Genealogical and Family History
of the
STATE OF MAINE

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 Coralynn Brown]

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

EMERSON The Emerson family originated in England, and the first to use the name there was Johannes Emeryson, of Brancepeth parish, county Durham, England, who was born before 1300. From him the various braches of the English family are descended, though the line cannot be traced perfectly. (I) Thomas Emerson, the English ancestor, was born before 1540 and was a resident of Great Dunmow, county Essex, where his three children are registered. He was probably son of Ralf of Foxton, who received arms in 1535. Children: 1. Robert, baptized Oct. 25, 1561. 2. Joan, baptized 1562. 3. John, baptized 1565. (II) Robert, son of Thomas Emerson, was born in Great Dunmow and baptized there Oct. 25, 1561. He may be identical with Robert Emerson of Bishops Stortford who married there Nov. 24, 1578, Susan Crabb, who was buried there Nov. 20, 1626, aged seventy years. Robert was buried at Bishops Stortford, Jan. 6, 1620. Children: 1. Alice, baptized Nov. 22, 1579. 2. Margaret, baptized Feb. 21, 1581-82. 3. Thomas, mentioned below. 4. Anne. 5. Robert, baptized April 12, 1696. 6. John. (III) Thomas (2), son of Robert Emerson, was baptized at Bishops Stortford, July 26, 1584, and died at Ipswich, Mass., May 1, 1666. In the church warden's book of St. Michaels he is recorded as a collector for the poor in 1636. He was the immigrant ancestor and according to family tradition came to New England in the ship "Elizabeth Ann," in 1635. He settled in Ipswich and had a grant of land there in 1638. He married July 1, 1611, at Bishops Stortford, Elizabeth Brewster. The genealogist of the English Emersons suggests that she was the daughter of the postmaster of Scrooby and the elder of the colony at Plymouth. Children: (recorded at the baptismal registry of St. Michaels, Bishops Stortford, England: 1. Robert, bap. May 24, 1612. 2. Benjamin, bap. Oct. 2, 1614. 3. Ralfe, bap. Oct. 19, 1615, killed by the falling of a tree in June, 1626. 4. James, bap. Feb. 16, 1617. 5. Joseph, bap. June 25, 1620, mentioned below. 6. Elizabeth, bap. June 14, 1623. 7. John, bap. Feb. 26, 1625, settled in Gloucester, Mass. 8. Thomas. 9. Nathaniel, bap. July 18, 1630, settled at Ipswich. 10. Susan, bap March 17, 1633, may have died on the voyage. 11. Sarah, bap. Aug. 12, 1640. (IV) Joseph, son of Thomas (2) Emerson, was born in England and baptized at Bishops Stortford, June 25, 1620. He died at Concord, Mass., Jan. 3, 1680. Through his son Joseph he was the ancestor of that most illustrious American, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The line is: Ralph Waldo (8), William (7), Joseph (6), Edward (5), Joseph (4). He married, in 1646, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert and Margaret Woodmansey, schoolmaster of Boston. They resided at Ipswich, Mass.; York, Maine; and Milton, Mass. Joseph Emerson was a Puritan minister said to have been educated in England. He may have studied at Harvard. He was at Ipswich as early as 1638; was admitted a freeman there Dec. 19, 1648; preached at York, Maine, the same year. In 1653 he was a resident of Wells and took the freemen's oath there July 4, 1653. He signed a petition to Cromwell, while of Wells, asking the protector to confirm the jurisdiction of Mass. over the inhabitants of Wells. About 1664 he left Wells, where he seemed to have a turbulent lot of parishoners, and where the church, after he left, had to disband. About 1664 he became minister at Milton, Mass. Dec. 1, 1660, he settled in Mendon, Mass., where he remained until the town was destroyed by the Indians, when he retired to Concord, where he died. He married (second) Dec. 7, 1665, Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, of Concord, granddaughter of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, first minister of Concord. She was born in 1638 and died Sept. 4, 1693, having married Captain John Brown, of Reading. Children of 1st wife: 1. Joseph. 