The Republican journal., 1908-07-16
THE EARLY SETTLERS OF BELFAST.
A paper read at the meeting of John Coch-
ran Chapter, D. A. R., July 13, 1908

IA paper read at the meeting of John Coch-
ran Chapter, D. A. r.. July 13, 1908.
From Belfast, ireland, shortly after the
reign of Elizabeth, to Belfast, Maine, as we
know it, seems far cry, but if the Belfast
"Daughters" will consent to take passage
on the good ship Imagination, taking with
them a plentiful supply of patience, there is
reasonable assurance that the trip he made
in safety and in comparatively short time.
In Belfast, Derry, and Bangor, ireland, in
the reign of James l, we would have found
large number of Protestants, emigrated
there from Scotland to inhabit the depopu-
lated county Ulster. So disagreeable did
they find the constant friction with the
Catholic natives that emigration again sug-
gested itself, and 100 families took passage
for Boston, where they arrived in the au-
tumn of 17l8. The welcome accorded them
was anything but to their liking, as they
were hailed as "Irish," to them opprO-
brious term, and an incorrect one. for they
were no more Irish than if they never had
| left their s'ain" Scottish "banks and "braes.'
Can we imagine with what heavy hearts
they journeyed along the Massachusetts
shores, searching for place to make per-
! manent settlement? FrutlesS and discOur-
| aging as their unsuccessful trip was, they
were not daunted, and, as beftted men of
such stout hearts and hardy perseverance
they rejoiced on "hearing of tract OF good
land above Haverhill called Nutfeld from
the abundance of chestnut and walnut trees
that grew there" and 16 families bravely
made their way through the wilderness,
there to settle in 1919. They were soon
ioined by others and the newly named town
of Londonderry grew and t1ourshed. Will
hanson tells us that these colOnists first in
troduced the potato in n. E., and beside
that, the credit of bringing into general use
the hand card, the foot-wheel, and the loom
| belongs to this same community. A Lon
| donderry historian is also authority for the
| fact that the first settlers were "steadtast
| in their adherence to enlightened religious
principle" and also were most interested
in the spread of education. Among these
sturdy pioneers was one John MITCHELL
who brought with him from Ireland, as
| one of his most precious possessions, no
doubt, his five year old son John. John,
,Jr.. after serving his apprenticeship as
a Joiner, became a surveyor. After the
French War he was employed by the Massa-
chusetts governor to make survey of the
Schoodic River and Passamaquoddy Bay,
and it was on his voyage from Boston to
Schoodic in the summer of 1865 that he
visited Penobscot Bay and looked upon the
i place where Belfast now stands, then an un-
broken and primeval wilderness. Sofavor-
ably was he impressed with these pictur-
esque shores that, On finding them to be for
sale, he communicated with his London
derry friends, and in October. 1875, the 35
original proprietors gathered and adopted
articles of government. The estimated 15,-
900 acres were to be divided into 51 rights
or shares, distributed as follows: John
Steele, 8; John Mitchell, Jr., 6; John
Gilmore for Robert Patterson and sons, 81;
James MacGee, Jr., 3; John Tuft, 2; Sam
uel Houston, 2; John Brown for Joseph
Caldwell, .; James Gilmore, 2; John Mori-
son, 2; John Brown, Nathaniel Martin,
James Thompson, John Stewart, Alexander
Stewart, Joseph Morrison, James McGregor
| for John Lewiston, John Reed, Samuel
Marsh, John Durham, Samuel Allison, Capt.
John Moor, Alexander Little, Andrew Jack,
Capt. Moses Barnet, lothian Thompson,
Robert McIlvain, David Gilmore, Alexander
Wilson, William Gregg, Samuel Dunlap
and James Nickels, 1 each. Mitchell was
elected clerk, and committee consisting OF
James McGregor, John Gilmore, John
Tuft, John Steele and iitchell were
chosen to journey to the shores OF Penob-
scot bay and lay out the town, stopping in
Boston en- route to conclude the contract
with the heirs of General Waldo, by which
they got e15,OOO or about 20 cents an acre
for the land on which our city is located.
And vet we talk of real estate in Belfast
being at low ebb in these days!
The holders of the 81 rights agreed to di-
vide the land on the shore. as far up the
river as navigation was supposed to extend
into 80 harbor lots, saving Out-"for the
first gospel minister that be settled. viz:
100 acres off the north end, and the remand
er on the south end to be common to build
meeting house on, and grave yard and a
training field" Each lot contained about
% acres with 40 rod shore front. liz
March, 1869, the lots we're drawn at the
house of Daniel Craig, 1nnholder. Among
the comparatively few names included
in the lift of proprietors whose decend.
ants are now among our townspeople
are the following: Our own John Cochran
who was the last survivor of the original
proprietors, and who for many years acted
; as their clerk. He drew lot AZ, where he
resided for several years, afterward Occup.
ing lot 40, known as the Salmond lot; John
Durham, who came in 1878 with his sons
Tolford and John, both of whom we're very
prominent in the towns early history
James and John Gilmore, the former q
lieutenant during the Revolution, Johr
Brown; Samuel Houston, who settled hert
in 1771, living in log hut, and who was
captain of Belfast's first militia company
his son, Samuel, Jr., who served in the Re
yoluton and was a member of Washing
tons Life Guard; James Miller; Johr
Mitchell, who chose lot q, which in
cluded Goose river, out of the he drew, tt
settle on He married Elizabeth Wilson
and their 10 children were all Identified will
prominent families. Their eldest son
John, married Elizabeth Cochran, sistel
of "B0ston John" as Williamson calls him