Genealogical and Family History
of the
STATE OF MAINE

Volume III

Compiled under the editorial supervision of George Thomas Little, A. M., Litt. D.

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York
1909.

[Please see Index page for full citation.]

[Transcribed by Sandra Boudrou]

[Many families included in these genealogical records had their beginnings in Massachusetts.]

BURLEIGH The surname Burleigh is an ancient English family name. The most common spellings of this name in the early records are Burleigh, Burley, Burly, Birle, Birley, Birdley and Burdley. No less than nineteen branches of this family in England had or have coats-of-arms. (I) Giles Burleigh, immigrant ancestor of the American family, was an inhabitant of Ipswich, Massachusetts, as early as 1648, and was born in England. He was a commoner at Ipswich in 1664. He was a planter, living eight years on what was later called Brooke street, owning division lot No. 105, situate on Great Hill, Hogg Island. His name was spelled Birdley, Birdly, Burdley and Budly in the Ipswich records and his name as signed by mark to his will is given Ghils Berdly. He bequeathed to his wife Elizabeth (called elsewhere Rebecca); his son Andrew; his son James; his son John, and an uncle whose name is not given. Theophilus Wilson was executor, Deacon Knowlton and Jacob Foster, overseers, Thomas Knowlton Sr. and Jacob Foster the witnesses. Soon after his death his widow was granted trees for a hundred rails and a hundred posts, June 13, 1668. She married (second), February 23, 1669, Abraham Fitts, of Ipswich. Children: 1. Andrew, born at Ipswich, September 5, 1657, married Mary, daughter of Governor Roger Conant. 2. James, February 10, 1659, mentioned below. 3. Giles, July 13, 1662. 5. John, July 13, 1662, died February 27, 1681. (II) James, son of Giles Burleigh, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, February 10, 1659, died in Exeter, New Hampshire, about 1721. Married (first), May 25, 1685, Rebecca, daughter of Thomas and Susannah (Worcester) Stacy. She died October 21, 1686. Her mother was a daughter of Rev. Witham Worcester, of Salisbury, Massachusetts. His sons Joseph, Giles, Josiah and James made a written agreement in 1723. Children: 1. William, born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, February 27, 1692-93, was at Newmarket in 1746. 2. Joseph, April 6, 1695. 3. Thomas, April 5, 1697. 4. James, Exeter, 1699. 5. Josiah, 1701, mentioned below. 6. Giles, 1703, married, December 9, 1725, Elizabeth Joy, of Salisbury, Massachusetts. (III) Josiah, son of James Burleigh, was born in Ipswich in 1701, died in Newmarket, New Hampshire, in 1756. He married Hannah, daughter of Hon. Andrew Wiggin, judge of probate, son of Andrew Wiggin (2) and his wife, Hannah (Bradstreet) Wiggin. Thomas Wiggin, father of Andrew (2), was the immigrant, coming in 1631 as agent for the proprietors of New Hampshire. Hannah Bradstreet was the daughter of Governor Simon and Ann (Dudley) Bradstreet, and grand-daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley. A tract of land at Exeter was set aside for him by the committee in 1718. He signed a petition for a bridge at Newmarket in 1746. Children: 1. Josiah, died at Newmarket, married Judith Tuttle. 2. Thomas, born about 1730, mentioned below. 3. Samuel. (IV) Thomas, son of Josiah Burleigh, was born about 1730. He was an inhabitant of Deerfield, New Hampshire, in 1766, and was appointed on a committee to locate the meeting-house. He married Mercy Norris. In 1775 he settled at Sandwich, New Hampshire, on what is now known as Burleigh Hill. He was a farmer. Children: 1. Deacon Thomas, married (first), April 6, 1779, Hannah Etheridge; (second) Susan, daughter of Benjamin and Lydia (Hanson) Watson, widow of Colonel Lewis Wentworth, of Dover. 2. Mercy, married, March 5, 1784, Eliphalet Smith, son of Colonel Jacob and Dolly (Ladd) Smith. 3. Benjamin, born about 1755, mentioned below. 4. Samuel, died at Sandwich, July 5, 1851; married March 7, 1785, Ruth, daughter of Joshua and Ruth (Carr) Prescott. 5. Josiah, died at Sandwich, August 31, 1845; married, February 27, 1788, Rosamond Watson, of Moultonborough, New Hampshire. 6. Dolly. (V) Benjamin, son of Thomas Burleigh, was born about 1755, in Deerfield, New Hampshire. He was a merchant, having a general store at Sandwich, New Hampshire, the first in that town. He married, November 23, 1779, Priscilla Senter, of Centre Harbor, New Hampshire, born November 1, 1759, died January 1, 1819. She married (second) Colonel Parker Prescott, son of Lieutenant John and Molly (Carr) Prescott, born at Manchester, Massachusetts, April 4, 1767, died December 17, 1849. Children: 1. Colonel Moses, born March 25, 1781, mentioned below. 2. Benjamin, born at Holderness, March 1, 1783, died at Oakfield, Maine; married Hannah Sanborn, of Centre Harbor. 3. Thomas, March 1, 1783, married, April 21, 1808, Hannah, daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Etheridge) Burleigh. 