The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-02-27
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Interesting Papers Read BY MEM
bers Yesterday.

Bryant, read list of the contributions that
had been made TO the library. He said but
few Items had been received for the cabinet
since the last quarterly. report. The large
plan of the Washington monument, as it was
not adopted, is an object of interest, from
Mr.. John M. Cobb. A portrait of st. John
Smith came from Hon. M. f. King. Atten-
was called also to the perfect specimens of
Liverpool ware in the shape of pitchers or
ewers imported nearly century since by a
Portland merchant and which were Loaned
by General Brown. Space will be given by
other old time specimens of deft and crock
cry ware, also for the specimens of the pew
ter ware used In the last century. Some
copies of the first volume of the Society's
quarterly publication have been bound In
cloth and can be supplied by the publishers
or the librarian at three dollars and fifty
cents each.
The first paper. by Hon. Joseph William
son. of Belfast, Me-, on THE conduct of
Paul Revere in the Penobscot Expedition"
was read by VIM. M. Sargent, Esq, Judge
Williamson not being able to be present.
The entire failure of the Penobscot expe-
dition In 1899 of which so much had been ex-
pected and upon which had been expended
such an amount of money from an already
depleted treasury, caused intense excitement
and the pressure was so great that the Gen.
eral Court of Massachusetts felt called upon
to investigate the matter. Accordingly on
the 9th Of September following the disaster
a committee was appointed to make inquiry.
The committee organized with General Ar
temas Ward as chairman. Among the off,
GERS whose conduct became the subject of
this inquiry, was Paul Revere, Lieutenant
Colonel in the Provincial militia, one Of the
famous Boston tea party, who at the age of
"A had already seen active service in the
French war. The branch entrusted to him
him at Penobscot was the artillery. He
claimed the right of trial by court-martial
but this being denied him he wrote a letter
to the honorable council. Specific charges
were made against him characterization and
cowardice to Generals Lowell and Wads-
worth, and he denied these charges at some
length, stating that General Lowell was his
inveterate enemy.
The report of the committee showed that
III he was culpable in some respects, but there
Is no record In the Massachusetts, archives
which shows that he was censured by the
General Court, and he retained his commits
sion until his death which occurred in 1918.
Taken from historical point of view, the
most interesting paper read was that Of Rev.
Henry Burrage, ID. D., on 1.-The recently dis
covered Samanca Map and its bearing on
Weymouth's voyage to the coast of Maine
In 1906" Steps were taken by Philip Of
Spain to prevent the English from colonizing
In America and the Spanish minister to Eng
land kept bis royal master as well informed
about the American coast as he was able
and the movements of the Popham colony,
September 10, 1908, he wrote the king: II
have thought proper to send your majesty
map of Virginia and a picture of Fort Pop
ham at the mouth of the Kennebec. The
map which was secured in the archives at
Samancas was prepared in 1910 by survey
or whom King James had sent for the pur-
pose. Mr.. Baxter has small map of North
ern Virginia. Very naturally the map which
applies to the coast of Maine has the most
interest for us. OF especial interest is the
bearing which 1b; this maglhas in Viewpoints
yond doubt that it was the St. Georges river
instead of the Kennebec which Weymouth
spoke OF, and may have equally important
bearings upon other historical subjects per-
tanning to the topography Of the American
over to England in 1911 and in three months
after its arrival in England was stolen.
The Spanish agents in England were contin-
ally purloining important papers.
Kew. Charles +. Allen. D. D.. OF Kents
of William Allen, the historian of Norridge-
wock," whose ancestor, Georee Allen, came
to this county from Durham. Eng, and was
among the first settlers in Boston in 1850.
From this sketch we learn that the subject of
1t was born in Chilmark. Mass, April 16,
1850, and was twelve years Of age, when his
father emigrated to the wilderness of Maine,
settling on swampy lot some three miles
north of the site of Pennington village, be-
ing among the first settlers of that town.
at the age OF twenty-one he owned good
axe and hundred acres of wild land in the
plantation, which was Incorporated into the
town with the name of Industry, in 1903. He
was chosen first SelectmaD, which office he
neid while resident IN tSW s In 1897 ne
Of Stephen Titcomb. Esq, the first settler in
Pennington. In 1916 he was chosen dele
gate to the Brunswick convention for the
separation of Maine from Massachusetts,. In
1919 another convention was called in Port
land, In which Mr.. Allen was delegate.
After bis first appointment In 1909 as justice
of the peace, he served by successive reap
pointments for sixty years. During this pc
riod he had more than two thousand cases in
which judgment was rendered. He was ref
cree in many important cases.
AS writer. Mr.. Allen compiled geneal-
0gy OF the Allen family. wrote history of
Norridgew0ck and Industry. He lived to
the good old age of ninety-three, and within
afew weeks OF his death made out deed
without memoranda.
Mr.. Charles E. Stevens of Worcester, Mass,
having presented through Geo. +. Emery,
Esq, a book entitled "Noah Emery of Exc
ter" ETC., it was
Voted, That the cordial thanks of the Maine
Historical Society are hereby rendered to Mr.
Charles Z. Stevens of Worcester for a copy of an
interesting and valuable book entitled "Noah
Emery OF Exeter, 1725-178S," and that the sec
Rotary be requested to transmit to him a copy Of
this vote.
The society voted to extend thanks to those
who had read papers, after which the meet
Ing adjourned to 1880 p. m.
Evening Meeting.
The first paper in the evening was "Ex-
tracts from the letters of the Jesuit mission
airy, Father Biard," contributed by Professor
Frederick Warren of Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity, read with an introduction by Gen. j.
Marshall Brown, who said that the efforts of
the French to explore and COLOMBO the north
ern gortion of our continent have received
full and generous treatment in history. Lis
carbet's History of New France was publish
ed in Paris in 1609,a and paraphrase publish
ed inLondon the same year. In 1916 was pub
of the Society of Jesus.
Champlain was the geographer royal and
made charts and maps and pictures of men
things. Liscarbot's History is seldom seen
and comparatively unknown at this day.
Champlain's voyages have recently been
translated for the Prince Society.
Biard's Relation can only be read in its
original French, but it was reprinted in 1858
and may be found in our library. A transla-
ton with careful editing would be most well
come to students of our history.
1t is certainly fortunate circumstance
that man of learning and piety, professor
of theology in French university, should
have been so imbued with the lofty spirit of
propagating the Gospel that he would leave
country and family and friends and bury
himself in the western wilderness nearly
three centuries ago.
The closing paper, read by President Bax-
ter, was valuable paper on "Some account
of Christopher Levitt the pioneer colonist
of Portland" About six years ago, Mr..
Baxter began to collect material pertaining
to the life of Christopher Levitt, which he
embodied in memoir. Levitt was the first
man who came to this harbor to attempt to
establish colony. He built strong house
on one of the islands-historians disagree as
to which island, claims having been laid to
Diamond, House and Cushing's. Mr.. Bax-
ter favored the House Island theory. The
family of Levitt was of ancient origin in
Yorkshire The father of Christopher was
an inn-keeper, and his uncle Richard was
mayor of the city of York. OF his child
hood and youth we haye no record. and but
for his vovaQa to this coast his name would