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.]

FREEMAN Two immigrants of this name each founded families in New England. Edmund Freeman from England was in Saugus in 1635 and his standing in the community was recognized by his being known and addressed as Mr. Edmund Freeman. He represented men of the first respectability in England and came to New England as their agent to establish and care for colonists. He brought with him twenty corsletts or pieces of plate armor to be used in defending the bodies of the soldiers against the arrows of the Indians, and he presented this armor to the colony at Lynn. He proceeded to Plymouth Colony in `636, and, Jan. 2, 1637, was made a freeman of that colony, and after a short time in Duxbury he obtained leave of the colonial government to commence the establishment of an English town on Cape Cod, he having with him nine other men of standing and influence from Saugus (Lynn), and they became the founders of Sandwich, the first town on the cape. He was thus the founder of the Freeman family of Sandwich, Plymouth Colony. He was, however, preceded in New England by Samuel Freeman, who was in Watertown, Mass. Bay Colony, in 1630. (I) Samuel (1) Freeman came from Devenshire, England, with Governor Winthrop. He may have been a brother of Edmund of Sandwich, and as Gov. Winthrop landed at Salem, June 12, 1630, Samuel Freeman must have proceeded to Watertown the same year, as he applied to be made a freeman of that town in 1630, and tradition says he owned one-seventh of the town. His house was burned Feb. 11, 1630-31, according to "Winthrop's New England." It is said that he was one of a family of eight or ten sons, and it is further stated that he died in England while on a business visit to his home soon after the birth of his son Samuel. His wife was Apphia _____. Children: 1. Henry, admitted as a freeman of the town of Watertown in May, 1645; married Hannah Stevens, Dec. 25, 1650, and as his second wife, Mary Sherman, Nov. 2, 1656. 2. Apphia. 3. Samuel (q.v.) born May 11, 1639. The father died in England probably in 1639-40, and his widow has been the subject of speculation by genealogists, it being claimed that she married as her second husband Governor Prence, in 1633, but as it is certain that Governor Prence died in 1673, and that his wife Mary survived him and resided with her friends in Yamouth, the records of which town state that Mrs. Mary Prence, late wife of Gov. Prence, died Dec. 9, 1695, there is no legitimate ground on which to make the widow of Samuel Freeman his wife. (II) Deacon Sameul (2), second son and third and youngest son of Samuel (1) and Apphia Freeman, was born in Watertown, Mass., May 11, 1639. He married Mercy, daughter of Constant Southworth, assistant in the Plymouth Colony, May 12, 1658, and became deacon of the church in Eastham in 1676. He was a representative in the general court of Plymouth in 1697, and was a man of "pecuniary resources and financial ability." He purchased a portion of the Governor Prence estate and he owned many acres of the best land in Eastham and adjoining towns. He died Nov. 25, 1712. Children: 1. Apphia, born Dec. 11, 1659, died Feb. 19, 1660, in Eastham. 2. Samuel (q.v.), born March 26, 1662. 3. Apphia, born Jan. 1, 1666, married Isaac Pepper, of Eastham Oct. 17, 1685. 4. Constant, born March 31, 1669, married Jane Treat Oct. 11, 1694. 5. Elizabeth, born June 26, 1671, married Abraham Remick, and second ____ Merrick. 6. Edward, died young. 7. Mary, married John Cole about 1793. 8. Alice, married Nathaniel Merrick. 9. Mercy. (III) Samuel (3), second child of Deacon Samuel (2) and Mercy (Southworth) Freeman, was born in Eastham, Barnstable county, Mass., March 26, 1662. He married Feb. 5, 1684, Elizabeth Sparrow, and about 1693 to his second wife Bathsheba, daughter of Barnabas Lathrop, and widow of Samuel Smith. He was commander of the militia of Eastham for many years, a selectman of the town for eight years and a delegate to the general court nineteen years. In the town records of Eastham he is first called "Captain" and later "Deacon." He died in Eastham, Jan. 30, 1742-43. Children, b. in Eastham: 1. Priscilla, born Oct. 27, 1686, married Capt. John Sears, May 31, 1704. 