4. Priscilla, 1785, married William Cox. 5. Polly, born at Sandwich, 1787, died May, 1831; married Captain Ezekiel Hoit, son of Joseph and Betsey Hoit. 6. Olive, April 12, 1789. 7. _____, born 1790. (VI) Colonel Moses, son of Benjamin Burleigh, was born at Sandwich, New Hampshire, March 25, 1781; died at Linneus, Maine, February 13, 1860; married Nancy Spiller. He settled before 1812 in Palermo, Maine, where he lived until 1830, when he removed to Linneus, Aroostook county, where he resided until his death. At Palermo he was elected to various offices of trust and honor. He was captain of the militia company there when called into service in the war of 1812, and marched with his company to Belfast at the time that the British vessels entered the Penobscot river, to destroy the United States frigate "Adams." He was commissioned captain in the Fourth Regiment, Second Brigade, Eleventh Division, Massachusetts militia, in 1814, and promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1816. He was a representative to the general court of Massachusetts when Maine was a part of that state and afterward was in the Maine state legislature. He was a delegate to the convention in 1816 at Brunswick, to frame the constitution for the state of Maine. He carried the first mail by carriage from Augusta to Bangor, it having been carried on horseback previously. At Linneus he was appointed by the marshal to take the census in the northern section of Washington county. When he was engaged in that service, the provincial warden, alleging that he was in disputed territory in violation of the provincial law, pursued with authority to arrest Colonel Burleigh, but the latter was successful in eluding the pursuit and completing his work. In 1831 he was appointed assistant land-agent, to guard the section of the public lands, and in that office drove various parties of Canadian squatters back to the provinces. He was for several years postmaster at Linneus. We are told by his biographer that he was a man of activity, energy and probity of character; his hospitality was particularly marked, the hungry were fed and the weary found rest beneath his roof. His wife died January 2, 1850, aged sixty-four. "She lived a life of usefulness, was kind and beneficient, beloved and respected by her numerous friends." Children of Colonel Moses and Nancy (Spiller) Burleigh: 1. Elvira Senter, born January 7, 1806, died October 27, 1829. 2. Benjamin, March 6, 1809. 3. Benjamin, February 21, 1811. 4. Hon. Parker Prescott, May 16, 1812, mentioned below. 5. Nancy Spiller, married Jabez Young, of Houlton, Maine. 6. Moses Carlton, born at Palermo, May 15, 1818, married, 1843, Caroline Elizabeth Frost, of Lubec, Maine. 7. Samuel Kelsey, January 8, 1820, married Keziah Byron, of Linneus. 8. Olley Seaver, September 11, 18222, died March 20, 1876; married Dudley Shields. 9. Rufus Burnham, February 9, 1826; died at Fulton, Arkansas, April 30, 1864. Married at Belfast, Maine, September 21, 1857, Ann Sarah Flanders. (VII) Hon. Parker Prescott, son of Moses Burleigh, was born in Palermo, Maine, May 16, 1812. He was educated at the Hampden Academy, in Maine, and the Hartford (Connecticut) grammar school, at that time one of the best-known schools of the country. At the same time he received instruction in military tactics from Colonel Seymour, afterwards governor of the state. He removed with his father from Palermo to Linneus in 1830, and devoted some time to obtaining instruction in land-surveying. His knowledge of timber lands in the Maine wilderness was excelled by none, and he invested extensively in this form of property. He followed the profession of civil engineering and surveying, in addition to farming. As state chairman in 1869 of the Maine commission on the settlement of the public lands of Maine, he contributed largely to the development and settlement of Aroostook county. He was elected state land-agent in 1868 and served in that office eight years. He himself was one of the pioneers there, in 1830, and at the incorporation of the town of Linneus in 1836 he was chosen town clerk, treasurer, collector of taxes and chairman of the school committee. Throughout his long life he held nearly all the time some office of trust and honor. In 1839 he was commissioned captain of Company M, Sixth Regiment, First Brigade, Third Division, of Maine militia, and in 1840 was elected lieutenant-colonel of the Seventh Regiment, a position he held for seven years. He was appointed county commissioner by Governor Kent in 1841, and was subsequently elected to that office; was county treasurer also, and postmaster at North Linneus for twenty-five years. He was a member of the house of representatives in 1856-57, and a state senator in 1864-65, 1877-78. He was chairman of the board of selectmen several years. He died April 29, 1899 in Houlton, Maine. He married (first) Caroline Peabody, daughter of Jacob and Sally (Clark) Chick, of Bangor. She was born January 31, 1815, died April 6, 1861. He married (second) May 29, 1873, Charlotte Mehitable, daughter of Colonel James and Mehitable (Jones) Smith, of Bangor. Children of first marriage: 1. Hon. Albert Augustus, born at Linneus, October 12, 1841, married Lucinda G. Collins; enlisted in the Union army in the civil war in 1864; was wounded, taken prisoner and confined at Petersburg and Richmond; resided at Oakfield and Houlton, Maine; was commissioner of Aroostook county twelve years; surveyor of land by profession: children: i. Everett Edwin, born November 9, 1862. ii. Albert Augustus, January 8, 1864, died July 30 1864. iii. Preston Newell, born at Oakfield, February 18, 1866. iv. Parker Prescott, February 15, 1868. v. Frances Lucinda, November 19, 1871. vi. Harry Ralph, October 5, 1874. 