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.]

McDONALD or MacDONALD The family of MacDonald or McDonald is descended from one of the oldest and most important clans in Scotland, the chiefs of the clan being descended from Somerled, Thane of Argyle, sometimes called "King of the Isles." He flourished in the twelfth century. The McDonnell family come from the same progenitor, and are also descended from Donald, "Lord of the Isles," and were living in County Clare, Ireland, more than two hundred years. The name if often spelled McDonald and McDaniels. The progenitors of the MacDonald family of America came from Glencoe, Scotland, and landed on Cape Cod. (I) John McDonald, ancestor of the American family, probably went to Wells, Maine, in 1726. He was in the war against the Indians, and finally went to Gorham, Maine, where he settled on a farm in the western part of the town, on a farm adjoining that of the late William Warren. He died there May 9, 1768. He married Susanna ____. Children, the 3 eldest prob. b. in York, Maine: 1. John Jr., married Feb. 25, 1762, Joanna Rounds, of Buxton. 2. Charles, born about 1742, mentioned below. 3. Robert, born Jan. 8, 1744, married July 1, 1770, Mary Kendrick. 4. Mary, born May 10, 1746. 5. Joseph, born Sept. 3, 1748, married (published Nov. 16, 1776) Sarah Towle. 6. Peletiah, born May 2, 1754, married (first) Elizabeth _____; (second) Dorcas Stuart. 7. Abner, married Polly Wiswell, of Falmouth (published July 21, 1781). (II) Charles, son of John McDonald, was born in York, Maine, about 1742. He owned the thirty-acre lot numbered fifty-three which he exchanged with John Cressey for a farm west of Little River, near where David Warren lived. Deacon Allen, in his diary, records the marriage of "Chalres McDaniels." He was a private in Capt. McLellan's company, Col. Mitchell's regiment, and took part in the Bagaduce expedition in the revolution. He married, in Gorham, Jan. 21, 1762, Priscilla David, of Gorham, probably daughter of Capt. Simon and Priscilla (Hamblen) Davis, of Barnstable, and sister of the first wife of Zephaniah Harding. Children: 1. Meribah, born Nov. 21, 1763, married Feb. 28, 1788, Cornelius Bramhall. 2. Susanna, born July 21, 1766. 3. Nancy, born Aug. 10, 1769, married Oct. 11, 1792, William Dyer. 4. Simon Davis, born Aug. 19, 1773, mentioned below. 5. Jacob, born Nov. 14, 1755, married (intention published) Sept. 17, 1799, Betsey Morse, of Gray, Maine. 6. Charles, born May 16, 1777. 7. Joseph, born Nov. 23, 1779. 8. Mary, born Jan. 26, 1782. 9. Elizabeth, born Nov. 23, 1785. (III) Simon Davis, son of Charles McDonald, was born Aug. 19, 1773. He was a mariner. He owned a part of the hundred-acre lot 64, on the Flaggy Meadow road, where he probably lived. This he sold July 8, 1802, to Joseph Cressey, and removed to Madison, Maine, after his second marriage, where he died. He married (first) July 16, 1800, Betty Sarah (?) Brown, probably daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Brown. He married (second) Mrs. Veazey. Children of 1st wife: 1. Joseph, born Sept. 19, 1801. 2. George, born Dec. 29, 1802, mentioned below. 3. Charles, died young. 4. Benjamin. 5. Fannie. 6. Mary. 7. Hannah. 8. Nancy. Child of 2d wife: 9. Charles. (IV) George, son of Simon Davis McDonald, was born in Belfast, Dec. 29, 1802, died Feb. 14, 1885. He had a common school education, and followed farming and shoemaking for an occupation. He worked at shoemaking for forty years, and died on the place in Belfast where he lived all his life. He was originally a Democrat in politics, but later a Republican. He had been a member of the board of aldermen of Belfast. He was a member of the Free Masons, at Belfast. He married, in 1826, Sarah Wardwell Hutchins, born in Penobscot, Maine, April 6, 1806, died in Belfast Feb. 14, 1890. She was the daughter of Capt. William Hutchins, who fought under Washington in the revolution. Mr. Hutchins was a man of remarkable strength of mind and body. He crossed the bay of Belfast in an open boat, rowing for a part of the way, when he was eighty-two years old. He was in the second year of his second century when he died, and was probably the last surviving soldier of the revolution. Children: 1. Sarah B., married (first) James Emerson; (second) Sherburne Sleeper; resides at Belfast. 