Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-11-18

4
spreasi over cur State For instance In the
present town of Sxowisegan is a hamiet
called M4sb..,a's Mills. which comes from a
dsseeniant u the Daniel Malhon who.
rkef, living "a Dresisn neck In 1852. conf
plaiue.l that his wife. Mfrxaret and his
children wcrs. carried TO Halifax BY the Ill
con i,ses OF Grellius. To-Day. The name is
kuoxu in pres.Ien enis BY a haekseberry
lot esIissi " dion f;iil. which vas his 90
acre grant Of land east Of Eastern river,
and station on the Maine Central Railway
called Pisiiun.s Ferry j. but Il corruption Of
tbs. French narne Perti in, t.p in'itybiuais
bearing that name having ssstlesi on the
bank of Eastern river in i752, a descendant
of one OF whom was granted land in FAIR
field. 4 census of pBwnalbsro taken IN
1865 shows that Malbon iiTesl in q one-story
log house with one fre-pisee. and may
interest some one il adj that at the same
time William Cushing, afterwards Judge
OF the Supreme Court at " sshington hse'i
and had his chamber i, two-story frame
house with two fireplaces, one brick Chin
ney and forty four lights OF glass. wh'ch
house was Owned by Abiel Lovejoy, and he
appears To have been lsing alone.
As our lIBgueDoss-for such they were
had the misfortune TO ioSe their minister
in HOLLAND ani were too poor TO support
one 10 their wilderness home, they peti-
toned the Epi-eJnti 5. 7. G.. which sent
them Rev NJ. sIcClcnnaslsn. who com
pIaited vi lis quarters in Fort Richmond
and then lief; them in two wears, To be sue
s,ee,le,l by Rev. Jacob Bailey who arrived
10 i1G0 lie lived in Fort Richmond until
he com.L- i..eri that it was falling down. In
1865 he is reported as living 10 one story
log house with three FIRE places, two b'lck
chiInneys, stone cellar AMI IS lights of
glass. his family consisted OF four perso
one male. three females, one under IL ami
three over Ia years of age. II his parish
toners lived lives of hardship, certainly HE
position was no si1ecuve. lie WAS certain
ly faithful TO his trust, he studied the
French language that he might known more
about his people, AMI wish that his papers
could he found. As Is well known. h.
caused to be erected in pownalboro the first
Episcopal church in Maine, in 1870 and
went to Nova Scotia in l719.
Why were these people persistent|y
called Germans: Partly from ignorance of
the facts, but chiefly think by design
Most of our history has had too much of an
lands and of the Iiuguenots has never been
stndied by our people. Some day we may
do justice to the Catholics even. and also
to the Irish. Possibly study of this chap
ter of our history will pave the way for
that. England and France are old time enc
mics, SO are France and Germany, Ger
many and England were close allies. In
America. Massachusetts, Bay Colony shared
English prejudices intensified by narrow
higotry. That colony did efficient service
in aiding England to wrest from France
her rightful possessions in North America.
The fall of Louisburg in l745, was the
final blow for the French, and the crown
ing glory of Massachusetts. -Four years
later Halifax was lotted for settlement, and
in 1851 only years after the fall of Louis
burg. Frankfort plantation was laid out for
settlement The Hnguenots were never
suspected of disloyalty to France, but they
would not abjure their Protestant faith.
Long before these events, Massachusetts
colony had practically baHished all French
Catholics, and French Prote>tants were
looked upon with some suspicion. In the
eyes of Englishmcn they might be spies,
although the colony had kindly received the
wanderers who settled in Oxford. Mass.
And vet Rev. Mr.. LeMercier was employed
to examine those coming from Nova
Scotia. who were permitted to remain on
his certificate as To their character. Even
at the time when Count de ROchambaus
army entered Boston as allies of the Cont
nentals, the provincial people of Boston,
who knew nothing of Frenchmen except
through English eyes, looked upon his sol
Tiers as objects of curiosity. See Me-
mortal History of Boston. Under these
circumstances and others which | need not
stop to recount it is not surprising that
those who brought them here sought to save
themselves pos ible trouble by passing
them all as Germans. II would not be sur
nrising if some of the French, even, know
ing these facts, were content to be consid
cred as Germans. although they state their
nationality clearly enough in their letters TO
Peter Charton of Boston. In addition to
the colony on the Kennebec there are many
French Huguenot names, to say nothing of
Germans, Dutch, Scotch and Irish. all over
our State. sometimes slightly changed with
time
In l1Gj our Pownalboro llugucnots. with
their English, Scotch, Irish and Ger
man neighbors peiirioned for IA divi-
sion of the town. Then the west
side, now Dresden had $50 inhabitants, 1919
male. Isl female. 1870 chil lrcn under 10, all
in 90 families, an they lived in 10 log
houses and II frame houses, II of which
were one story, and eight were two stories
high, one was of three stories AMI it may
still be seen from the river and the railway
and is now known as Pownalboro court
house. The bull ling was then reported as
the house in which Major Goodwin dwells
and in which the courts are held. 1t had
six frepaces, one brick chimney, one
stoned cellar and S5S lights of glass there
were five rooms unfinished. Goodwin had
eleven in his family, two under IL and nine
above that age. five were males and six
females 1t stood within the parade of
Fort Shirley. the last blockhouse of which
was removed in 1917.
Ten wears later, when Gen. Gage occu-
pied Boston, and the market for these people
was cut off, Edmund Bridge wrote to the
Mass. Provincial Congress as follows;
Plunged in the deepest distress and in
danger of perishing by famine. from the
want of provisions, we cannot support the
cltmors of our wives and children, for
bread. To YOU gentlemen, next to Heaven
we address our prayers for support. The in
habitants of Pownalboro in the midst of
calamity bave been applied to by Gen. Gage.
lie offers to supply us with provisions #
we will engage to send his troops supply
of fuel We cannot comply with his de-
mands. We would not contribute to the sup
port of the enemies of our country. Pray
direct us what course to pursue. Give us
bread, and we will cheerfully sacrifice our
Ill IN ApI
your petitioners as in duty bound shall ever
pray EDMrNp BRIDGE.
WArERrows, July II. l175."
Even at the risk of trenching upon the
field which will soon be ably filled by u
well known Gardiner gentleman feel that
this paper would hardly be complete without
some reference to the man who for 81. years
was Dresdens town clerk, although he was
not a refugee Major John de Poiereczky
was a native of Alsatia, although of Hun
garian origin. He vas town clerk in 1874
and 1896, then keeper of the new lighthouse
on Seguin island for few years and then
town clerk from 1905 to lS2S. | don't
know whether he was Protestant in France,
but he became pew-owner in Freeman
Parker's Congregational church in 1901,
and helped organize the Methodist church
afterwards. No doubt he came to America
with Rochambeau. The German settlers
of 1852 were fewer in numbers than were
the French. | am still finding additional
material relating to them which hope to
get together soon. A large family of them
was the Mayors. DR.. Cashmere Mayors
was born Feb. %. l132, but don't know
where-eitber Bavaria or the Palatinc, per-
haps But the noted German who came to
Pownslboro at the close of the Revolution
AIRY War is easily traced. In a small apart
ment opening from Bates Hall in the
Boston Public Library may be seen the