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.]

THOMAS The Thomas family appears very early in Plymouth county, Mass., where there were several representatives of the name. It has been identified with the settlement and development of Maine from a very early period in the history of this state and ha sent out from here many worthy representatives. (I) William Thomas, born about 1573, was one of the merchant adventurers from London who sailed from Yarmouth, England, in the "Mary and Anne," in 1637. He had previously been in the Plymouth Colony as early as 1630, and as early as 1641 settled at Green Harbor, in the town of Marshfield, Mass. His estate at that point subsequently became the home of Daniel Webster. He was evidently a man of property, as he gave land for the minister and a site for a meeting house at Green Harbor, where he died in August, 1651. (II) Nathaniel, son of William Thomas, was born in England in 1606, and died in Marshfield in 1674. He brought from England a wife whose name has not been recorded. Children: William, born 1638. Mary, married Simeon Ray, of Block Island. Nathaniel, b. 1643. Elizabeth, b. 1646. (III) Nathaniel (2), second son of Nathaniel (1) Thomas, born 1643, died in Marshfield Oct. 22, 1718. He was a soldier at the first outbreak of King Philip's war, held the rank of lieutenant, and was later promoted to captain. He was representative to the general court in 1672 and for seven years thereafter, from Boston. He married (first) Feb. 11, 1664, Deborah, youngest daughter of Nicholas and Mary Jacobs, of Hingham, where she was baptized Nov. 26, 1643. She died June 17, 1696, and he married (second) Elizabeth, widow of Capt. William Condy, whose maiden name was Dolbery. She died in Dec., 1713, and he married (third) in 1714, widow Elizabeth Wade, dau. of Rev. Henry Dunster, first president of Harvard College. Children: Nathaniel, Joseph, Deborah, Dorothy, William, Elisha, Joshua, Caleb, Isaac and Mary. (IV) Nathaniel (3), eldest son of Nathaniel (2) and Deborah (Jacobs) Thomas, was born in 1664, in Sandwich, and died there Feb. 24, 1738, and was buried at Plymouth. He married (first) in 1694, Mary, daughter of John Appleton, of Ipswich, and (second) in 1730, Anna (Tisdale) widow of George Leonard. Children, b. of 1st marriage: Nathaniel (died young); John, b. 1696; Nathaniel, b. 1700; Joseph, b. 1702; and Mary, b. 1709. (V) Joseph, third son of Nathaniel (4) and Mary (Appleton) Thomas, was born 1702 in Sandwich, and probably lived in Duxbury, though no account of him appears in the records of that town. It is presumable that his stay there was short. He married, in Boston, June 24, 1737, Silence Adams, Rev Samuel Mather performing the ceremony. (VI) Joseph (2), undoubtedly a son of Joseph (1) and Silence (Adams) Thomas, was born in or near Boston about 1738, and resided at Roxbury. He was probably a seafaring man, as the family tradition states that he was drowned in Boston Harbor. [trans. note; why? he could have simply fallen in.] No record appears of his marriage, but the family history states that he had sons Ichabod and Joseph, who went with their widowed mother to Sidney, Maine. The mother died at Brownville, Maine, June 24, 1823, aged ninety-five years, nine months. (VII) Ichabod, elder son of Joseph (2) Thomas, was born in 1758-59, probably in Roxbury, and lived for some time in Sidney, whence he removed to Katahdin Iron Works, Maine, about 1815, and three years later removed to Brownville, where he died Feb. 25, 1845. He served one year as a soldier in the revolutionary war, in the vicinity of Wiscasset, and was a farmer by occupation. While residing in Sidney he served as representative to the general court of Mass., making the journey on horseback to Boston to attend its sessions. While living in Brownville he served as justice of the peace. He married Mehitable Crosby, lineal descendant of the famous Winslow family of Massachusetts. She was probably born at Sidney about 1767, and died at Brownville, April 26, 1842, aged seventy-four years. Children, probably all b. in Sidney: 1. John, see forward. 