2. Samuel, born Sept. 1, 1688, married Mary Paine Oct. 9, 1712. 3. Elizabeth, born April 10, 1694, married Isaac Pepper Jr., Feb. 21, 1716-17. 4. Barnabas, born Jan. 21, 1695-06, married Mary Stone, Dec. 10, 1734. 5. Nathaniel, born May 2, 1698, married Mary Paine, Oct. 11, 1723. 6. David, born Jan. 28, 1699-1700, married Feb. 18, 1727-28, Lydia Freeman. 7. Elisha, born Dec. 9, 1701, married May 7, 1725, Lydia Freeman. 8. James, born Aug. 4, 1704. 9. Enoch (q.v.), born May 17, 1706. 10. Simeon, born Feb. 23, 1707-08, died before 1732, proably unmarried. 11. John, born Jan. 5, 1709-10, married in 1741, Bertha Cobb. 12. Abijah, born May 5, 1715, married July 5, 1733, Isaac Higgins, of Eastham. 13. Bathsheba, died young. (IV) Enoch, ninth child of Captain Samuel (3) and Elizabeth (Sparrow) Freeman, was born in Eastham, Mass., May 17, 1706. He was graduated at Harvard College, A.B., 1729, A.M. 1732. He was a school-teacher after leaving college and subsequently became a merchant in Boston. He removed to Falmouth in the district of Maine in 1741, and upon his marriage to Mary Wright, Aug. 3, 1742, he settled in Falmouth. He was captain of the first organized militia company in Falmouth, receiving his commission from Governor William Shirley in 1744, and in that year by order of the general court of Mass. he superintended the construction of a breastwork and a platform on which to mount ten twelve-pounders, the works being located on Casco Neck and calculated to defend the harbor and town from foreign invasion. When the works were completed and the twelve-pounders placed in position he was given command of the fortifications. He was selectman of the town 1744-47; major of the Second Regiment of Militia in York county from 1746; treasurer of the town 1746-54; justice of the peace from 1748; colonel in command of a regiment on the Eastern frontier in 1748, and substantially in command of the entire troops organized for the defence of the district; deputy naval office 1749; deputy collector of the port 1750-74; judge of the court of common pleas 1760-88, a period of twenty-eight years; register of deeds for the country for twenty-nine years; justice of the quorum commission 1761; judge of probate 1770-88, a period of eighteen years; justice throughout the district 1775, and had his commission as councilor negotiated by Governor Thomas Hutchinson in 1774. He represented Falmouth in the general court of Massachusetts, 1748-55-56-74; was a delegate to the Provincial congress in 1774, the same year was a member of the committee of correspondence on the alarming condition of provincial affairs and with power to call a convention of delegates from all the towns in the county. He also served as chairman of the committee and of the committee of inspection and correspondence. He was chairman also of the committee having in charge of relief of the sufferers of Falmouth, Casco Bay, and of the committee of safely of Falmouth in 1775. Judge Freeman married, Aug. 3, 1742, Mary Wright, who died in Falmouth, Jan. 7, 1785, and Judge Enoch Freeman, Sept. 2, 1788. Children, b. in Falmouth, dist. of Maine: 1. Samuel (q.v.), born June 15, 1743. 2. James, born Sept. 6, 1744, died unmarraied 1771. 3. Mary, born June 14, 1746, died Oct. 22, 1756. 4. William, born Nov. 13, 1747, died June 6, 1765. 5. Enoch, born Sept. 4, 1750, married Sept., 1784, Mehitable Cushing. 6. Mary, born Jan. 12, 1752, married Nov. 2, 1772, Thomas Child. 