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.]

HALE The name Hale under the different forms of de la Hale, at-Hale, Hales and Hale, has been abundant in Hertfordshire, England, since the early part of the thirteenth century. No evidence appears that any of the name were above the rank of yeoman before 1560. The name also early prevailed and is probably still found in a dozen other counties in England. Of the Hales of Gloucestershire, to which family belonged the illustrious Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice, Atkyns, in his history of that line of which this article treats. The name was also found among the early settlers of Virginia and Maryland, and their descendants bearing the cognomen are still found in the southern states. In New England the name has been brought into prominence by Nathan Hale, the patriot; by John P. Hale, the distinguished statesman of New Hampshire; Senator Eugene Hale, of Maine, and others. (I) Thomas Hale, the earliest known progenitor of the family herin considered, was of the parish of Walton-at-Stone, in Hertfordshire, England. No record of his birth is found, but the parish register, which syles him "Thomas Hale, Senior," shows that he was buried Oct. 19, 1630. He left a will beaging date Oct. 11, 1630, proved Dec. 9, 1630, in the court of the Archdeaconry of Hitchin, in the county of Herts, the original of which is still on file among the records of the court. After the usual pious profession of faith, thanks to God, committal of his soul to its creator and his body to burial, he disposes of his personal property and his real estate consisting of eleven, and perhaps twelve, distinct parcels. Among those designated are the house close, the backside close, the hill close, and the meadow and rye close. From the brief record it is apparent that he was of the rank of yeoman of the smaller class as to property but marked by thrift, respectability, honesty, piety, and prudent foresight. It is impossible to determine the value of the real estate which he left, but it was evidently not large, perhaps worth an annual rental of $400 or $500. He married Joan Kirby, who was of the parish of Little Munden, Herts, which was proabably the place of her birth and their marriage. Children: Dionis, Thomas, Mary, Dorothy and Elizabeth. At some time between her husband's death and June, 1637, Joan, widow of Thomas Hale, married a Bydes, or Bides, probably John, and was still living in Oct., 1640, the date of her mother's will, but was probably dead before 1660. (II) Thomas (2), second child and only son of Thomas (1) and Joan (Kirby) Hale, was probably born in the parish of Walton-at-Stone, in May or June, 1606, and was baptized in the parish, June 15, 1606. He was heir to the larger part of his father's estate, receiving all his goods and chattels with a few exceptions. The rents he paid to his mother and sisters was nine pounds a year in all, which in that day were equivalent in value to 27 pounds or perhaps 36 pounds, that is $135 or $180 at the present (1908) day. Probably through the influence of his mother's brother, Francis Kirby, Thomas Hale became interested in New England, whither he removed and settled in Newbury, Mass. in 1635. He took from his uncle, Francis Kirby, to Governor John Winthrop, a letter from which the following extract with some changes a to orthography is taken: "These are now to entreat you that you would be assistant to the bearer therof (Thomas Hale, my near kinsman) in your counsel and advise to put him in the way how and where to settle himself in a hopeful way of subsisting with his family. He has brought with him all his estate, which he hath here or can have during the life of his mother, my sister. He had almost two hundred pounds when he began to make his provision for this voyage. I suppose the greatest half is expended in his transportation, and in such necessaries as will be spent by him and his family in the first use; the lesser half, I suppose he has in money and vendable goods to provide with a cottage to dwell in, and a milch cow for his children's sustenance. I suppose his way will be to hire a house or part of a house for the first year, until he can look out and buy or build him a dwelling wherein, as in other things, I shall entreat you to direct him." Thomas Hale and his wife Thomasine (or Tamosin) and son Thomas, were probably of the party who first settled in Newbury in 1635, on the banks of the "Quascacunquen," or Parker river, though his name is not included among those mentioned by Coffin as forming the first colony, "with a few others whose names are not known with certainty." Under date of Aug. 10, 1638, appears the entry in the Newbury records: "Thomas Hale and John Baker are appointed haywards till the town shall appoint anew." Feb. 23, 1642, Thomas Hale was appointed one of the five men to whom the stinting of the commons was referred. He moved to