2. Mary. Children of 2d wife: 3. Lucian, born Oct. 2, 1667, married May 15, 1683, Thomas Damon. 4. Edward, born April 26, 1670, married Rebecca Waldo. 5. Peter, mentioned below. 6. Ebenezer. 7. Daniel, married May 19, 1709, Jane Armitage. (V) Peter, son of Rev. Joseph Emerson, was born in Mendon in 1673, died in 1749. He married Nov. 11, 1696, Anna, born in Reading in 1678, daughter of Capt. John and Anna (Fiske) Brown. Capt. John Brown had married Peter Emerson's mother. They resided in the first parish of Reading, now South Reading, on the farm inherited from Capt. Brown. Children: 1. Anna, born July 6, 1697, died Aug. 11, 1697. 2. Elizabeth, born Feb. 20, 1699. 3. Anna, born March 9, 1701. 4. Brown, born April 16, 1704. 5. Lucy, born 1706. 6. Sarah, born Nov. 8, 1708. 7. Jane, born March 11, 1711. 8. Mary, born Dec. 20, 1713. 9. Daniel, born May 20, 1716, mentioned below. 10. Catherine, born Dec. 2, 1718. (VI) Rev. Daniel, son of Peter Emerson, was born at Reading, May 20, 1716, died at Hollis, N. H., Sept. 39, 1801. He married Nov. 7, 1744, Hannah, born at Malden, Dec. 3, 1722, died at Hollis, Feb. 28, 1812, daughter of Rev. Joseph and Mary (Moody) Emerson, of Malden. They resided at Hollis. Daniel Emerson was graduated at Harvard College in 1739 and immediately prepared himself for work in the ministry. In 1741 he was called to be the first minister of Hollis, N. H., then the west precinct of Dunstable, Mass. He continued minister until Nov. 27, 1793, when Rev. Eli Smith, who married his granddaughter, was elected as his colleague. In 1755, during the old French war, he was chaplain to the famous rangers of which Robert Rogers and John Stark were the officers. He was considered the ranking officer because of his family arms, bearing three lions. He kept a journal during his service and it has been preserved. He was chaplain again in 1758 in Colonel Hart's regiment. One of his letters to his wife, dated at Crown Point in 1755, was brought to Hollis by his dog, which he had trained for the purpose. He taught school and fitted his students for college. He gave the land on which the meeting house was built. He was one of the ablest advocates of the New Light doctrine and for many years was the leading and most influential minister in his section of the country. Professor Churchill said of him: "He was a kind of Congregational Bishop in his region." His dwelling house, built and occupied while he was a minister at Hollis, is in good repair and habitable. Children: 1. Hannah, born Sept. 30, 1745, married Manasseh Smith. 2. Daniel, born Dec. 15, 1746. 3. Mary, born Sept. 19, 1748. 4. Peter, born Nov. 19, 1749. 5. Lucy, born Oct. 29, 1751. 6. Mary, born Nov. 14, 1753. 7. Elizabeth, born May 5, 1755. 8. Ebenezer, born Aug. 14, 1757. 9. Joseph, born Sept. 28, 1759, graduate of Harvard 1779. 10. Ralph, born March 4, 1761. 11. Rebecca, born July 8, 1762. 12. Samuel, born Sept. 6, 1764. 13. William, born Dec. 11, 1765. EMERSON Perhaps the earliest form of this name in England is "Richardus fil. Emerici," from the writs of Parliament of the thirteenth century, at which time modern surnames were in progress of formation. It was the son of Emery, a form introduced into England by the Normans from the continent, where, as Americ, Emeric, Almeric, Almaric and Eimeric, it had a wide early use, and whence, in its Italian form, Amerigo, it gave a name to the New World. Emery's son Emmerison, Emmerson, Emberson, Imeson and Emerson. Heintzel, the best authority, derives the name Aimeric, in its eldest form Haimericus, from the old Teutonic, Haim, meaning house, dwelling or estate, and Riks, meaning rule, power, kingdon (Gothic, Haims and Reiks). He translates Haims as dorf or village, and Reiks as maechtig or mighty, and compares it with rex, rego, so that the word had perhaps the meaning of village ruler. It has become Heinrich, Henry in one direction, and Aimeric, Emery, Emerson in another. The Emersons in England seem to have sprung from that Aimeric, archdeacon of Carlisle and Durham, 