7. Lathrop, born March 23, 1753, died April 26, 1753. (V) Samuel (4), eldest child of Judge Enoch and Mary (Wright) Freeman, was born in Falmouth, Maine, June 15, 1743. He was a pupil of Stephen Longfellow in Falmouth; attended lecutres on general subjects at Harvard College and studied natural philosophy (physics) and astronomy under Prof. John Winthrop there. He taught school in his native town 1764-66. He shipped to England cargoes of masts and spars in 1772, and was a land surveyor and served on important political committees. In 1775 he was the sole delegate from the Falmouth district to the Provincial congress and he was re-elected in 1776 and 1778, and at the third session of the congress he was made the secretary by a unanimous vote. He was clerk of the house of representatives in the general court of Massachusetts 1775-81, and he held twenty-two positions of public trust at one time. On Oct. 5, 1775, he was appointed postmaster of Falmouth, his commission being signed by Benjamin Franklin, and he held the position for twenty-nine years. He was also a justice of the peace;; register of probate for thirty-six years, judge of probate seventeen years; clerk of the court of general sessions forty-six years; clerk of the court of common pleas forty-five years, and from 1795 up to the separation of the district of Maine from Massachusetts in 1820 was clerk of the supreme judicial court, with the exception of one year, 1811. He was selectman of the town of Falmouth twenty-five years, and only his absence one year broke the consecutive order of his service, and for most of this period he was chairman of the board of selectmen. He served as chairman of the school board for many years; served on the fire ward and as clerk of the market. He served for over thirty years as a trustee of the Falmouth Academy, and he was clerk, agent and general manager for the proprietors of the four eastern townships. He was a founder and the first president of the Maine Bank, established in Portland in 1802, and also of the Portland Benevolent Society. He is the author of "The Town Officer," "Clerk's Assistant," "Probate Manual" and "Justice's Assistant." He married Nov. 3, 1777, Mary, daughter of Edward Fowle, of Watertown, Mass.; she was born in Watertown, Nov. 21, 1749, died in Falmouth, district of Maine, Jan. 7, 1785, and he married (second) Betsey, daughter of Dr. Enoch Isley, of Portland, and widow of Pearson Jones, Feb. 7, 1786. She was born Oct. 6, 1704, became the mother of six children by her second husband and died March, 1831. Children of 1st wife: 1. Mary, born Sept. 21, 1778, married in 1798, Jonathan Bryant, of Portland; died July 31, 1832. 2. Samuel Deane, born May 27, 1781; Harvard, A. B., 1800; died unmarried Sept. 17, 1831. 3. William (q.v.), born July 2, 1783; Harvard A. B., 1804; married Aug. 29, 1806, Clarissa Clark, of Boston. Children of 2d wife: 4. Elizabeth, born Nov. 7, 1786, married Dec. 10, 1810, Elnathan Duncan. 5. Dorcas, born June 30, 1789, married Feb. 14, 1808, Henry Holmes, of Boston; died April 23, 1813. 6. Henry, born March 2, 1792, died unmarried Nov. 9, 1834. 7. Charles, born June 3, 1794; Bowdoin, A. B., 1812; clergyman; unmarried; died Limerick, Maine Sept. 10, 1853. 8. George, born March 24, 1796; Bowdoin, 1812; died unmarried May 27, 1815. 9. Charlotte, born March 6, 1800, married Sept. 9, 1828, the Rev. John Boynton, of Phippsburg, Maine. Hon. Samuel Freeman died in Portland, Maine, June 18, 1831. (VI) William (1), second son and third child of Judge Samuel (4) and Mary (Fowle) Freeman, was born in Falmouth, Maine, July 2, 1783. The town of Falmouth was renamed Portland in 1786, and he was a pupil in the schools of Portland and was prepared for college at the academies at Fryeburg and Berwick. He was graduated at Harvard College, A.B., 1804; A.M., 1807. He prepared himself for practice of law under the direction of Judge Green, of Berwick, and William Symmes, Esqp. of Portland, and he was admitted to the Cumberland bar in 1807. He engaged in the manufacture of lumber at Limerick in company with Jonathan Bryant for a short time, after which he returned to Portland and engaged in the practice of law, removing to Saccarappa in Westbrook township. His ownership of lands in Washington county conveyed to him by his father in 1826 demanding his attention, he divided his time between Saccarappa and Cherryfield, and after 1829 he removed to Cherryfield permanently. While a resident of Limberick he was elected a representative in the general court of Massachusetts, and in 1829 was elected at Cherryfield a representative from that district in the legislature of the newly established state