Haverhill, probably in 1645. In that year he is named as a landholder in Haverhill, and from Newbury. His name heads the list of the first board of selectmen chosen in Haverhill in 1646. In that same year his name first appears on the record of assessments in that town. In 1647 he was chosen by the town and approved by the general court, with Henry Palmer and Thomas Davis, "to try small cases." The same year he was appointed by the general court a commissioner to lay out a road from Andover to Haverhill. In 1648 he was appointed by the town "to keep a ferry." In 1649 he was elected constable, the first chosen in Haverhill. In 1650 he was appointed by the town "to meet men from Salisbury to lay out lands between that town and Haverhill." In 1651 "Little River," in Haverhill, was named as "Thomas Hale's River." In or about the year 1652 he returned to Newbury, and continued to reside there till 1657, when he removed to Salem. There he remained till about the year 1661, when he again returned to Newbury, where he continued to reside till his death. His name appears in the list of proprietors of Newbury, declared by the ordinance of Dec. 7, 1642, as the only persons "acknowledged to be freeholders by the town and to have proportionable right in all waste lands, commons and rivers undisposed," etc. His name appears in the town records of Salem in 1657 as "Sarjent Thomas Hale," and he is several times referred to in those records as "clerk of the market." After his final return to Newbury he is found among the active supporters of the Rev. Mr. Parker in his controversies with a portion of his church, while the name of his son Thomas appears uniformly among the antagonists of Mr. Parker, known as "Mr. Woodman's party." Conveyances of real estate from him appear in the Essex records in 1640-52-55-56-66-69, in which he is described as "of Newbury." In conveyances appearing in 1647 and 1648, he is described as "of Haverhill," and in sundry of 1658, 1659, 1660 and 1661, as "of Salem." In these conveyances he is usually described as "glover," sometimes as "yeoman," and once as "leather-dresser." He seems to have been an active and public spirited man, held in respect by his fellow citizens in the several towns in which he lived, and his long life was evidently one of active usefulness. By trade a glover, he united with that employment some practice as a surveyor, and his various public employments show him to have been a man of fair education and business qualifications. He died in Newbury, Dec. 21, 1682. His widow, Thomasine survived him just forty days ("a widow's quarantine"), and died in Newbury, Jan. 30, 1683. No will appears of record, nor any administration of his estate. Their children, the eldest said to have been born in England, the others all in Newbury, were: Thomas, John, Samuel and Apphia. (III) Thomas (3), eldest child of Thomas (2) and Thomasine Hale, was born in England, Nov. 18, 1633, and came to America with his parents probably in 1637. He seems to have resided in Newbury, and died there Oct. 22, 1688. One of the church dissensions, by no means uncommon in New England in those days, arose about 1670, and Thomas Hale took sides against the preacher, Parker, and was fined one noble by the court at Ipswich, May 29, 1671. All but two of the entire Woodman party were fined. Thomas Hale's will was executed March 20, 1687, and probated Dec. 12, 1688. His wife Mary was executrix of the will, and swore to the inventory, the total of which, real and personal, was 505 pounds 16s. 18d., the homestead having been deeded to son Thomas before his death. The amount of property left constituted what at that time and in that part of the world was considered a handsome estate. Mr. Hale was a man of local prominence, and filled numerous places in the public service. He was fence-viewer in Newbury in 1661-66-75-77-78-80; was chosen to carry votes to Salem, 1665, 1674; was selectman, 1665-75-78; trial juror 1675-77-78-79; tythingman 1679-80-81; highway surveyor 1676-77; way-warden 1674-79; and on town committees 1673-74-76-77-78-79-80. He married, at Salem, May 26, 1657, Mary, daughter of Richard and Alice (Bosworth) Hutchinson, of Salem, Mass. She was baptized at North Muskham, county of Notts, England, Dec. 28, 1630. She married (second), Feb. 5, 1695, William Watson, of Boxford, and died Dec. 8, 1715, in Boxford, surviving her second husband five years. Children of Thomas & Mary (Hutchinson) Hale: A son (died young), Thomas, Mary, Abigail, Hannah, Lydia, Elizabeth, Joseph and Samuel. (IV) Captain Joseph, eighth child and third son of Thomas (3) and Mary (Hutchinson) Hale, was born in Newbury, Feb. 20, 1671, and died in Boxford, Feb. 13, 1761, aged ninety. He settled in Boxford with his mother as early as 1692. June 18, 1692, Joseph, with his mother Mary, both described as of Newbury, received from Daniel Northend a deed of two hundred acres in Boxford, "in or near a place