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.]

LINSCOTT Joseph Linscott was the pioneer of this family in Maine. In 1750 his name appears among the settlers of Harpswell, Maine. He came thither from Boston, Mass., according to the most reliable records preserved by the family. He bought a farm on what was then and for a long time called Great Sebascodegan. It has since been known as Great Island and Harpswell Island. Its beautiful coves and shores yearly attract thither many tourists. In 1760 this island was crowned with stately trees, and its forests were full of wild beats. There was one trail leading towards where the village of Bunswick now stands. Sharp rocks and dangerous ledges lay around the shores of this island. On a high point of land he erected a home which became a place of great joy, peace and neighborly kindness. On the sea he became a fisherman whom no storm could frighten. His neighbors were descended from some of the best families in Massachusetts, but all admitted that he was of the "truest stock." He was a man of integrity and very helpful in the town where he lived. The name of the wife of Joseph Linscott has not been found in any of the family records. The following list of the children was collected after much research. Children: Samuel, born 1751. Joseph, who died at twenty-eight years. John, who was the ancestor of the sturdy branch of the Linscott family that has so long lived in and near Brunswick. Mose, born 1758, who was lost at sea and left one son, James, who was adopted by Capt. Stephen Sinnett, of Orr's Island, and became the father of a large family. Betsey, who married Josiah Totman, of Harpswell. All these children married into the best families of Harpswell, Maine. (II) Samuel, son of Joseph Linscott, was born May 10, 1751, at Boston, Mass., and died at Chesterville, Maine. He was a man of medium stature but of hardy frame. He was one of the most adventurour fishermen on the Maine coast. The few books of his day were read with great eagerness, and he became a very well informed man. His house stood near the bridge which connects Orr's Island with Great Island, and many stories of its hospitality and good cheer are still preserved. The old records state that he responded to the first call of his country and took an active part in the battle of Bunker Hill. He was a patriot of the truest type, and gave hope and cheer to many in the darkest days of the revolutionary war. After the close of this war the pioneer spirit of his father burned brightly in his heart, and he made many trips to far eastern points on the coast of Maine. He thus made it easy for many of his neighbors to found homes in new places. Before 1799 this hardy Joseph Linscott, with Dummer Sewall and Abraham Wyman, penetrated into the forests of Maine, and were the first white setlters in what is now Chesterville, thus helping to found a town which was famed far and wide for the honest and sturdy character of its people. The deep religious life which the pioneers imparted to this town was carried out widely into the world by men and women of the truest missionary spirit, and its influence is still seen in many descendants of the "gritty stock." Parson Sewall, the famous missionary of Maine, often spoke as enthusitastically of Joseph Linscott as Elijah Kellogg did of another branch of this family. Samuel Linscott married Jan. 20, 1775, in Harpswell, Maine, Dorcas Dunning, born Sept. 29, 1843, at Chesterville. She was a noble woman, and descended from the most influential family of Dunning, whose ancestor came from Ireland and early settled at Brunswick, Maine, giving a line of sturdy people also to York and Harpswell, Maine. She was the daughter of Deacon Andrew Dunning, born at York, Maine, and early removed to Harpswell with his good wife, Hannah (Shepherd) Dunning, of York. Children of Samuel & Dorcas: 1. Charity, born Dec. 25, 1776, married John Wheeler. 2. Daniel, born March 10, 1779, was drowned when a young man. 3. Samuel, born May 26, 1782, married Eliza Bradbury. 4. Andrew Dunning, born Sept. 7, 1785, married Polly Chaney. 5. Joseph, born Feb. 27, 1786, married Betsey Whitney. 6. Jacob, born April 25, 1792. 7. Betsey, born May 4, 1794, married William Chaney and James Spratt. 