2. Hon. Edwin Chick, mentioned below. (VIII) Hon. Edwin Chick, son of Hon. Parker Prescott Burleigh, was born in Linneus, Maine, November 27, 1843. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and at the Houlton Academy, where he fitted for college. Following the example of his father, he educated himself as a land surveyor, a profession that offered excellent opportunities at that time to young men on account of the necessity of surveying timber lands. For a time after leaving the academy he taught school, but when the civil war broke out he and his brother went to Augusta and enlisted in the District of Columbia cavalry, but he was rejected, on account of the state of his health, by the examining surgeon, Dr. George E. Brickett. Disappointed in his ambition to enter the service, he accepted a clerkship in the office of the adjutant general of Maine, and remained to the close of the war. He then followed his profession of surveyor and the business of farming until 1870, when he was appointed clerk in the state land office at Bangor, and two years later made his home in that city. In 1876-77-78 he was state land agent, and during the same years also assistant clerk of the house of representatives. In 1880 he was appointed clerk in the office of the state treasurer and removed permanently to Augusta. In 1885 he was elected treasurer of the state, an office that he filled with conspicuous ability and success. He was reelected in 1887, and in the year following was chosen governor of the state, with a plurality of 18,053 votes. In 1890 he was reelected governor with a plurality of 18,800 votes. His administration of state affairs was pre-eminently constructive and progressive in character. His experience in public life, his executive ability and well-balanced character fitted him admirably for the office of governor. Democratic in his ways, indefatigable in his attention to the varied duties of his position, he strengthened himself in the hearts of the people during his term of office. He was popular and won the commendation of press and public alike. His appointments were satisfactory. His addresses to the legislature and on public occasions marked him as a master of expression. Through his influence and action, the plan to remove the state capitol from Augusta to Portland was defeated, and an appropriation of $150,000 made for the enlargement of the old state house. He was chairman of the commission in charge of the state-house addition. Incidentally the state saved at least two million dollars by refusing to abandon the old capitol. In 1899 Governor Burleigh became chairman of a committee to locate and purchase a permanent muster field, and after something of a contest he secured the selection of historic Camp Keyes, in Augusta, an ideal field for the purpose, at a cost of $3,500. The value of the real estate has since then tripled, and the wisdom of the choice has been often applauded. During the winter of 1889 he called attention through the columns of his newspaper, the Kennebec Journal, to the crowded condition of the state insane hospital, and the legislature authorized the appointment of a commission to purchase grounds near Bangor for the erection of a new state hospital for the insane. At the suggestion of Governor Burleigh the valuations for the purpose of taxation were investigated by a commission, and the state valuation, as a consequence, increased from $236,000,000 to $309,000,000, and a state board of assessors created. Taxes have since then been more justly and equitably levied in Maine. In funding the state debt, Governor Burleigh effected a substantial saving to the taxpayers. At his suggestion the legislature authorized an issue of bonds to take up the entire state debt which was then bearing interest at the rate of six per cent. These three per cent bonds were sold at a premium of $79,000 and an annual saving of $71,520 effected at the same time. In 1891 he advocated the Australian ballot system in his address before the legislature. The house of representatives voted against the bill, but the governor fought hard, the popular support was given him, and in the end the bill was enacted. Since then, this system of voting has been adopted in almost every state in the Union. On the recommendation of Governor Burleigh, the secretary of the board of agriculture was given a larger salary and quarters