formely called the Village Plains," and on "Pie Brook." Nov. 13, 1693, he received from his mother Mary a deed of two hundred and eighty acres with buildings in Boxford, and six acres of marsh in Newbury, which she had lately purchased of Joseph Poor, of Newbury, he to come into immediate possession of one-half, and of the other one-half at her decease, proviced he should marry Mary, daughter of William Watson, etc. Feb. 17, 1703, he received from William Watson a deed of sixty acres of land in Boxford, reciting that he received one-half of the same when he married said Watson's daughter Mary, and he now bought the other one-half, together with other land. In the following forty-five or more years he was grantor or grantee in many deeds, and is variously described as "yeoman," "house carpenter," "hubandman," and "gentleman," at different times. He was undoubtedly a man of means, active, ambitious, and well thought of, as is shown by the public positions he held. He was selectman of Boxford in 1702. Under the title of "Ensign Joseph Hale" he represented Boxford in the general court in 1714-15-16-17; under that of "Lieutenant Joseph Hale," also in 1720-21-22-23-24-25; under that of "Captain Joseph Hale" simply, in 1735. Upon the record of town meetings in Boxford appears the following entry: "May 9, 1722. Voted that upon consideration of Lieut. Hale's meeting with so much loss and damage the last year by reason of his having the small-pox, to give him ten pounds, and let him have it as soon as may be." He may have received this allowance on account of having contracted the disease while serving as representative of the town in the legislature. He married Nov. 15, 1693, Mary, daughter of William and Sarah (Perley) Watson, of Boxford. She died Feb. 1, 1708; and he was published to Joanna Dodge, widow, at Ipswich, Sept. 19, 1708. Children by 1st wife: Joseph, Jacob, Mary, Ambrose, Abner, Moses, and Sarah. Children by 2d wife: Hepzibah, Lydia, Margaret, Thomas, John, Hannah and Benjamin. (V) Ambrose, fourth child and third son of Captain Joseph and Mary (Watson) Hale, was born in Boxford, July 16, 1699, and died in Harvard, April 13, 1767. He seems to have been a farmer, and is named as a party to various conveyances. May 23, 1722, he received from his father Joseph and wife Joanna, a deed of settlement of eighty-two acres of land in Boxford by the gate on the village road which leads from Piebrook to Andover Road. Feb., 1742, he deeded to Joseph Simmons, of Ipswich, his homestead in Boxford, eighty-five acres; and after the making of this deed he disappears from the records of Essex county. Neither does he appear on the probate records. An Ambrose Hale, of Harvard, was a soldier in Captain John Church's company in 1759. Abrose was then about sixty years old. He had sons Ambrose and Benjamin, and removed with them from Boxford to Harvard about 1742. A will of Ambrose Hale, of Harvard, signed Feb. 5, 1761, and again Feb. 7, 1761, proved in Worcester probate office May 12, 1767, names... children: Martha, Benjamin, Abigail, Adna, Moses, Hannah, Sarah, and Ambrose. The inventory of his realty was 200 pounds, and of his personalty, 82 pounds 17s. 6d. Ambrose Hale married in Boxford Dec. 11, 1722, Joanna Dodge. She died Feb. 10, 1732. He then married (published Dec. 10, 1732) Hannah, daughter of John and Hannah (Hazen) Symonds, of Boxford. She was born in Boxford April 13, 1709. Children by 1st wife Joanna: Martha, David, Benjamin, Abigail and Ambrose. Children by 2d wife Hannah: Jacob, Adna, Moses, Hannah, Sarah, Ambrose and one or two who died young. (VI) Benjamin, eldest son of Ambrose and Joanna Hale, was born in Boxford March 14, 1728, and died Sept. 20, 1771, in Harvard, to which town he had removed with his father. He served in the French was in 1757-58, and was a corporal in Captain Haskell's company which marched from Harvard for Fort William Henry in 1757. A Benjamin Hale was also in the expedition to Crown Point, enlisted Sept. 7, 1755, in Captain Daniel Fletcher's company, Colonel Josiah Brown's regiment. This was probably the Benjamin of this sketch. He died intestate, adn Israel Taylor was administrator of his estate. His inventory dated Oct. 5, 1771, enumerated realty of the value of 300 pounds; personalty 105 pounds 4s. 10d. He married, in Harvard, Oct. 6, 1757, Mary Taylor, of Harvard. She survived him, and March 3, 1784, was administratrix de bonis non of her late husband's estate. Children: Israel, Oliver, Mary, Benjamin, Rachael, Joanna, Sarah and David. (VII) David, eighth and youngest child of Benjamin and Mary (Taylor) Hale, was born in Harvard March 22, 1772. He settled in Rutland, Mass., and after living there some years removed to Turner, Maine, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying Feb. 6, 1846. The homestead farm is still (1908) in possession of the family. He married Sarah Kingsbury, of Ellington, Connecticut, who was born in 1766, a daughter of Simon Kingsbury. Children: David, James Sullivan, Sophia, Marinda, and Sarah Kingsbury. (VIII) James Sullivan, second son of David and Sarah (Kingsbury) Hale, was born in Turner, Dec. 13, 1806, and died Dec. 7, 1880, aged seventy-four. He was a farmer by occupation, well to do in life, a man of marked individuality of character, possessing a keen wit and a lively sense of humor, but was not ambitious and spent his life in his native town. He married Feb. 11, 1835, Betsey Staples, who was born Oct. 16, 1808, and died Dec. 5, 1881. She was the eldest child of John Staples and Betsey Young Staples, of Turner. Children: 1. Eugene, see forward. 