Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-02-02
HER CENTENNIAL.
The Good People Of lhs Coed
0id ToVl Of Sidney
C.kbIate lh. tooth Anniversary Of tha
fGEa's Incorporation.
Exercises Held In Grange Hall Great
Exercises Held in Grange Hall Great
Interest shown In the Meeting.

Special TO the KEssEBEo JocxsAL
sIDsEY. Feb. IA grand time vas
ri 5ysd BY the people Ct Sidney on
saturday eveciGg !sst il the celebration
Il tie Io0ls anniversary Of the inco,
Jorati9n Of the town. Tte exercises
,ere held in Grange Hall, in the To~n
asli building, and we're under direction Of
tae msmbe,s CT Joseph w. Lincoln Post.
| 4 all work necessary 10 earring out the
complete arrangs III sBts for the eels brAtio4
20 asaecsssfni cio,e The pcss commander,
Lieut. Gofhsm X. HAsnnss pfesded 81
he exercises ard delivered "a interesting z
aistorlcsl sd6rys.. He Was follI~ed bs
| Howard Oser, Ed, q AusustH in let
ute emitted 0as HaIdted Years in
.hieh the speaker gave graphic account
| 4 the changes Of the psst. WITH glance
| forward st .Cme u the possible changes
| liable to cccgr in the nsxs htiy years. His
| eet1Ye wss sttentiv-ly listened 10 ty large
| sudieIce. Foiosilg this supper vas
served BY the members Of the LADIES' X
lief Corps, which took h gh rsnx with many
similar repssIs OF former times that have
4
| Of the pos.. Alter supper an hour
present who engaged in social
dance. At II 80 The party broke up deeisr.
log The whole sffalr a success and q credit
abb, observA' ce of the historic Anniversary
lG was designed 70 commemorate.
Abstract Of Mr.. Hastings Address.
Ths history Of what is now the town of
Sidney began early in the decsde which
opened in the year 1850. 1t formed POT
ton Of the Plymouth or Keni eb.c psteai
which Is the source OF the title to all the
land shove Topshsm end WooIwich sGd
below Norridge wock. A few settlers began
TO drift In upon both .ites Of the iiyer and
10 l77l the territory which nov comprises
| SidDey and VssssibJro, va, incorpofs ed
| in the county Of Liac Jln. W liisTs1n says
IN his His.ory of Maine. that IN 1853 there
were but ,eu tAmi les in the town. nearly
| all com n from Cspe Cod. In l77l they
voted ''to raise 30c Lawful money for the
| support OF q miuiser and other necessary
| charges" Ole of the.f first settlers on the
| Sidney side, IL not the fret, was John
| Marsh, tue great grandfather Of G. X
| Hastings, who presides at the ceremonies
| here this evening. He settled upon the
| river bank nesr Hasiings' brook about
| mile above Riverside station in Vassalboro,
| buils himself an humble cabin which he
occupied with his family. This WAS in
| 1863, ard the coulty was then practically a
wilderness. The lof en- which be located
ha, never passed from the hsEds Of the
.smil;. He hsd = son and daughter
The former rsu # and ,ined the Indian.,
| ceyer being heard Of afterwards, while the
g,.,,,ad Mo.es H.zEirus WIN
ltinued TO resiJe on the farm ard
sho va. lhs grandfather of Lieut..
H.siiags The original conveyance is
pow he'd by the family. IL is = printed
| document, musty ,nd faded with sge, upon
J,e .ide OF wh'ch appears 8 copy of the
| original Ant from King James Uaon
he other the deed frcm the Plymouth
| Company TO Mr.. Marsh. The writing is
yellow with aga. The old house has dis
appeared, modern dwelling occupying its
plsce.
The ancestors Of the Fsugh:s, the Low,
I1ys, the Clarks snd the Sswtellss, who
| nave sl~sys BE- en- ide ltfi "a with the history
| of the town. were also among the ti-.t se'
| tiers in his region. IL is related thai
| squire Lavtj had ;hree or folr slaves
.nd when msssachuseus passed an act
| f-e-i ing sli who were he'd in bondage, be
csiiv3 two OF them ur-Sslem and Venu,
end rendered them their liberty. Sa-m
.ad. You've hsi s,l tie meat now pics
| he bones"
They saved with him and when they died
/ ve-e hurled On The plsiHs where some one
| hun he'd OF h fl st s,ttlers were Inferred.
Nearly every vestige OF this old buryiug
| srou has disappeared, It has been pinwed
| up ard Lot sven stone remSiDs 20 marx
tne lssr Testing pl,ce Of these pioneers One
! cidzsn states that he fems m6ers shen boy
| # seeing ssvefsl OF the m0unds where the
/ bodies a.,
The Hrst settlers were obliged to go to
"Gsrd nerstown," nov Gardiner, distance
| o. folrieen m lts, when they had gr!ss to
| .rI7r. making The nip by boat. or by spo'-
! I'd trees upon he land The ,quatters ,on
| Sow pond made their wsy scr1ss through
the forest. a distance Of five miles to the
! river and thence by water to the mill. Later
| on John Marsh built grist mill on Hast
| irss brock, snd Gre spring Uncls Lewis
Clark vent to ths mill with grist.
| There were two bags when ground and
it was all he had for his family. There
vas a freshet VIII ch had formed an ice
| 7orge sb we the mill so that the building
! was IL very dangerous ii u.tion. The bags
of hread-tuffs were in he mill When Clark
ctu.s after them Aad the miller told him il
| ne valued hi. life not to enter. But bis
| family nneSed the food, he ssid, snd he
succeeit in removing one bag. He went
after he second, and ~hile inside the ice
| gorge broke, the mil was rvhelmed and
hi. dead body vas afterwards found At the
mouth Of the brook. During ihs Indian
vars block house and stocksde WAS bull;
At this poiot, remains of it being visible for
many years ST erwsrds. The older inhsbi-
tsnis also tell Of seeiug corn bills where the
Iadisns cultivsted maize in the days before
the pslsfsce spptsrsd
Tha his ory of Sidoey proper begins JAN
| 80. 1872. when he tom -ss incorporated