8. Dorcas, born March 16, 1795, died March 3, 1829. 9. Daniel, born March 19, 1799, in Chesterville, Maine, married Elizabeth Stafford, becoming the head of a fine family line. 10. Shepherd, born April 1, 1800, in Chesterville, died Oct., 1855; married Pamelia Sewall and Esther Horn. (III) Jacob, son of Samuel and Dorcas (Dunning) Linscott, was born April 25, 1792, in Harpswell, and died Sept. 8, 1817, in Chesterville. He was a man who inherited a very large share of the indomitable and noble spirit of his ancestors, a neighbor of the truest type, and one whose good influence was felt far and wide. He was helpful in every important matter in the history of the town. "A sturdy man among the pines of Maine, He lfet a record free from shade or stain, His life was short, but made an impress deep On scores of lives on land and stormy deep." Jacob Linscott married Betsey Whitney, born Oct. 3, 1795. Children: Joseph A.; William S. (born July 7, 1814); Lucinda, born March 20, 1816. (IV) Joseph Addison, son of Jacob and Betsey (Whitney) Linscott, was born Aug. 13, 1812, in Chesterville, and died in 1895. He made a fine record as a scholar in the schools of his native town, as well as in Farmington, Maine, Academy and Kent's Hill Seminary. After this he studied law with Joseph Sherburn, of Phillips, Maine, and was a very successful lawyer at Phillips and Farmington, also postmaster at Phillips, and was county attorney and clerk of the courts. He was cashier of what was then known as the Sandy River National Bank, which is now the First National Bank of Farmington. He served very acceptably on the governor's council, and was register of probate 1850-54. He was also treasurer of the Androscoggin railway and auditor and treasurer of the Maine Central railroad up to the time of his death. He was a member of the I.O.O.F. of Farmington. He was very helpful along many lines of good work in every town where he lived. His wife, Sarah Adams (Blake) Linscott, of Farmington, was a woman of strong character and of great worth. Children: Edgar, Mary, John Jacob, Sarah Blake and Mary Isadore. (V) John Jacob, son of Joseph Addison and Sarah Adams (Blake) Linscott, was born April 6, 1846, in Phillips. He received a good education in Farmington and was a student at Bowdoin Medical College and Berkshire Medical College, of Pittsfield, Mass., from which he graduated Oct. 2, 1867. In 1867 he began the practice of medicine in Farmington, and has had increasingly good success in his work ever since. His work as representatiave in the Maine legislature 1880-82, will long be remembered. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a member of Maine Lodge, No. 20, A. F. and A. M., of Farmington; Franklin Chapter, R. A. M.; Jeptha Council; Pilgrim Commandery, K. T.; Maine Consistory; Kora Temple; and a thirty-second degree Mason. He is a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 58, I.O.O.F., of Farmington, and of the Sandy River Encampment, No. 9. He is a charter member of Alpha Lodge, No. 94, Knights of Pythias, of Farmington. Dr. Linscott was intrumental in installing the water system of Farmington, and was president of this company. It is thus clearly seen that he is carrying out in the best way the noble spirit and principles of his ancestors, and that, like them, he is ever looking onward to the doing of still more helpful things for all around him. Dr. Linscott married, Aug. 17, 1868, Cynthia Orena Hemingway, born Aug. 27, 1846, in Lowell, Mass., died Aug., 1903, daughter of Capt. Hemingway, of Lowell, Mass., but reared by Capt. Webb, of Brunswick, Maine. Children: 1. Minnie Blake, born Feb. 26, 1871, in Farmington, married, Dec. 31, 1891, George S. Linscott, of Holton, Kansas, who is president of the First National Bank of Holton, and a fine scholar; their children are Orena and John S. Shepherd. 2. Joseph Addison, born March 4, 1875, a fine student and a very successful storekeeper, life insurance agent and broker; he is an Independent in politics and a member of the I.O.O.F. and K. P. of Farmington, and of Mount Abram Lodge, A. F. and A. M., No. 203, of Kingfield, Maine. He married June 14, 1905, Cora Gertrude Churchill, and has a daughter, Phyllis Churchill, born May 22, 1907. 3. John Carroll, born Feb. 9, 1879, died Dec. 12, 1881.