2. Hortense, b. Nov. 27, 1837, married Oct. 21, 1858, Dr. John T. Cushing, of Turner. 3. Frederick, b. Oct. 21, 1839, graduated from Waterville College in 1862, studied and practiced law in Ellsworth and died May 6, 1868. 4. Augusta, b. Feb. 19, 1842, married Aug. 8, 1869, Hon. George Gifford, of Portland, afterward consul at Basle, Switzerland. 5. Clarence, see forward. (IX) Hon. Eugene Hale, son of James Sullivan and Betsy (Staples) Hale was born June 9, 1836. "Representative Men of Maine," published in 1893 gives the following account of Senator Hale: He was born in Turner, June 9, 1836; attended the village district school and the grammar school endowed by the town, and went from Hebron Academy to the office of Howard & Strout, in Portland, where he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in Jan., 1857. At the age of twenty he commenced the practice of law in Orland, but soon removed to Ellsworth and became a member of the firm of Robinson & Hale. Mr. Robinson soon died and Mr. Hale for ten years devoted himself closely to his profession and built up a large practice. He was a sound counselor and one of the most successful lawyers with both court and jury. He was for nine successive years county attorney for Hancock county. For many years he was senior member of the firm of Hale & Emery, and since the latter's elevation to the bench of the supreme court, the firm has consisted of Mr. Hale and Hannibal E. Hamlin, a son of the late and venerated Hannibal Hamlin. In Dec., 1871, Mr. Hale was married in Washington to Mary Douglas Chandler, only daughter of Hon. Zachariah Chandler, long time a senator from Michigan, and afterwards Secretary of the Interior. Children: Chandler, Frederick and Eugene. Mr. Hale was a member of the state legislature in 1867, 1868 and 1880. In that body he soon proved a ready debater, and remarkably well versed in the political questions of the time. In 1880 he was appointed chairman of the committee of the legislature to investigate what has since become familiarly known as the "State Steal," and it is recognized as largely through his efforts that this scheme was thwarted and exposed. He was elected to the forty-first congress in 1868, and afterwards to the forty-second and forty-third congresses; was appointed postmaster-general by President Grant in 1874, but declined; was re-elected to the forty-fourth and forty-fifth congresses; was tendered a cablinet position as Secreatary of the Navy by President Hayes, and declined; was chairman of the Republican congressional committee for the forty-fifth congress; was a delegate to the national convention in 1868 and the Cincinnati and Chicago conventions in 1876 and 1880, leading the Blaine forces in both conventions; was elected to the United States senate to succeed Hannibal Hamlin, and took his seat March 4, 1881, and was re-elected in 1887, 1893, 1899 and 1905, and at the end of this term will have rounded out thirty years in the senate. For the five elections he received the unanimous vote of his party in the legislature. He was a member of important committees in the House of Representatives, and upon his coming to the Senate, in 1881, he was given place on the committees of appropriation and naval affairs. He was also made chairman of the committee on the census, which positon he continute to occupy till the Democrats gained control of that body in 1893. He is at present (1908) acting chairman of the committee on appropriations, chairman of committee on naval affairs, and member of the finance, Philippines census, Canadian relations, and private land claims committees, and is now chairman of the Republican conference of the senate, and of the Republican steering committee. Senator Hale has always taken a prominent part in the legislation of the senate. Many of the most important appropriation bills have been passed under his management. Representing both the appropriation and naval committees, he has reported and managed every bill which has passed the senate for the building of the new navy. He introduced the first amendment favoring reciprocity withe the countries of Central and South America, which he supported with speeches that received wide circulation. His speeches in the senate are sharp, but