1196-1214, and high sheriff of Northumberland, 1214-15, who was the nephew of Bishop Philip, of Poictou, Prince Bishop, of Durham, 1195, and previously clericum et familiarem of Richard, Coeur-de-Lion. Both the bishop and archdeacon had married before they took orders in the church. This descent explains the long connection of the Emersons with the bishopric of Durham. We find the name on record in the Richmond Domesday Book, and it may thus have had an independent origin in Yorkshire. Johannes Emeryson is the first on record to use the name in its completed form. Willelmus Emmerisson, possibly the younger brother of the above, was mentioned in the Durham Cursitor Rolls as a juror of Middleham in 1351. Robertus Emerisson or Emeryson is mentioned in Hatfield's Survey, taken about 1380. When Bishop Newville came to the throne of the Durham bishopric, 1437 to 1457, a Robert Emerson was appointed bailiff of Walsingham and park keeper in the Weardale. Emersons were long settled at Eastgate as hereditary keepers of the Weardale forests for the bishops of Durham. They became a clan and their servants took their name, thus accounting for the different social positions of various brances of the name both in England and among the Emersons of America. It has been the uniform tradition that the Ipswich Emersons came from Weardale, but there is in this country no dobumentary evidence of the fact. (I) Thomas Emerson, immigrant ancestor of this branch of the Emerson family, was probably born in Sedgefield parish, Durham county, England, and died at Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony, May 1, 1666. Tradition says he came form England in the ship "Elizabeth Ann" in 1635. It is certain he was at Ipswich as early as 1638, when he had eighty acres of land granted him adjoining that of Goodman Muzzey. This must have been the farm conveyed by Thomas Emerson, the baker, to Joseph Jewett. In 1638, Samuel Greenfield, a weaver, who had married Susanna, widow of Humphrey Wise, of Ipswich, conveyed a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, formerly the property of Wise, to Thomas Emerson. This was the Turkey Shore farm, which remained in the family for several generations. Thomas Emerson was a commoner in 1641, and in 1646 was one of the "seven men" to whom was committed the fiscal and prudential affairs of the settlement. He was granted land by the proprietors and enjoyed large possessions. There is a record that he lost a yoke of oxen by their backing off a bridge, for which he claimed damages and received the money. He made his will in 1653, added a codicil in 1660, and it was probated in May, 1666. He married Elizabeth _____, who was named executrix in the will in 1653 and carried it into execution in 1666. Children: 1. Elizabeth, married John Fuller, and resided in Ipswich. 2. Thomas, married Elizabeth ____, and dided in 1653. 3. Joseph, see forward. 4. John, born 1625, died Dec. 2, 1700; married Ruth Symonds, and resided in Gloucester, Mass. 5. James, who is said to have returned to England in 1653, but there is no proof that he ever came to this country. 6. Nathaniel, born 1629, died Dec. 29, 1712; married (first Sarah ____, (second) Lydia ____, and resided in Ipswich. 7. Sarah, died Aug. 12, 1640. (II) Joseph, second son and third child of Thomas and Elizabeth Emerson, born in England about 1620-21, died at Concord, Mass. Bay Colony, Jan. 3, 1680. Of his education nothing is known, but it is believed that he was educated in Engla.d He may, however, have studied in Harvard, as he was in Ipswich as early as 1638, and was admitted a freeman there Dec. 19, 1648. He preached at York, Maine, the same year, being a minister of the standing order of Puritan clergymen. He was a resident of Wells, Maine, in 1653, taking the freeman's oath July 4, and was an inhabitant when the commissioners took the submission of the people, the court being held in his house. He favored the submission of Massachusetts in 1651-52, and was evidently a leading spirit of the party. He soon lost his hold on the affections