON
Thomas, in his petition for administration.
| refusing the executorship to which he had
been appointed by his father, states that he
was young man. He was probably just at
maturity and certainly unmarried, which oc-
CURED eighteen months later as shown
| above.
The widow, Elizabeth Purchase, having
married l IN November. 1879, John Blany Of
that led to the transfer of Purchase m oiety Of
brunswick and adjacent tracts to Richard
| WhartonCDfor consideration of $40 paid
DOWN, El3O more to be paid upon production
OF copy OF the Patent(S)and several lots of
land reserved. This she did as surviving
ADMINISTRATIVE. her son Thomas having never
been heard from and judicially determined
TO have been lost at sea(9. In the convey
ance Is this significant reservation, viz
seaven lofts and shares of land reserved and
secured by articles signed by the sd Wharton
bearing date with these Presents" This
conveyance is signed by those of Purchases
children who were by law capable of con-
tracing; two in number, Jane, the wife Of
| Oliver Ellkines and Elizabeth. the wife of
John Blany, Junior, by the legal representa-
| tive of third, Elizabeth the widow of
| Thomas Purchase, Junior. and by the mother
IN penalI OF the other two who were minors,
Among the files of our Maine Historical
Society there is preserved fragment, half
| obliterated by accident and the corroding
tootn 81 time, OF the counterpart(S)of these
"a. articles signed by the sd Wharton" and BY
| remains to supply the names of the other
| TWO children; they were Abraham Purchase
named therein and Sarah Purchase named
| In the part that is missing as the following
receipt for payment on account of her
share, by her mother, conclusively proves:
| boston, June &c, 1857.
Wharton In behalf of my daughter, Sarah
| Purchase within named. say Reed
p ELIZA. e BLANY
her mark"
Having thus enumerated all the five chill
dren mentioned By Thomas Purchase in his
will, attention is Immediately arrested by an
apparent discrepancy in the wording Of the
''for each of We seven shares before engaged
to be laid out to the said Eliza & her sir
| Children" The only inference that can be
drawn from that Is that this woman had
another child either before or since her mar
/
begins thus: "Pike Shall of the said lands
| and each OF them have share of one hun
dred acres laid Out in home Lofts & out
Lots in Proportion with others when Plan
among others by one Samuel Pike; and this
| Samuel Pike had also brought in an account
| OF fifty pounds against the estate for the diet
| OF Mr.. Purchase for seven months and the
| diet OF the four younger children. He was a
brave and exemplary young man. who after
wards was an Ensign in the Indian wars
| from 1857, and 1t was he, and not his father,
| who gave the first warning of the Indian
| outbreak OF 1876, and was one of the deter
mined band who held out until succor ar
| rived in the fort they threw up on the inner
| slope of Cushing's Island under the Rev.
| George Burroughs. And he it is who dis
| closes who his mother was before marrying
Purchase, in petition about 1858 he claimed
| that his father. Richard Pike deceased had
been possessed of tract of land ON the west
| side of Mussel Cove
So Mrs. Elizabeth Purchase, the second
vile OF Thomas Purchase and his surviving
widow, is abundantly proven to have been
three times married: LIST to Richard Pike.
End to Thomas Purchase, and 3rd to John
Blany, Senior.
Thomas Purchase, Junior, married Eliza
beth Williams Dec. 8, 1879, and had son
Thomas. born Jan. 20, 1850, and of him the
following is the last record:
"25 Nov, 1854, Thomas Purchase having
been on voyage to sea years since
with Mr.. Habbakkuk Turner e no one of
ye men on ye ship yet heard of Adj
minlstraton granted to Elizabeth his
widow" The appraisal of his estate
embracing 100 acres of land at the eastward
was returned June 80, 1885.
The recital in the deed by this third Thomas
Purchase to Samuel Waldo, that his father
Thomas, was the eldest son of Thomas Purchase
of Pejepscot leaves room for, and in SO far cor
roborates the existence of the second son
Abraham, discovered above.
Abraham Purchase married Ruth, daughter
of John Williams of Salem, and had children:
Ruth, born June 10, 1902; Benjamin, born
March 2, l706.
Elizabeth Purchase the younger married
John Blany, Jr., and had seven children.
Sarah Purchase married Gamaliel Phippen
and had one son and seven daughters
Though you have no Purchases now in your
midst it is more than probable that through
the ramifcations of the above numerous
families the blood of your first settler has been
transmitted to the veins of some among you.
Purchase was of extremely respectable and
even gentle extraction; he stated himself that
he had been servant to King Charles l
about the beginning of his reign, and it is
well known fact that none but gentlemen were
chosen for positions SO near royalty. This
statement of his is elsewhere supported. He
names in his will and calls .cousins," i. e.
nephews Oliver Purchase an aetive and com