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.]

WIGGIN The frequent appearance of this name in the records of Rockingham county, New Hampshire, indicates that it was borne by important and useful citizens, but the meagreness of those records renders it very difficult to follow any line of descent with certainty or satisfaction. The following, however, can be relied upon as accurate, a record of the careers of worthy people. (I) Captain Thomas Wiggin cme from Shrewsbury, England, and settled in New Hampshire in 1630. He had a large grant of land which lay outside of any organized territory, and was known as Squamscott, an Indian name. From 1656 to 1692 he paid taxes in Hampton, and was regarded as attached to that town. The territory is now a part of Stratham, and the records of this town show that a large portion of the inhabitants bore the name down to a very recent date. In 1631 he was appointed agent and superintendent of the Dover plantation. Whether or not he came over with Winthrop has not been definitely determined, but he was very intimate with the Mass. Bay Governor, who wrote in the highests terms of his ability and worth. That Wiggin was considered a man of more than ordinary account is evidenced by the fact that he was place in charge of the Upper Plantation (so called), which embraced Diver, Durham and Stratham, with a portion of Newington and Greenland. In the records he is referred to as governor, and evidently exercised the full power of a colonial chief magistrate. In 1632 he was sent to England in the interests of the colony, and "did much to avert the evils that threatened it from the enmity of Gorges and Mason." Upon his reutnr he was accompanied by several families, including people of some account, and as another record adds, others "of no account." He retained his office until 1636, when he was succeeded by George Burdette, but for a number of years afterwards he was closely identified with the public affairs of the colony, and upon its union with Massachusetts he was appointed a magistrate. In 1645 he was deputy to the general court from Dover, and from 1650 to 1664 was one of the assistants to the governor of Mass., being the only one from New Hampshire. His death occurred about 1667. The Christian name of his wife was Catherine, but it was supposed that he married her in England, during his visit there in 1632-33. Children: Bap. Sept. 26, 1641: Andrew, Mary and Thomas. Descendants of Governor Wiggin are quite numerous in New Hampshire, as well as in other New England states, and not a few of them possess to a more or less degree the strong characteristics of their sturdy Puritan ancestors. (II) Andrew, elder son of Governor Thomas and Catherine Wiggin, was born about 1635. At the time of his marriage his parents gave him a deed of "all our land called or known by the name of Quamscott, being three miles square or thereabouts," in the neighborhood of Exeter, this state. Andrew does not appear to have been much in public life; in fact, the most interesting thing about his career was his marriage, which took place about 1659, to Hannah, daughter of Governor Simon Bradstreet, of Andover, Mass. Her mother was Ann Dudley, dau. of Governor Thomas Dudley, who was celebrated for her accomplishments and practical gifts. A small volume of her verse was published, probably one of the first offerings to the mass, issued in this country. The deed of the tract of land called "Quamscott" was given to the newly married couple by Governor Wiggin and his wife, June 4, 1663. Children: Thomas, Simon, Andrew, Jonathan, Bradstreet (mentioned below), Abigail, Mary, Dorothy, Sarah and another daughter whose Christian name is unknown, but who became the wife of Samuel Wentworth. Andrew Wiggin died in 1710, at the age of seventy-five, and his wife died about three years earlier. (III) Bradstreet, fifth son of Andrew and Hannah (Bradstreet) Wiggin, was born in 1676, in Squamscott, and resided in that district. He married, in Hampton, Aug. 25, 1697, Ann Chase, b. Jan. 9, 1678, in Hampton, dau. of Joseph and Rachel (Partridge) Chase, and granddaughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Philbrick) Chase, of Hampton. Their eldest child was born in Exeter, and all are recorded at Hampton. Chase, Thomas, Elizabeth and Joseph. (IV) Thomas, second son of Bradstreet and Ann (Chase) Wiggin, was born about 1698, at Stratham, New Hampshire, and married, Dec. 17, 1719, Sarah Piper, of the same town. (V) Thomas (2), son of Thomas (1) and Sarah (Piper) Wiggin, was born Sept. 13, 1720, in Straham. No record of his marriage or children can be found. (VI) Thomas (3) Wiggin was a soldier in the revolution, and died a comparatively young man, of small pox, in 1776, at Fort George, New York. (VII) Thomas (4) Wiggin, born Nov. 6, 1774, in Stratham, married Sally Jewett, of the same town, who was born April 12, 1770. Children, recorded in Stratham: Samuel, Shepherd, Susan and Jewett (born 1815). About this time he removed to Maine and settled in the town of Brooks, Knox county. (VIII) Samuel S., son of Thomas (4) and Sally (Jewett) Wiggin, was born Oct. 23, 1809, and was a small child when the family removed to Maine. He was a shoemaker by trade, and settled when a young man at South Thomaston, Maine, where he died May 15, 1860. He married May 23, 1841, Mary Elizabeth Dean, b. Sept. 17, 1823, daughter of Ephraim and Lucy (McLoon) Dean, of Thomaston. Children: Charles M. (mentioned below), Abby M., Ruth A., and Henry. The other daughter became the wife of Andrew Stover, and lived at South Thomaston. (IX) Charles M., eldest child of Samuel S. and Mary E. (Dean) Wiggin, was born in Thomaston, Maine, May 14, 1842; died 1896. He was educated in the public schools. He followed the sea for seven years. He then conducted a general store in South Thomaston and Frankfort, Maine. After he retired from business he lived in Rockland, Maine. He was a Republican in politics, and a leader of his party; was town clerk, selectman, and elected to various other offices of trust and honor. He married (first) Oct. 11, 1863, Josephine B., daughter of John Allen; (second) Alvira Stanton, born in South Thomaston, in 1854. Children of 1st wife: 1. Fred. 2. Charles. 3. Ada. Children of 2d wife: 4. George. 5. Florence. 6. Chester McLean, mentioned below. (X) Dr. Chester McLean Wiggin, son of Charles M. Wiggin, was born in South Thomaston, Maine, July 15, 1882. He attended the public schools of his native town, the Rockland Commercial College and Bowdoin College. He studied for his profession in the Univ. of Vermont, in the Medical Department, graduating with the degree of M.D. in 1906, and took a special course at Harvard Medical School afterward. Since 1906 he has practiced medicine at Stonington, Maine. He is a member of the Vermont Medical Associaton. In politics he is a Republican. He is a member of King Arthur Lodge, Knights of Pythias, Stonington. He married, Oct. 20, 1907, Frances Starkey, dau. of Newman Starkely, of Amesbury, Mass.