of the people of Wells, owing undoubtedly to the political dissensions which disturbed the church. After Mr. Emerson left the church in Wells its membership dwindled to two families, and they quarreled. This was about 1664 and he became the first minister of Milton, but upon asking for an increase of salary he was dismissed. He was settled in Mendon, Dec. 1, 1669, where he remained until the town was destroyed by the Indians during King Philip's war, after which he retired to Concord, where he died. Joseph Emerson married (first) Elizabeth, daughter of Robert and Margaret Woodmansey, the former a school-master of Boston. Children: Joseph, who married Mary _____. James, see forward. He married (second) Dec. 7, 1665, Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, of Concord, Mass., and granddaughter of Rev. Peter Bulkeley, D. D., first minister of Concord. She was born 1638, and died Sept. 4, 1693, wife of Capt. John Brown, of Reading. Children: 1. Lucyan, born Oct. 2, 1667, died 1740; married, May 15, 1683, Thomas Damon, and resided in Reading. 2. Edward, born April 26, 1670, died May 9, 1743; married, Jan. 27, 1697, Rebecca Waldo, and resided in Chelmsford, Newburyport and Boston. 3. Peter, born 1673, died 1751; married 1696, Anna Brown, and resided in Reading. 4. Ebenezer, died 1751; married (first) Bethia Parker; (second) Mary Boutwell; the names of his third and fourth wives have not been preserved; he resided in Reading. 5. Daniel, married May 19, 1709, Jane Armitage, and resided in Boston. (III) James, second son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Woodmansey) Emerson, born at Wells, Maine, died at Mendon, Mass., 1756. His name does not appear in the will of his grandfather Thomas, 1653, and the presumption is that he had not been born at that time. He resided in Ipswich and Mendon, Mass., where he was a tailor and farmer. According to the deeds from Josiah Thayer, of Mendon, and other deeds, he obtained the Mendon homestead, which remained in his branch of the family for several generations. In 1718 James Emerson, "Taylor," conveys "in consideration of ye love, good will and natural affection which I have and do bear unto my beloved son Joseph Emerson of Reading" seven and one-half acres of land in Mendon. James Emerson married Sarah _____, born in 1663, died at Mendon, Oct. 13, 1732. Children: 1. Elizabeth, born March 6, 1687, died 1760; married 1708, Joseph Taft, and resided at Uxbridge. 2. Sarah, married Nov. 4, 1709, Daniel Hall, and resided in Sherborn. 3. James, born March 13, 1692, died after 1747; married Feb. 21, 1722, Sarah Lock, and resided in Uxbridge. 4. John, see forward. 5. Joseph, born Dec. 18, 1696, died 1745; resided in Reading and Falmouth. 6. Ebenezer, born 1698, died after 1747; married Elizabeth Walcott, published Feb. 20, 1730, and resided in Attleboro. 7. Nathaniel, born Aug. 19, 1701, married Joanna _____, and resided in Mendon. (IV) John, second son and fourth child of James and Sarah Emerson, born at Ipswich, Mass. June 9, 1694, died at Uxbridge, Mass., 1780. He was a blacksmith, surveyor and considerable land holder, and resided in Mendon and Uxbridge. He married, Nov. 23, 1721, Mary Rice, of Reading, who was probably the granddaughter of Nicholas and Sarah Rice, of Reading. Nicholas Rice had been a dweller on one of Governor Bellingham's farms, and his wife was the unfortuante woman denounced during the witch-craft excitement in 1692 and committed to prison in Boston. Chldren: 1. John, born Sept. 6, 1722, married Feb. 27, 1745, Mary Wood, and resided in Uxbridge. 2. Thomas, born Feb. 2, 1725, died Oct. 13, 1796; married Nov. 25, 1748, Abigail Marsh, and resided in Uxbrige. 3. Mary, born Sept. 17, 1730, died young. 4. Luke, born Oct. 14, 1733, died Nov. 3, 17__; married April 30, 1755, Ruth Emerson, and resided in Rochester, Vermont. 5. Ezekiel, see forward. 6. Sarah, born Jan. 14, 1740, married (first) Jan. 1, 1763, Thomas Sabin, and resided in Mendon, Mass.; (second) Nov. 29, 1764, John Haskins, and resided in Providence, Rhode Island. 