2. George A., married Hannah Rider; died 1904. 3. Charles D., married Julia Jordan; died 1906. 4. Fannie H., married Samuel W. Ripley. 5. Henry H., married Sarah Ellen Dyer; resides at Belfast. 6. Lucius Franklin, mentioned below. 7. William O., married Annie Austin; died 1893; served in the civil war, Twenty-sixth Maine Regiment. 8. Horace E., mentioned below. 9. Simon Edgar, married Jane Paterson; resides in Belfast; was captain in the navy during the civil war. 10. Anna Ardelia, died 1902, unmarried. (V) Lucius Franklin, son of George McDonald, was born in Belfast, Sept. 14, 1837. He attended the public schools there, and at the age of thirteen became clerk in his father's and brother's shoe-store at Ellsworth, Maine, remaining for four years. He then went to Augusta, Maine, to learn the trade of harnessmaker. A year later he removed to Boston and completed his time as apprentice there. In 1860 he returned to Belfast and engaged in the harness business on his own account. The business prospered and after a time he purchased the business of his brothers, Henry H. and Horace E. McDonald. In 1893 he purchased his present (1908) store, and has carried on a successful business up to the present time. He is a Republican in politics and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln for president. He was alderman of Belfast for two years; was elected mayor in 1890, and had a very creditable administration. He is a member of the Timothy Chase Lodge of Free Masons, Belfast. He and his wife were members of the Unitarian church. He married, Dec. 25, 1871, Emma F., of Belfast, born 1842, died March 7, 1901, daughter of Nehemiah ABBOTT, a distinguished attorney and congreeman, who was born in Sidney, Maine, March 29, 1804, died in Belfast, July 26, 1877; married June 28, 1836, Caroline Williams Belcher, b. Oct. 18, 1812, at Farmington, d. June 17, 1883; they settled at Calais, Maine, but removed to Belfast in 1840, where Mr. Abbott built a large brick residence; children: Caroline B. Abbott, b. 1837, d. 1883; Howard Abbott, d. at the age of 20; Clifford B. Abbott; Annie Gill Abbott, married Walter H. West, and d. Oct. 8, 1884; Emma F. Abbott, married Lucius F. McDonald; Henry Abbott, d. at the age of 6. Mr. Abbott was a tall man, six feet and two inches, and quite thin; he was a very popular lawyer, and seriously impaired is health by overwork. He was son of Asa and Hepsibah (Brooks) Abbott, grandson of Joseph and Sarah (White) Abbott. Joseph Abbott was a lineal descendant of George Abbott, of Andover, Mass., through his son Nehemiah and grandson Nehemiah Abbott. Lucius L. McDonald resides in the home at 2 Congress street, which was his wife's home in her youth, having been given to her at the death of her parents. He has no children. (V) Colonel Horace E., son of George McDonald, was born in Belfast, Oct. 21, 1842. He received his education in the public schools, and when only ten years of age began to work at shoemaking, pegging shoes with his father. At the age of eighteen he learned the trade of harnessmaker, working at that business, and at the age of twenty-one entered the employ of Calvin Hervey, a jeweler, with whom he remained nine years. The following two years he spent in the same business at Rockland, Maine. In 1873 he bought out H. J. Locke, a jeweler, of Belfast, and opened a store in the Masonic block there, where he carried on a successful business for sixteen years. In 1880 he entrered into a partnership with William H. Brown in the ship-building business, and in 1893 he sold his jeweler's store, to give his whole attention to the ship-building business. He was an officer of the staff of Governor Burleigh four years, and is a Republiclan in politics. He was city marshal eight years, chief engineer four years. He is a member of Timothy Chase Royal Arch Chapter, the R.S.M., and Palestine Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 14. His residence at 14 Church street was purchased by him in 1884. He married (first) Nov. 6, 1871, Dasie, daughter of William H. and Mary F. (Field) Brown. She was a clever oil and crayon portrait artist, and died June 22, 1892, aged thirty-nine years. He married (second) Nov. 6, 1895, Lillian Treat, daugther of Myrick