The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1914-08-13
The Searsmont Centennial.
Poem and Historical Sketch by Prof Franklin F. Phillips
of Cambridge, Mass

ed old prophet and chieftain. The Eng
lish were clearly responsible for the
treachery that has been attributed to the
Indians. The French hunted and fished
with them, lived with them, intermar-
ried with them, making the English a
common enemy. In colonial days, in the
struggle for supremacy between the as
pirants of New France ard New Eng
land, the French stronghold being Cas-
tine, and the English stronghold being
York, squads of English soldiers in the
latter half of the seventeenth century
were wont to patrol the coastlands as
far east as the Georges; hence our beau
tiful river became the boundary between
the aspirants of the two nations. The
Tarratines were neutral in the war of the
Revolution; hence Massachusetts pro-
by fair and honorable purchase; and
Maine has since granted them annual
aid.
The present Town OF Searsmont COM
prises an area in the days of its first set
tiers known as Greene, in honor of Gen..
eral Greene of Revolution fame, Greene
Plantation covering an area now lnclud-
ing at least parts of both Belmont and
Searsmont. 1t was also designated by
Robert Houston, theWaldo Patent agent,
located in the village of Belfast, in his
record of settlers in 1904. as Plantation
Bonaparte. This Patent first fell within
the county of York; then in 1910 within
the county of Lincoln, which from New
Meadows extended east to Nova Scotia,
large part of the Acadia of the French;
| thap in 1870 in mort within ha oOl1nfv Of
Hancock; then in 1927 within the county
of Waldo, named in honor of General
Samuel Waldo, who in 176S added to his
then large holdings in the Patent by fur
Their purchase, and offered inducements
to settlers. Through his influence Fort
Pownall was built in Stockton in 1859, at
which date no white inhabitant retained
dwelling place upon the shores of Pen
obscot river or Belfast bay.
The Muscongus or Waldo Patent was
issued by the Plymouth, eng, } Council
in 1880 to John Beauchamp of London
and Thomas Leverett of Boston, Eng,
extending on the coast from the Muscon-
gus to the Penobscot river, comprising
nearly 1000 square miles, including the
whole of Knox county except the Fox
Islands, and Waldo county except five
towns. In the year of the grant Ed
ward Ashley and William Pierce, agents
of the patentees, established a trading
house on the Georges river at what is
now Thomaston. The settlement there
was broken up by King Philips war,
which terminated in 1878, and the terri
tory lay desolate for 40 years. On the
death of Beauchamp, Leverett became
by law possessed of the whole of the
grant. 1t descended to hts son, Gov
ernor John Leverett of Massachusetts,
and to President John Leverett of Har-
ward College, his grandson and the great
grandson of the original grantee. On
/ the restoration of apparent peace in 1919,
| Leverett took measures for re- organizing
and re-settling the Patent. He parcelled
the land MO ten shares in common, and
conveyed them to 'ten proprietors. who
admitted twenty other partners termed
the Twenty Associates. They after
wards transferred to the Waldos 100, 600
acres. Under them cane the first per-
manent settlement of the patent in the
towns Of Warren and Thomaston. In
1926 one David Dunbar, styled Surveyor
General of the Kings Woods, became
aggressive. Samuel Waldo was sent to
England to defeat Dunbar's assumed
authority, and succeeded. For that and
| OlDeT valuable service lHe I'LL ~ PAL
ners conveyed to him half of the whole
patent. In 1744 came his distinction and
promotion to the title of General Waldo
in the capture of Louisburg. In 1853 he
purchased of the Twenty Associates"
them but 100, 900 acres. On tour of in
spection of his estate, General Waldo
died suddenly near Bangor May %, 1869.
He was buried with high military honors
at Fort Pownall. The land descended to
four children, Samuel, Francis, Lucy and
Hannah. The last-named became the
wife of Thomas Fluckner, the Secretary
of the Province. Fluckner purchased
Samuel's shares Lucy died without
heirs, and her shares fell to the broth
ers and sisters. Fluckner and Fran
els Waldo were Tories, and their shares
| became forfeited to the State. In 1774
Henry Knox. afterwards known as Gen
eral Knox of Revolutionary fame, married
Miss Lucy Fluckner, the second daugh-
ter of Thomas and Hannah (Waldo)
Fluckner, and granddaughter of General
Waldo. When the Revolution had ended
General Knox purchased four-ffths of
the whole patent, the remainder being
the property of his wife. He die much
to induce immigration; but before his
death, which occurred in 1906, he became
financially involved, and in 1898 he mort
gagged that part of his domain now COM
prised in Waldo county to General Lin
coin and Colonel jackson, who had been
his sureties. In 1902 the mortgage was
assigned to Israel Thorndike, David Sears
and William Prescott of Boston. They
foreclosed it and established a land
agency in Belfast.
Tie agency record of Plantation Bona
parte, which in 1914 was incorporated as
the town Of Searsmont, dates 1904, and
reads, John L. Gilman can pay for so
acres. The following want new agree
ment: Humphrey Hook, Jonathan Bag
ley, John Morrow, Nathaniel Evans,
Jonathan Gilman, Joseph Ford: arranged.
Cross absent, Philip (probably Phillips)
absent, William Marsh, John Fish.
Marriage records in Belfast, 1774 to
1904 inclusive, read, march T., 1893,
Samuel Phillips Of Quantabacook and
Mary Crooks of Northport: Sept. l.,
1899, William Cunningham of Quantaba-
cook and Miss Susanna Carter of North
port: May 81, 1900 Mr.. Samuel Phillips
of a plantation near Belfast and Miss
Hannah Bolton of Frankfort, by Rev.
Ebenezer Price; May 25, 1902, William
Bryant of Sunnebec (now Appleton) and
Miss Hannah johnson of Quantabacook:
n,]r ~ I,,nx