of Maine. With his ability as a business man he combined the thorough knowledge of law, the gift of the poet, the charm of the platform speaker, the force and persuasive powers of the political orator and the peculiar gifts of the peacemaker. During the Harrson campaign of 1840 and the Clay campaign of 1844 he supported the Whig candidates, not only on the stump but in his political songs, which were sung with great effect at all the political gatherings in the state, and after he had attained the age of ninety-two years he composed songs and other poetry that, when printed, covered one hundred and fifty pages. He was a member of the Unitarian church, and one of the founders of Cherryfield Academy. He died in Cherryfield, Maine, Feb. 20, 1879, having reached the ninty-sixth year of his age. He married, Aug. 29, 1806, Frances, daughter of Thomas and Sally (Conant) Clarke, of Lexington and Boston. She became the mother of seven children and died April 29, 1861. Children: 1. William, born Feb. 22, 1808, died Feb. 23, 1808. 2. Frances Sarah, born June 20, 1810, married (first) Dr. Tristram Redman and (second) John M. Hale, of Ellsworth, Maine. 3. Lucy Helen, born Aug. 9, 1812, married Thomas Hale. 4. George, born Oct. 15, 1814. 5. Elizabeth Dorcas, born March 1, 1817, died June 10, 1893. 6. Charlotte, born June 29, 1819, married Judge Caleb Burbank. 7. William (q.v.) (VII) William (2), seventh child of William (1) and Frances (Clarke) Freeman, was born in Portland, Maine, Nov. 17, 1822. He was educated in the public schools of Boston, the Academy at Lexington, Mass., and the Academy at Cherryfield, Maine, and the Wells Boarding School at South Boston Point, 1836-42, where he served part of the time as assistant teacher in the school. He was admitted to the bar of Washington county, Maine, in 1845, and practiced in Cherryfield continuously up to the time of his death, a period of sixty years. He became largely interested in the ownership and output of timer lands in Cherryfield and its vicinity, and for the better handling of the products he constructed dams, erected sawmills and manufacutories and he became one of the largest operators on the Narraguagus river. His belt sawmill was the first of the kind in that secion of the county, and with this improvement gas was made the means of lighting. He was also a promotor and heavy investor in the Cherryfield Silver Mine, and was largely interested in the canning of blueberries. He was deputy collector of U. S. customs at Cherryfield, 1860-65, and in his official capacity he seized a Confederate brig which, having run the blockade off the Florida coast in March, 1863, was on her way to St. John, New Brunswick, for supplies for the Confederate government and ran into Harrington river for shelter over the night and was caught in the ice. He put a prize crew on board and delivered the brig with her officers and crew to the U. S. customs officials aat Machias. The same year he was ordered to seize a schooner at anchor off Ripley Point, Harrington, Maine, suspected as a smuggler, and no boat being available he swam out, boarded the craft by climbing up at her bow, and the skipper and crew surrendered. [trans. note: ohhhh I somehow doubt that last adventure.]. He was a member of the Farmer's National Congress for six years, its vice-president for Maine, its annual session being held in the south and west, and for two years he was custodian of its funds. When the civil war opened at the fall of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, he turned his law office into a recruiting station and there the first volunteers for the Union army were enrolled. He was a representative in the Maine legislature 1880-85. His patriotic affiliations was membership in the Sons of the American Revolution, in the general socity of Maine, through his ancestor, Constant Freeman, an artillery officer in the continental army and brevet-colonel in the war of 1812, who held membership in the Massachusetts Society of the historic and patriotic Order of the Cincinnatus, founded in May, 1783, at the cantonments of the continental army on the Hudson at the close of hostilities in the war of the revolution for American independence. He married Sophia T., daughter of Thompson and Sophia (Archibald) Lewis, of New Haven, Connecticut, Sept. 4, 1851. Her grandfather, Thomas Archibald, was a native of Eastern Maine and a man of considerable note even before he removed to New Haven. Sophia T. Lewis was born Oct. 16, 1827, and died June 7, 1874. Children, all b. in Cheeryfield, Maine: 1. William, born April 8, 1853, died March 12, 1856. 