2. Jonah, probably went with his father to Katahdin Iron Works and Brownville. 3. Joseph, resided at Brownville, where he died at the age of forty-six years. 4. Ellen, married Otis Barton, of Brownville. 5. Mary C., married George Wilkins, of Brownville. 6. Susanna, became wife of Rev. Nathan W. Sheldeon, of Brownville. 7. Louisa, married Gilman Ryder, of the same town. (VIII) John, eldest child of Ichabod and Mehitable (Crosby) Thomas, was born in Sept., 1794, at Sidney, and died in Brownville, April 30, 1863. He was drafted as a soldier in the war of 1812, and served three years. On settling down at Brownville he became a lumber scaler and farmer, served as selectman, and was an active citizen. He married, about 1816, Sarah Davis, of Fairfield, Maine, born about 1793, died at Brownville, Jan. 8, 1866. Children, b. at Brownville: 1. Stephen C., died one year old. 2. Emily, born Aug., 1821, died in her twenty-sixth year. 3. Eber Davis, died in California at the age of twenty-seven years; his only son, Eber Davis, resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 4. Mary, born about 1825, married David Griffith, of Brownville. 5. Stephen Alfred, mentioned below. 6. Cynthia Davis, b. July 19, 1832, died at Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1887. 7. John Baker, died at Brownville in 1864, at the age of twenty-six years. He enlisted Sept. 11, 1861, and returned in Aug., 1864, having served in Company L, First Maine Cavalry. He participated in the battle of Antietam; was in General Sheridan's army, and with General Reynolds, and carried the headquarters flag. (IX) Stephen Alfred, third son of John and Sarah (Davis) Thomas, was born Aug. 24, 1827, in Brownville. He was a farmer, a Republican in politics, and filled the office of town collector, besides other official stations. He married (first) in June, 1856, Julia Gerrish, of Brownville, born Dec. , 1827, in that town, and died childless Nov. 16, 1860. He married (second) at Milo, Maine, April 15, 1869, Mary Ellen Rogers, born Oct. 13, 1846, in Brownville, daughter of William and Abi (Rankin) Rogers, and widow of William Smith Brown Rogers. Children: 1. Minnie Estella, born and died 1870. 2. Alfred Marshall, born Feb. 15, 1872, at Brownville, graduated from Bangor Business Colelge, and is now a farmer at Brownville. 3. Charles Dura, mentioned below. 4. Ellen Rebecca, born March 27, 1875, married Charles Prentice Kittredge. 5. John Franklin, born Oct. 2, 1876, attended Maine State College, and is now an architect in Boston. 6. Lillian May, born April 29, 1878, is the wife of Jonathan Harley Winship. 7. William Henry, born Dec. 23, 1882; attended Bangor Business College; resided in Brownville. 8. Frank Albert, born March 17, 1886; attended Bangor Business College; has his home in Brownville. 9. Annie Mabel, born Feb. 26, 1887, is the wife of George Nichols Woods. 10. Fred Leroy, born Aug. 13, 1889; resides at Brownville. (X) Charles Dura, second son of Stephen A. and Mary E. (Rogers) Thomas, was born Dec. 27, 1873, at Brownville, and after a preliminary training took a four years course in civil engineering at Maine State College (now Univ. of Maine), Orono, and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Civil Engineering in June, 1895. He secured employment in Boston, and while there attended an evening lecture course at the Mass. Institute of Technology on "Railroad location and operation," during the winter of 1900-01. He also pursued a course in structural steel draughting, at the Boston Young Men's Christian Association evening school, under Professor Rockwell, of Tufts College, during the winter of 1901-02. During the winter of 1908-09 he pursued a course in water supply and sewerage disposal at the Polytechnic Institution at Brooklyn, New York, and was also a student of the College of Engineering during the same winter. From July to Sept. 1895, he acted as assistant in removing and reconstructing buildings along the route of the extension of Columbus Avenue in Boston. From Sept., 1895 to May, 1896, he was rodman with Luther Dean, then city engineer of Taunton, Mass., working on general city engineering