in the state house, largely increasing the efficiency of the board. On his recommendation, the appropriation for state aid for soldiers, disabled veterans of the civil war, was increased from $70,000 to $135,000. At the same time he effected great improvements in the National Guard of Maine. It was upon his recommendation that the law passed providing heavy penalties for the careless setting of forest fires, making the land agent the forest commissioner of Maine, with wardens in every section. The results of this legislation have been very effectual and valuable. When the state library was to be moved to its new quarters in the state-house extension in 1891, he advocated a modern card catalogue, the appropriation for which was made, and to-day the state library of Maine in convenience and usefulness is second to none in New England. During his administration, it should be added, the rate of taxation reached the lowest point in the history of the state, notwithstanding the progress and improvements mentioned. When his four years as governor expired, Mr. Burleigh had aspirations to go to congress, and in the campaign of 1892 he sought the nomination, against Hon. Seth L. Milliken, of Belfast, then member from the third district. Mr. Milliken won after a lively and close contest, and was given the cordial support of Mr. Burleigh. In 1897, when Mr. Milliken died, the nomination was given Governor Burleigh by acclamation. In congress Mr. Burleigh's ability and usefulness have been conspicuous. His first important achievement in congress was the apportionment bill in the fifty-sixth congress when he served on the select committee on the census. Chairman Hopkins, of Illinois, had a bill for three hundred and fifty-seven members, based on a population of 208,868 for each member, while Governor Burleigh's bill provided for three hundred and eighty-six members, based on a population of 194,182 for a district, the smallest number that would allow Maine to retain four members of the house. The Hopkins bill was approved by the majority of the committee, but on the floor of the house the Burleigh bill was successful. As a legislator Mr. Burleigh has been remarkably successful, having the tact and ability to persuade others to his way of thinking. After the custom of his state, he has been reelected at each successive election to the present time. Since the death of the late Congressman Boutelle, Governor Burleigh has been Maine's member of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Mr. Burleigh has large investments in timber lands, especially in Aroostook county. He was interested with his brother, Albert A., in constructing the Bangor & Aroostock railroad into the Aroostook wilderness, an enterprise that has had a great influence in the development and upbuilding of that resourceful region. For a number of years past his chief business interest has centered in his newspaper, The Kennebec Journal. Associated with him in the management and ownership is his son, Clarence B. Burleigh, who holds the position of managing editor, and Charles F. Flynt, a practical printer of long experience, who has charge of the business department. When congress is not in session he may nearly always be found at his desk in the Journal building, or in the private office of his summer cottage on the shore of Lake Cobbosseecontee, where he spends part of the summer with his family. Congressman Burleigh is a frequent contributor to the newspaper, which has held its position and the high reputation it won under the management of Luther Severance, James G. Blaine and John L. Stevens, as an organ of the Republican party, to which the growth and strength of that party were in no small degree due. He is a director of the First National Bank and of the Granite National Bank, and trustee of the Augusta Trust Company. He is a member of Augusta Lodge, F. and A. M. Governor Burleigh married, June 28, 1863, Mary Jane, born in Linneus, Maine, November 9, 1841, daughter of Benjamin and Anna (Tyler) Bither. Her father was the son of Peter Bither, a native of England, who died in Freedom, Maine, and who served in the American army in the revolution. Benjamin Bither was in the service in the war of 1812. Children: 1. Clarence Blendon, born at Linneus, Maine, November 1, 1846, graduate of Bowdoin College in the class of 1887, married Sarah P., daughter of Hon. Joseph H. and Nancy (Fogg) Quimby, of Sandwich, New Hampshire; children: i. Edwin Clarence, born in Augusta, December 9, 1891; ii. Donald Quimby, born in Augusta, June 2, 1894. 2. Caroline Francis, born at Linneus, July 23, 1866, married Robert J. Martin, M. D., of Augusta, whose father, Dr. George W. Martin was a leading physician of that city; Dr. Robert J. Martin was drowned June 16, 1901, while attempting to rescue a drowning girl; they had one child, Robert Burleigh Martin, born September 3, 1888. 3. Vallie Mary, born at Linneus, June 22, 1868, married Joseph Williamson Jr., of Augusta, son of Hon. Joseph Williamson, of Belfast, Maine; children: i. William Burrill Williamson, born November 20, 1892. ii. Robert Byron Williamson, born August 23, 1899. 