2. Mary L., born July 17, 1855. 3. Charles, born Dec. 9, 1857, died Nov. 19, 1861. 4. Everett Lewis, born Jan. 3, 1860, died Aug., 1865. 5. Frances, born May 26, 1862, died Nov. 11, 1869. 6. George Gifford (q.v.), born Jan. 1, 1868. 7. Catherine Lewis, born Nov. 7, 1869. His second wife, whom he married in 1881, was Mary C., daughter of Enoch Freeman, by whom he had three children: 8. Helen E. 9. Charlotte B., living. 10. William, deceased. (VIII) George Gifford, eldest son of William (2) and Sophia T. (Lewis) Freeman, was born in Cherryfield, Maine, Jan. 1, 1868. He attended the public school and Cherryfield Academy and was graduated at the University of Maine, A. B., 1889. He was a law student in his father's office in Cherryfield, and at the same time conducted an insurance business and was a surveyor, principallly on his father's extensive timber lands, and he held various offices of trust. He was admitted to the general practice of law in the state of Maine in 1898. He was made superintendent of schools at Cherryfield from 1896, was a trustee of Cherryfield Academy from 1906, and he was a justice of the peace and judge of the local courts at Cherryfield from 1893. He was made clerk of courts for Washington county in 1908. He was a member of Narraguagus Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Cherryfield, served as secretary of the lodge for 1891, and in 1908 was senior warden. He is also principal sojourner in his chapter of the Royal Arch Masons; charter member of Avilian Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Millbridge, and member of Winnepurket Lodge of Cherryfield. He married, July 12, 1897, Mary Caroline, daughter of Samuel Freeman and Esther (Moore) Adams, of Cherryfield. Children, b. in Cherryfield: 1. Esther Adams, born March 12, 1898; and in 1908 was at school in Cambridge, Mass. 2. William, born Dec. 23, 1902. FREEMAN We come now to a family carrying a Cape Cod strain. English in its inception, it early became thoroughly American, and has grown and expanded with the growth and expansion of the country until its ramifications extend into every state in the Union. They were, of course, a seafaring race, a calling that in times of peace brings a portion of our food supply and moves our commerce; but in times of stress and storm the fishermen of Cape Ann, Cape Cod and the rockbound coasts of Maine man our navy just as from the hills and inland plains go forth the land forces. (I) The original ancestor of the Freemans in this country was Edmund (1), who came over in 1635 in the ship "Abigail," Richard Hackwell, master. Edmund was first at Lynn, Mass., but on Cape Cod, Barnstable county, in 1637, in what is now Sandwich. Edmund was a man of much note and consequence in the colony, and was assistant to the governor in the direction of public affairs, and one of the judges of the court. His wife was named Elizabeth. Children: Alvin, Edmund, Elizabeth, John and Mary. He died in 1682, having reached the advanced age of ninety-two. His will was made Nov. 2, 1682. Together with the wife of his youth, Edmund lies buried on his old homestead in Sandwich, under a rude monument called "The Saddle and Pilion." The grave is situated a quarter of a mile west of the town hall, at the intersection of the old county road and the more modern highway. (II) Edmund (2), eldest son of Edmund (1) and Elizabeth Freeman, was born in England, and came to this country with his father. He was deputy to the general court from the town of Sandwich seven years. He married Rebecca, daughter of Governor Prence, April 22, 1646; married (second) Margaret Perry, July 