never ill-natured. His speech upon the free trade attitude of the Democratic convention in 1882, was as widely circulated as any speech during the campaign. He has taken a prominent part in the debates relating to the affairs of the District of Columbia, and has favored suitable appropriations for the necessary buildings for the public business there. Senator Hale is always recognized as a wise counselor in party politics. He is an easy and forcible speaker; his words are carefully selected, and his extemporaneous speeches require no revision. He is a popular after-dinner speaker; and on these occasions, both where great subjects are presented and where wit and merriment abound, he is in his element. He is a wide reader, keeping alive his love of books, and delights especially in poetry. His style has been formed on the best models in English literature. He has received the degree of LL.D. from Bowdoin and Bates Colleges and from Colby University. Senator Hale is a believer in Maine and her future. His investments testify to this, commencing with his beautiful home on the heights of Ellsworth, surrounded by several hundred acres of field and woodland, and continuing in extensive purchases of timber lands and sea-shore property, interests in cotton, woolen and pulp mills, and other manufactories. He is known throughout the state and nation as a man of broad and genial social nature; and this, perhaps accounts for the close and cordial personal feeling which binds him to his friends. He is a liberal entertainer both in Washington and Ellsworth. At his house, "The Pines," during the summer vacation, many friends, both from within and without the state, gladly accept his hospitalities. Mrs. Hale is an accomplished hostess, and delights in nothing more than looking after a house full of friends. (IX) Clarence, fifth and youngest child of James S. and Betsey (Staples) Hale, was born in Turner, April 15, 1848. He attended the public schools of Turner, finished his preparation for college at Norway Academy, and in 1865 entered Bowdoin College, from which he graduated with honors in 1869. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and one of the first four in his class. After reading law at Ellsworth with his brother, Hon. Eugene Hale, and with Lucilius A. Emery, now chief justice of Maine, he was admitted to the bar and began practice at Portland in 1871. For thirty years he devoted his energies to the practice of his profession, and while yet a young man took rank as one of the leading lawyers of the state. His practice was extensive and profitable, and in the years of his professional career he was connected with many of the leading cases in the state. In 1879 he was elected city solicitor of Portland, and filled that office three years with credit to himself and satisfaction to the citizens of the municipality. In the preparation of his papers Mr. Hale displayed a clear understanding of his cases and a terse and precise style of expression in keeping with the busy age in which he lives; in his argument of matters of law to the court he made himself persona grata by a logically arranged and closely connected argument that put the facts in the most telling form in the shortest time; before a jury he was a strong man, using good English clearly expressed, taking care to make all details intelligible, yet speaking forcefully and often eloquently. In 1902 his ability as a jurist was recognized in such a way as to make him conspicuous in New England, where he was appointed judge of the United States district court, a position in which he has since found ample opportunity to display the qualitifications which have made him prominent. In the campaign when General Grant became a candidate for re-election to the presidency, Mr. Hale made his debut in politics, and from that time until he came to the bench he was an able advocate of the Republican party, speaking in every election year. From 1883 to 1885 he represented Portland district in the state legislature, where he displayed ability and knowledge which place him among the leaders of the house. He is prominent in local financial circles, and is a director and trustee in various monetary institutions. He has an innate love for literature, which has grown and strengthened as it has been indulged. He is a member of the Maine Historical Society, and takes a lively interest in that institution, to the success of which he has been a willing contributor. In religious faith he and his wife are Congregationalists and members of State Street Church. Judge Clarence Hale married, March 11, 1880, Margaret Rollins, who was born in Portland June 12, 1856, daughter of Franklin J. and Arablle C. Rollins, of Portland. Children: Katharine, born in Portland March 30, 1884; married Philip G. Clifford, and has one daughter, Margaret Ellen Clifford, b. March 16, 1908. Robert, born Nov. 29, 1889, who is a student at Bowdoin College.