M. and Caroline A. (Walker) Billings, of Deer Isle. Her father was a ship carpenter. McDONALD The McDonalds and the MacDonalds are both ancient Scotch (Scottish!!) families, although many who bore these names came to New England from Ireland, where their ancestors had taken refuge about the beginning of the seventeenth century. The names appear in New Hampshire between the years 1720 and 1750, and from that province in later years their representatives became scattered thoughout that and the neighboring province of Maine. The immigrant ancestor of the particular family sought to be treated in this place is not definitely known, and so near as can be determined at this time the first of its representatives of whom there appears to be any published record are found in the towns of Penobscot, Buckport and Belfast, in Maine. There is a belief, however, on the part of some of the McDonalds that Laughlin McDonald was progenitor of the family here treated, but while there are accounts of him as a soldier of the French wars and also of his appearance in Bucksport, there does not appear to be any record of his marriage or the names of his children. He was a Scotchman (Scot) by birth and ancestry, and is said to have lived to attain the remarkable age of one hundred and ten years. When a boy he entered the British army and came to America with a Scotch (Scottish!) regiment to fight against the French. He was at the siege and capture of Louisburg in 1757, and two years afterward was with Wolfe at Quebec. Soon after the erection of Fort Pownall in Maine, he came to Bucksport, later went to Belfast, where according to the records he was admitted townsman in 1803, and where he died in July, 1825. Granting accuracy to the statements regarding his age at the time of his death, he must have been born in 1715. The suggestion has been made that he probably was grandfather of the earliest known ancestor of the family here treated, but there is no positive evidence by which that fact can be established. (I) George McDonald, of Belfast, Maine, is the earliest known ancestor of the family here considered. He is supposed to have been born in Penobscot, probably somwhere about 1785 to 1795. He afterward went to Belfast, where he was a farmer and held some town offices, but accounts concerning him are quite meager and unsatisfactory. He married Sarah Hutchins, of Penobscot. Children: Charles, Lucius F., George Augustus, Eugene H., Edgar S. (a soldier of the civil war, and now a seafaring man), William Oliver, Sarah, Fanny and Ardella. (II) Captain George Augustus, son of George and Sarah (Hutchins) McDonald, was a seafaring man and for some time master of one of the Sanford line of steamers plying between Bangor and Boston. He was a Republican in politics and a Baptist in religious preference. Capt. McDonald married Luella Veazie, and among their children was a son Herbert R. (III) Herbert Russell, son of Capt. George Augustus and Luella (Veazie) McDonald, was born in Belfast, Maine, May 17, 1858, and for more than twenty years has been one of the leading business men of Nashua, N. H. He received his education in the public schools of his native town and afterward learned the trade of a tinsmith. In 1887 he removed to Nashua and worked at his trade, and also for eleven years had charge of the Nashua branch business of the C. H. Avery Company. In 1897 he went into business for himself, and since that year has been proprietor of a general plumbing and heating business in that city, and is known as an expert master plumber. He is a member of the National Association of Master Plumbers, and for the past two years had been vice-president of the New Hampshire branch of that organization. He is also a member of the board of trade of Nashua, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On Dec. 24, 1892, Mr. McDonald married Mary Helen, of Islesborough, Maine, daughter of Capt. Stephen Knowlton, of Islesborough. Besides Mrs. McDonald, Capt. Knowlton's children are: Emma G., Abbie L., Minetta J. and Ida F. Knowlton. Captain Knowlton has followed the sea for many years. Capt. Knowlton marired a second time and had children: Ethel Inez, Agnes B., Annie L., Stephen D., Rose E. [trans note: I am confused; I thought we were doing McDonald.]