and surveying, including the construction of sewers and highways and surveys for assessor's plans of the city; also preliminary surveys and plans for a proposed new system of sewers for that city, whose population was then about 30,000. From May 8, 1896 to May, 1901, he was employed by Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board of Boston, first as rodman and later in charge of a field party. This five years service was connected with the construction of the Wachusett aqueduct, which cost one and three quarter million dollars, the final location of the Weston acqueduct and layout of Weston reservoir, this entire work, at an estimated cose of $5,000,000. From July to October, 1901, he served on the same board as inspector of removal of soil from the Wachusett reservoir, whose surface area is 4,195 acres. From Oct. 7, 1901 to March, 1903, he was in charge of field work at the U.S. navy yard. Boston, on construction of a new distribution system of water waterworks, of subways for pipe galleries, after working on the design and plans of the same; he also laid out sewers and streets for paving. From March to June, 1903, he was employed as draughtsman by the Commission of Additional Water Supply for New York City. From June, 1903 to April, 1906, he was in charge of field work at the U. S. navy yard, Brooklyn, N. Y., on construction of heavy masonry foundations, buildings, piers, yard railway, crane tracks, sewers, conduits for a central heating, lighting and power system; launching ways for U. S. battleship "Connecticut"; repairs to dry docks; layout of new dry dock now under construction, and other general construction and sewer work in connection therewith, much of which was designed by himself. Outside of his regular work during the years from 1898 to 1903, he acted as civil engineer on several occasions for the town of Northboro, Mass., during which he made a relocation of highways to abolish three grade crossings; from April to October, 1906, he worked on the construction of the Pennsylvania railroad tunnels, under the Hudson river, at New York City, being most of the time assistant engineer in charge of contruction, after a few weeks as chief of field party. His connection with this work was severed when the shields met under the river. Since Oct., 1906, he has been associated with the engineer of street openings for the borough of Manhattan, City of New York, and is at present in charge of surveys for location of the proposed extension of Riverside Drive north to Spuyten Duyvil Creek, and surveys for taking property at the entrace of Queensborough Bridge, New York City. While in college Mr. Thomas was lieutenant of cadets who maintained a military drill, and was a member of Kappa Sigma Society, of which he was chaplain. He is an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the Municipal Engineers of the City of New York, and of the Maine Society of N. Y. His family is associated with the Congregational church, and he is an earnest supporter of Republican principles. He married, June 20, 1905, at Marlborough, Mass., Mary Ann Elizabeth Mathews Davies, born Dec. 5, 1875, daughter of Richard Hugh Davies, a farmer of Marlborough, and his wife Mary (Mathews) Davies. [trans note: this next part is in the second column, the last part of the above in the first column. There is no change in the surname designation, but Charles Dura Swift's mother was a ROGERS; maybe that's the connection]. Jesse ROGERS was born in Stoughtonham, after Feb. 25, 1783, known as Sharon, Norfolk county, Mass., Oct. 25, 1762. He married Salome Bosworth, born in Halifax, Plymouth county, Mass., March 19, 1768, died in Brownville, Maine, April, 1833, two months after her husband's death, which occurred in Brownville in Feb., 1833. They had nine children, the first two born in Warren, Maine, the next six in Union, Maine, and the yougest in Bradford, Maine, in 1808, as follows: 1. Nancy, b. Nov. 27, 1787, died in Brownville in 1858; married a Hatch, of Brewer, Maine. 2. Shepard, b. Nov. 24, 1789, married Betsey ____; children, b. in Brownville: Salome, George, John, Emily, Stoddard, Hamilton and Edward. Stoddard died at Dover, Maine. 