16, 1651. Child of 1st wife: a daughter. Children of 2d wife: Margaret, Edmund, Alvin, Rachel, Sarah and Deborah. (III) Edmund (3), eldest son of Edmund (2) and Margaret (Perry) Freeman, was born Oct. 5, 1655. He resided in Eastham, Cape Cod, in what is now called Tonset. Lieut. Freeman was a man of importance politically and socially on the Cape, and was chosen selectman. He married Sarah, daughter of Samuel Mayo. Children: Ruth, Sarah, Mary, Isaac, Ebenezer, Edmund, Experience, Mercy, Thankful, Elizabeth, Hannah and Rachel. (IV) Ebenezer (1), second son of Lieut. Edmund and Sarah (Mayo) Freeman, was born Oct. 12, 1710, in that part of Eastham now known as Wellfleet. He married Abigail Young. Children: Janette, Thankful, Anna, Ebenezer, Edmund and Isaac. Ebenezer died June 11, 1760, as appears by the stones in the graveyard at Wellfleet. (V) Isaac (1), third son of Ebenezer and Abigail (Young) Freeman, was born in 1733, in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Barnstable county, Mass. He married Thankful Higgins. Children: Edmund, Isaac Jr., Ann, Benjamin, Thankful, Jonathan, Ebenzer, Jonathan and Thomas. Isaac died Aug. 6, 1807, in his seventy-fifth year, his widow Jan. 29, 1821, aged eighty-seven. Their gravestones are in Wellfleet cemetery. (VI) Isaac (2), son of Isaac (1) and Thankful (Higgins) Freeman, was born Oct. 28, 1758, in Wellfleet, and married Hannah Collins. Children: Jesse, David, Isaac, Andrew, Ebenezer, John, James Collins (deceased), and James Collins. (VII) Ebenezer (2), fifth son of Isaac (2) and Hannah (Collins) Freeman, was born in Wellfleet, Mass. March 18, 1790, and married Hannah (Atkins) Newcomb, March 6, 1813. Children: Oliver, Jeremiah Newcomb, Nancy Higgins, Almira, Hannah Atkins, William Penn, Ebenezer, Maria Penn, John Murray and Mary. This Ebenezer (2) was in intelligent and much-respected citizen of the Cape, and sat in general court from his town in 1833 and in the following years; a selectman, and a justice of the peace for thirty-five years. Judging from his naming two of his children after the Penns of Pennsylvania, he learned toward the Quaker faith a little, or at least admired the man if not his tenets. Another son, named after John Murray the publisher, points to the fact that he was a reading, well-informed man. He died Sept. 25, 1872, aged eighty-two, and Hannah, July 7, 1870. (VIII) William Penn, third son of Ebenezer (2) and Hannah (Atkins) (Newcomb) Freeman, was born in Wellfleet, Dec. 2, 1824. He followed fishing on the Grand Banks in his youth, removing to Saco, York county, Maine, in 1844. Congenial to his old Cape Cod propensities, he opened an oyster house and established a restaurant in that tidewater city, retiring wholly from business in 1890 with a competence honestly earned, wisely invested, and which he enjoys in his declining years. He married Jerusha C. Freeman. Children: Ella Frances, Herbert Penn, Ebenezer Howard, Wilbur L., Flora May, Frederick W. and George Washington. William Penn Freeman died in 1902. (IX) Frederick William, third son of William Penn and Jerusha C. (Freeman) Freeman, was born in Saco, Maine, March 16, 1866. Fitting for college in the Saco high school, he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1889. Adopting teaching as a profession, he has taught in the high schools of Thomaston, Alfred, Brewer and Westbrook, all in the state of Maine. He was principal of the high school at St. Albans, Vermont, and superintendent of schools there. He came to Bath, maine, in 1904, having been elected superintendent of schools in that city, which position he now holds. He has been president of the Cumberland County Teachers' Association, and also that of Penobscot County. He is a member of Temple Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Westbrook, and a communicant of the Congregational church at Bath. Professor Freeman married Ida May, daughter of Miles W. Strout, of Falmouth, Maine, Aug. 27, 1890. Mrs. Freeman is a member of the Fortnightly Club and the Mendelssohn Club of Bath. Children: Ethel Marion, born April 12, 1892. Helen May, born Nov. 14, 1902.