The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1893-05-04
For the Reporter.
Early settlers of Canaan. No. ~.

four OF whom were soluitfa III hi' nv
olutionary army. Two OF them came I"
Maine ON hunting trip soon after peace
was declared, and were so well pleased
with the kcunebec valley that they per-
suaded their brothers With their parents
to follow them to the new country.
Mr. Russell was n well educated man
for those times and was teacher IN the
common schools before coming to Maine.
aud taught some district schools III
Canaan, As usual he bore the title OF
Master Russell. His children were well
instructed in the common branches.
Where he first settled is unknown to
me. but when | was II small boy he had
an acre or two of land fenced of and set
with apple trees in the lower fields OF
the John Webb farm in the corner next to
Henry Whites, where he was living
with his wife in house with two rooms
and working at his trade as shoemaker.
He WAS then quite an old man. His
constant remark when handing his work
to a customer was. "'rhcy are a
slick "A pair of shoes as have seen tins
many a day"
When quite feeble with age aud INF
trinity he undertook TO make pair ar
shoes for me, got one done and the othr
on the last, aud WAS taken too sick to
work. took the unfinished Shoe 10
another man, IA farmer and shoemaker
who promised to finish it as so II As hc
could get time. After a week or two
the old man got better. carried the
shoe back to him, he finished it, ani
think it WAS the last work he eyer did
He died soon after. but ! cannot tell his
age or the date. His widow went to
live with some of her children, the house
was pulled down, the fence removed,
and the lot became part OF the Iarih
then owned by Esq. Benjamin shepherd
The old lady Russell WAS smart and
active, and cultivated garden with hef
own hands not only for food but varle-
tv of flowers. Among these was the tall
snowy plant called Princes feather,
great curiosity to me, but still greater
was their hour-glass. their only means
of keeping time, and the only one that
| ever saw. They had to set it running
each morning as near as they coHld
guess by the sun and almanac.
Two of the sons, solomon and Nathan
tel. think, settled in Pennington, and
that is all know of them
Joseph lived in Bingham,'a AN intelligent
and fairly prosperous man, Justice OF
the peace and prominent in town affairs.
He had the roof of his large house GOV
cred with sheet lead, and when it took
fire and was burned down, they might
have saved more of the furniture, but
the melted lead rained down on them
and drove them out. His new house was
shingled.
Once he and his wife came on Il visit
to his parents, and as that house afford
ed scant accommodations for sleeping,
they staid overnight, by invitation, at
my mothers. Mr. Russell was out call
ing on the neighbors through the even
ing, and well recollect the conversa-
ton of the two women on religious sub
iects. Their frequent use of the W. rds
Arm Man, Arian, Hopkinsian and the
like, showed that they understood what
they were talking about. Mrs. Russell
gave an account of society of infldels
in Germany who called themselves the
illuminate the Enlightened"-from
whom she feared great danger to Christi
anity.
Calvin Russell followed hunting con-
siderably. | never knew of his having
any settled abode, but moved from place
to place where game was most abund-
ant. He and his wife lived one winter
in one room of his fathers house. had
an GRAND there and he explained to me
that the smell of birthstone was not
that they had been using it to cure the
itch, but he had been making gunpow
der. There was a bowl half full of some
that he had Just made standing on the
hearth to dry. ! suppose his manufac-
turc of powder for his own use was
quite a saving in expense. He shot and
trapped good number of foxes and
other game that winter. He had Il son
Isaac who became neat house carpen-
ter some years later and lived in Canaan
village; and II son Ephraim was skipper
of coasting schooner.
Ephraim Russell lived on the river
road, east side, down toward the Clinton
line. He was the father of suffering,
onc-cyed Iiba. who will be remembered
nv the elderly people in the village. |