3. Abby, b. June 22, 1791, died unmarried. 4. Sarah, b. July 11, 1796, married Jesse Perham, of Williamsburg, Maine; children, b. in that town: Jesse, William, Jane, Sebiah, Peter, Eliza, Abigail, Sarah, Hannah and Martha Perham. 5. Jesse Rogers, b. June 2, 1798, married Emeline Smith, of Brownville, Maine; children, b. in that town: Mary W., Emeline, Harrison, Sarah, William Smith Brown, b. 1841, one of twins, the other dying unnamed, and Salome, and by a second wife, at their home in Hamden, Maine: Rachel, Isaac and Ella. 6. William, b. April 27, 1800, died in Brownville, Maine, Nov. 28, 1860; married Abi Rankin June 11, 1835, ceremony performed at Brownville by Rev. Henry Richardson. 7. Hannah, b. Aug. 18, 1802, married James Rankin, of Sidney, Maine; no children. 8. Polly, b. March 20, 1804; never married. 9. Eli, b. Sept. 3, 1808; married Katherine Heath; children: Sabine, and a girl. The twelve children of William and Abi (Rankin) ROGERS were born in Brownville, as follows: 1. Isaac Sewell, b. March 2, 1807, died in Franklin, Mass., 1902 or 1903; married May 7, 1861, Elizabeth Dutch, of Searsport, Maine; children, born in Brownville, Maine: Jasper, went to Australia, where he married and his only child died; William, married, and lived in Aroostock county, Maine; Nellie, married a McKenzie, of Presque Isle, Maine, and had two children: Bessie and Frank; Nora, born in Searsport, Maine, married Stillman Judkins of Fort Fairfield, Aroostook county, Maine; and Henry, born in Searsport, Maine. Elizabeth (Dutch) Rogers died in Presque Isle, Maine, and her husband married (second) Mrs. Ada W. Perkins, of Portland, Maine, Nov. 30, 1885. 2. Lewis Fremond, b. Dec. 19, 1838, died at Millis, Mass., March 27, 1900; married Mary Frances Hammond, of Dover, N. H.; children: Lura, b. in Brownville, Maine, married twice (first) Leonard Walker; John William, b. in Brownville, Maine, married Alma Clement, lived in Boston, Mass. where they had two daughters; Lewis Fremond Jr., born in Boston, 1881, and Annie, born in Boston. 3. William Francis, b. Nov. 18, 1840, died on the battlfield of Cold Harbor, Virginia, fighting for his country in the civil war, June 3, 1864, not married. 4. Elizabeth Jenks, b. July 30, 1842; married Asa Daniel Morse, in Medway, Mass; children: Mabel, died in infancy; Myrtie Vera; Andrew Delancey, who lives in Hopedale, Mass. and married Oct. 11, 1905, Charlotte Perkins. Asa Daniel Morse, father of these children, died in Medway, Mass. in Dec., 1896. 5. Rebecca Crosby, b. July 3, 1844, married Alva Dutch, of Searsport, Maine, Jan. 23, 1867; their adopted daughter, Alberta Abi Dutch, married Alva Lewis Rogers, and they have two daughers b. in Plainville, Conn. 6. Mary Ellen, b. Oct. 13, 1846, married William Smith Brown, son of Isaac and Emeline (Smith) Rogers, Sept. 1, 1863, at the home of his Aunt Abi (Rankin) Rogers, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Mr. Spaulding, of Brownville, Maine; William Smith Brown was drafted into the U. S. army Aug. 27, 1863, mustered into the service Sept. 9, 1863, and assigned to Company G, Twenty-second Maine Regiment, and was killed in the battle of the Wilderness May 10, 1864, at the age of twenty-three years. His widow married (second) Stephen Alfred Thomas on April 15, 1869, at Milo, Maine, by Elder Noyes and she had by this marriage ten children. 7. Charles Willington, b. May 24, 1848, married Augusta Willard, of Brownville, Maine; children: Bertha, married Orin Arnold, of Monson, Maine and had one child Helen; Emma, married Leon Thomas, of Monson, Maine; Alva Lewis, married Alberta Abi Dutch, and lived in Plainfield, Conn. His second wife was Mehitable Erskine Joselyn. 8. Harriet Salome, b. July 6, 1851; married Aaron Willard, of Brownville, three children: Frank Willard, married, lived in Franklin, Mass., no children; Lulu A. Willard, b. in Aug. 1875, lived in Franklin, Mass.; Albert Rogers Willard, b. in Oct., 1877, married, no children. 9. Albert Henry, b. March 9, 1854; married Alma Page, no children. 