4. Lewis Albert, born at Linneus, March 24, 1870, graduate of Bowdoin College in 1891 and Harvard Law School in 1894, is practicing law in Augusta with his brother-in-law, under the firm name of Williamson & Burleigh; was city clerk of Augusta; and at present writing (1909) is a member of the Maine House of Representatives; married Caddie Hall, daughter of Hon. S. S. Brown, of Waterville, Maine; child, Lewis Albert Jr., born July 20, 1897. 5. Lucy Emma, born in Bangor, February 9, 1874, married Hon. Bryon Boyd, ex-secretary of state and now (1908) chairman of the Republican state committee; son of Dr. Robert Boyd, of Linneus; children: i. Dorothy Boyd, born November 12, 1895. ii. Robert Boyd 2d, born June 25, 1902; iii. Mary Edwina Boyd, born December 21, 1903; iv. Richard Byon Boyd, born December 10, 1904; v. Edwin Burleigh Boyd, born December 12, 1905. 6. Ethelyn Hope, born in Linneus, November 19, 1877, married, April 20, 1904, Dr. Richard H. Stubbs, son of Hon. P. H. Stubbs, of Strong, Maine. (IX) Clarence Blendon, eldest child of Hon. Edwin Chick Burleigh, was born November 1, 1864, in Linneus, Maine, and educated in the common schools of Bangor and Linneus, and new Hampton Literary Institute, graduating in 1883. He then entered Bowdoin College, from which he graduated with the class of 1887, after which he became editor of the Old Orchard Sea Shell, which was published by the Biddeford Times until the close of the beach season, when he returned to the city of Augusta, where he purchased interest in the Kennebec Journal in 1887. In 1896 he was elected state printer, which office he held until 1906. During the years 1896-97 he was president of the Maine Press Association. He has been president of the Augusta City Hospital since its establishment; was member of the board of assessors in 1897; president of the Augusta board of trade in 1899-1900; chairman Republican city committee since 1902. He is the author of the following works: "Bowdoin '87, a History of Undergraduate Days," "Camp on Letter K," "Raymond Benson at Krampton," "The Kenton Pines" and other works. He is a member of Augusta Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Chushuc Chapter, No. 43, Royal Arch Masons; Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar, Augusta and the Maine Consistory, thirty-second degree, Portland, Maine; also is identified with the independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, and is a charter member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In religious affiliations he is a member of the Congregational parish. Mr. Burleigh was married, November 24, 1887, to Sarah P. Quimby, born May 22, 1864, in Sandwich, New Hampshire, daughter of Joseph H. and Nancy P. (Fogg) Quimby. Their children are: Edwin C., born December 9, 1891. Donald Q., born June 2, 1894. (IX) Lewis Albert, son of Hon. Edwin Chick Burleigh, was born in Linneus, Maine, March 24, 1870. He attended the public schools of his native town, at Bangor and Augusta, graduating from the Cony high school in 1887 and from Bowdoin College in 1891. He studied his profession in the Harvard Law School, where he was graduated with the degree of LL. B., in 1894. In the same year he was admitted to the bar of Kennebec county, and in October of that year engaged in practice in partnership with his brother-in-law, Joseph Williamson. The firm has taken a leading position among the lawyers of the state, doing a general and corporation business. Mr. Burleigh is a Republican in politics, and has been city clerk of Augusta, and at present writing (1909) is a member of the Maine House of Representatives. He is a member of the board of education of Augusta; in 1903 was appointed one of the three United States commissioners by Judge Clarence Hale, of the United States district court, to succeed W. S. Choate, and in 1907 was reappointed to this responsible office. He was a director of the Augusta National Bank until it went into liquidation. Mr. Burleigh is very prominent in Masonic circles. He is a past master of Augusta Lodge of Free Masons; member of Cusuhue Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of Council, Royal and Select Masters; of Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar, and has attained the thirty-second degree in Masonry. He is a member of Kora Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine, Lewiston. In 1907 he was master of the Lodge of Perfection. He is also a member of Augusta Lodge of Odd Fellows; of Augusta Lodge, Knights of Pythias; of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and of Augusta Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a Congregationalist and a member of the prudential committee of the Congregational church. He married, October 18, 1894, Caddie Hall Brown, born in Fairfield, Maine, April 22, 1871, daughter of Hon. S. S. Brown, of Waterville, Maine (see sketch). They have one child, Lewis Albert Jr., born July 20, 1897.