7. Phebe, born Aug. 17, 1743, married John Hurlbut, published Dec. 1, 1759, and resided in Uxbridge. 8. Hannah, born March 29, 1747, married Matthew Darling, pub. Oct. 29, 1767, and resided in Mendon. 9. James, mentioned in his father's will of 1768. (V) Ezekiel, fourth son and fifth child of John and Mary (Rice) Emerson, born in Mendon, Mass., Feb. 14, 1735-36, died in Georgetown, Maine, Nov. 9, 1815. He was graduated from the College of new Jersey (Princeton), then at Elizabethtown, in 1763, immediately himself to the study of theology, and the following summer commenced preaching at Georgetown, the earliest town east of teh Kennebec river. For thirty years prior to the coming of Mr. Emerson, a church had been maintained there under the care of the Boston Presbytery, but it had fallen into decay. Mr. Emerson's preaching was agreeable to the people and they gave him a call for settlement, which he accepted July 1, 1765. Covenant engagements were subscribed to by Mr. Emerson and eight members, and on July 3 he was ordained by a council; in September the remaining members of the former church united with the reorganized body. Soon after this settlement there was a great religious revival in Georgetown, and Mr. Emerson remained happily and peacefully with the people for about fourteen years, when the revolutionary war broke out. He removed with his family up the river to Norridgewock, where he remained until May 1, 1783. The country was then at peace, and he resumed his ministerial labors at Georgetown and continued to discharge them steadily and faithfully until 1810, when, his mental powers becoming impaired, he found it necessary to retire. Rev. Mr. Emerson preached a sermon at the ordination, Aug. 17, 1796, of Rev. William Riddel, at Bristol, Maine, reported to have been the same he preached in 1775, when Rev. Mr. Urquhart commenced his ministerial labors in Bristol. The following record appears on the book of an upper Kennebec town: "Canaan, 16 Feb., 1786. I have received of the town of Canaan the full of all accounts for ministerial services done among them from the beginning of the world untill this time - I say received by me. Ezekiel Emerson." Rev. Mr. Emerson married, March 27, 1760, Catherine, born March 8, 1732, daughter of Rev. Joseph and Mary (Rawson) Dorr. Children: 1. Phebe, born July 30, 1761, died June 19, 1829; married Josiah Heald, and resided in Norridgwock, Maine. 2. Ezekiel, born July 6, 1763, died 1809; married _____ Fish, and resided in Norridgwock. 3. Hawley, see forward. 4. Calvin, born Jan. 9, 1769, died Nov., 1827; married Elizabeth Pattee, and residied in Fairfield, Maine. 5. Luther, born Sept. 26, 1772, resided in Ohio. 6. Eusebius, born Aug. 21, 1774. 7. Susanna, born Dec. 13, 1776, married March 5, 1795, Charles Witherell, and resided in Norridgwock. 8. Mary, born July 17, 1778, died May 17, 1838; married John Tozier and resided in Fairfield, Maine. 9. Elizabeth, born May, 1780, died July, 1789. (VI) Hawley, second son and third child of Ezekiel and Catherine (Dorr) Emerson, born in Georgetown, Maine, Dec. 7, 1766, died in Norridgwock, Maine, Jan. 6, 1844. He married Rachel Lennon. Children: 1. Catherine, born June 13, 1796, died May 6, 1890; married William Morse, and resided in Bath, Maine. 2. Mary, born Feb. 10, 1798, died May 17, 1846; married Joseph Tarr, and resided in Georgetown. 3. Rachel, born June 24, 1800, died Jan. 9, 1862; married Robert Blake, and resided in Salem, Maine. 4. Julia Ann, born Feb. 7, 1802, died March 5, 1880; married (first) Laban Lincoln, (second) Oliver Talpey, and resided in Hallowell, Maine. 5. Margery, born April 3, 1805, married Philander L. Bryant, and resided in Wayne, Maine. 6. Elizabeth, born Sept. 24, 1807, died March 3, 1843; married Charles Loring, and resided in Norridgewock. 7. Diantha, born March 11, 1811, died Nov. 12, 1840. 8. Theodosia, twin of Diantha, died Oct. 16, 1841; married Joseph Nash, and resided in Montpelier, Vermont. 9. Rebecca C., born June 24, 1812, died Oct. 20, 1839; married E. P. Nash, and resided in Montpelier, Vermont. 