10. Luther Shepard, b. July 5, 1856; married Mary Susan Edgerly, of Sebec, Maine; removed to Medield, Mass., where they had one child, Abi Eliza, b. Dec. 6, 1880, who married Harvey Ryder, of Brownville, Maine, and had one child, Walter Luther Ryder, b. Aug. 22, 1903, died Aug. 25, 1904, and the mother died Aug. 7, 1904. 11. Jesse Franklin, b. April 10, 1858; married Julia Morse, of Millis (then Medway), Norfolk county, Mass.; lived in Presque Isle, Maine, and after 1880 in Boston, Mass. Their two children were: a daughter, Ann Eliza, b. in Presque Isle, 1879, married Raymond Safford, of Roslindale, Mass., and had two daughters, and a son, Frank Albert, b. in Boston in 1888 or 1889. 12. James Edward, b. Feb. 5, 1860, died in Brownville, Maine in Oct., 1887; married Harriet Estelle Cole, of Boston; one child, Levi Harold, died in infancy. James RANKIN (see above) was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, Jan. 29, 1785, died in Brownville, Maine, July 15, 1860. He was brought up in his father's family, his father eing one of the brothers, Ezra, Amos or Lewis RANKIN, who belonged to the Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers. He lived in Sidney, Maine, then in Belgrade, and removed from there to Brownville, where he died. He married in Amherst, N. H., Rebecca Crosby, born in Amherst, Dec. 14, 1791, died in Brownville, Maine, March 15, 1848. Children: 1. Stephen Crosby, b. March 31, 1809, in Belgrade, Maine, died in Amherst, Maine. The name of his wife is not on record so far as our reseach can find; Their children, all b. in Amherst, probably in the order of birth: Alfred, Stephen, Abi, Isaac and Salome. 2. Lucy, b. Oct. 21, 1810, died Feb. 12, 1812. 3. John Dernoril, b. Oct. 12, 1812; married Mary Archer, of Brewster, Maine; lived in that town where Judson, who removed west, married there, and had two children, a boy and a girl; Lucy married a Bradbury, of Brewer, and had Alice and Anne. 3. [trans note: should be 4?] Ansel, married and had a boy and a girl. [trans note: this may actually belong to the John Dernoril part, it's really hard to tell]. Mary, married and had two girls, Mandley, never married; Crosby, remained west and never married. 4. Isaac Fairfield, b. Aug. 1, 1814. 5. James Wellington, b. Nov. 23, 1816; married Miranda Willard, of St. Louis, Missouri; children: Samuel, died young; Angie; Emma and Annie. 6. Abi, b. Dec. 21, 1818. 7. William Henry, b. Jan. 4, 1821, died March 31, 1846. 8. Susan Dean, b. May 18, 1824, died June 21, 1829. 9. Charles Freeman, b. Nov. 29, 1825; married Betsey Richardson, of Atkinson, Maine; was a soldier in the civil war 1861-64, member of Company K, Thirty-first Maine regiment, and died Sept. 4, 1864, while in the service of his country; his children, born in Brownville, Maine: Rebecca, married George Esler of Sebec, Maine, as her third husband; Florence, died when fifteen years of age in Sebec, Maine; Charles Moses, married Ella Dean, of Barnard, Maine, lived in Sebec, Maine, and had five children: Charles Dana, b. 1881; Frank, b. 1884; Lizzie, b. 1889; and Leroy, b. 1895. Lizzie Rankin died in Barnard, Maine, in April 1900; Edward did not marry; Susan, married Charles Cross, and had one child who died in infancy, and the mother died in Sebec, Maine, March 21, 1897; Jennie died in Sebec, when two years old 10. Rebecca, b. Oct. 8, 1827; married Darius Harris; one child, died in infancy. 11. Harriet Fessenden, b. Oct. 15, 1831; married Levi Page, of Brownville, b. Sept. 24, 1824; children: Lydia Page, married Anson Page, and had three children: Edwin, Alice Eliza and Leroy; Alma Page, married Lorin Page, of Brownsville, and (second) Albert Rogers, of the same place, but had no children by either marriage; Edwin Page, drowned in Pleasant River, Brownville, when eighteen years old. 12. Albert Lewis, b. Jan. 31, 1834; married Eliza Harvey, of Sebec; children: Lillian, and Ralph L., and who lived in Exeter, N. H., where Lillian married a Russell, and had two children; Ralph L. married Louise ____ of Exeter, N. H. 13. Susan Frances, b. Aug. 22, 1836; married Charles Banks, of Biddeford, Maine, and having no children they adopted a daughter.