10. Luther Dorr, see forward. 11. Nancy, born Jan. 31, 1818, died April, 1850. (VII) Luther Dorr, only son and tenth child of Hawley and Rachel (Lennon) Emerson, born in Georgetown (now Arrowsic), Maine, April 9, 1815, died in Oakland (formerly West Waterville) Maine, Oct. 28, 1893. He was born when Georgetown was a noted ship-building place, six yards being maintained, and many noble vessels launched from the town. Young Emerson remained at school until he was seventeen years of age, when he went to Dedham, Mass., and there found employment in a woolen mill. After a brief experience at Quincy, Mass., in a general store, he returned to Georgetown. He completed his education at the Bloomfield and Farmington academies when his parents removed to Norridgewock. He remained there until 1842, and then commenced working in the scythe shop of S. Hale & Company at West Waterville, and two years later was employed by R. B. Dunn, of North Wayne, in the same business. He continued with him until the Dunn Edge Took Company bought out the Oakland shops, when he returned and practically took charge of the business. He acted in this capacity until 1865, at which time the firm of Hubbard, Blake & Company was formed, with which Mr. Emerson continued for five years. The firm of Emerson, Stevens & Company was organized in 1870, Mr. Emerson being made treasurer and becoming a half owner in the business. They manufactured scythes and axes on an extensive scale, and these had a large sale throughout the west and northwest. Mr. Emerson was a director in the Messalonskee National Bank from the time of its organization and finally its president. Socially he was a most genial man, with a warm, kind heart, who never turned any needy one away empty-handed and whose deeds of charity were performed modestly and quietly. One of his most prominent characteristics was his love for old Maine history and antiquarian research. In these respects he was very well informed and a member of the Maine Historical Society. He married, 1852, Dulcina Minerva, born in Fayette, Maine, May 12, 1825, daughter of Reuben and Mary (Tuck) Crane. Children: 1. Alice Maria, born Sept. 15, 1855, resides in Oakland, Maine. 2. Walter Crane, see forward. (VIII) Walter Crane, only son of Luther Dorr and Dulcina Minerva (Crane) Emerson, was born in Waterville, Maine, that parat now Oakland, Jan. 18, 1863. His early education was acquired in the schools of Waterville and the Waterville Classical Institute, and he was graduated from Colby College in 1884. He then formed a connection with The Portland Press, as night editor, later, 1889, becoming part owner and associate editor of The Portland Advertiser, which connection was continued until 1901. He was one of the Washington correspondents of The New York Herald from 1901 to 1905. In the latter year Mr. Emerson returned to Maine to take charge of the business at Oakland, being the principal owner, still, however, retaining his residence in Portland. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1893 was a member of the house of representatives from Portland, serving one term and declining renomination. He commenced a successful career as a political campaign speaker in 1892, speaking in the state that year and in 1894. Two years later he made a campaign speaking tour under the direction of the National Republican committee in New York and the Middle States. In 1900 he was on a campaign tour for the National committee, being for two weeks in company with President Roosevelt, who was at that time governor of New York and a candidate for the vice-presidency of the U. S. In 1908 Mr. Emerson was a candidate for the Republican nomination for congress in the first district of Maine, being defeated by the incumbent, Rep. Amos L. Allen. He is a member of the Maine Historical Society, the Cumberland Club and Country Club of Portland. Has has a summer residence at Squirrel Island, Maine. Mr. Emerson married, Sept. 30, 1886, Janet, of Waterville, daughter of George and Mary (Taylor) Milliken. Child: Janet.