My Old Ohio Home - Maine

Joel Salley of Embden, Maine

2026-09-09T00:00:00-04:00

Introduction

Sometime after April 23, 1868, and before his death in 1874, Joel Salley of Embden, Maine, received a letter from Slatersville, Rhode Island. The envelope simply read:

Mr Joel Salley
North Anson
Maine

Who was Joel, and who might have sent him the letter?

Joel Salley

Joel Salley was born about August 1847 in Maine, most likely in Embden, since that is where his parents were living in 1840 and 1850. He is on the 1850 through 1870 censuses with his parents and family and is listed as a farmer in 1870. He died at home November 21, 1871, and is buried with his parents in Sunset Cemetery, North Anson. There is a lot of information about the Salley family in Maine but, unfortunately, that is all I could find on Joel.

Who Sent the Letter?

Joel's cousin Mahala Salley, who was born about 1837, married Moses Esten of Slatersville on June 26, 1854. They and three children were living in Smithfield, RI, in 1860. With them was Mahala's brother Uriah Salley. Note that North Smithfield did not split off from Smithfield until 1870, so there is every reason to believe they were in Slatersville, in what is now North Smithfield.

Uriah Salley, who was born about 1830, enlisted in the Union Army on August 31, 1864, and served with Company B, 3rd Regiment RI Heavy Artillery. He was discharged September 4, 1864. He married Hannah Jackson of Blackstone, Massachusetts, on February 2, 1870 by E.N. Maynard, a minister of Slatersville. They were living in Ward 1 of Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1870, and were in the 1872 Worcester City Directory. By 1877 Uriah was living on Second Avenue, Woonsocket.

By 1865 Mahala's parents, Elias Salley and his wife Mary Dunlap, and the rest of their family had joined Mahala and Uriah in Rhode Island. They were living on Buxton Road, which is in Slatersville. Included was Elias' other son, Edwin. Embden Town of Yore said that Elias moved to Slatersville prior to the Civil War.

Edwin Salley was born about 1843 in Maine. He also enlisted in the Union Army on August 31, 1864, and served with Company B, 3rd Regiment RI Heavy Artillery. He was discharged October 5, 1864. He married Eunice Jane Holt in Smithfield on May 13, 1869. They were both living in Woonsocket in 1870, and was still there in 1877.

So who wrote the letter? I thought maybe I could narrow it down by the handwriting, but it could be a male's or female's, and it could have been that of a 65 year old man. I also thought for a while that the stamp would help, since Google AI said it was only in use for a couple years until it was replaced as the main 3¢ postage stamp. But it turns out that AI was probably wrong, again, since the 1870 series of stamps was very unpopular with people and was only in use for a year.

If the letter was written after 1870, then we could eliminate Edwin, since he was in Woonsocket by then. And if it was written between 1870 and 1871 we could eliminate Uriah, since he was in Worcester. But unfortunately the cancellation only includes a month and day. The earliest known use of that stamp was April 23, 1868, according to the Mystic Stamp Company, and Joel died in 1874. Which doesn't help much either.

So the bottom line is that I don't really know which of the Salleys wrote the letter, Elias, Mahala, Uriah, or Edwin. Assuming that it was a relative who wrote it.

John Hook and John Hook, Junior, Canaan, Maine–Court Cases

2024-11-07T00:00:00-05:00

Familysearch has recently made available a full text search of documents they have online that are not yet indexed. They are at https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text, although you will might need to start here: https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text.

I found three court cases in Kennebec County, Maine, involving John Hook, and his son John Hook, Junior, of Canaan, Maine. They are from the Kennebec County Supreme Judicial Court, May 31, 1803 and September 27, 1803, and the Kennebec County Court of Common Pleas, December 9, 1806.

Here are my transcriptions. Note, there is no title on the original book.

May 31, 1803

Page 33 of the original book (familysearch's image 35 in the collection) says:

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Kennebec
At the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, begun and holden at Augusta within and for the County of Kennebec, on the last Tuesday of May, being the 31st day of said month Anno Domini 1803, by the Honorable Theodore Sedgwick, Samuel Sewall, and George Thatcher, Esquires, Justices.

Page 103, image 105 says:
Case 97

Asher Spaulding of Anson and Ithamar Spaulding of Norridgwock, Traders, and John Harlow Esqr of said Norridgwock in the County of Kennebec complain, that at a Court of Common Pleas begun and held at Augusta within and for said County of Kennebec on the second Tuesday of December last past, by the consideration of the Justices of said Court, they recovered Judgment against John Hook of Canaan in said County, Yeoman, for the sum of eighteen Dollars & eighty three cents damages, and costs of suit taxed at nine Dollars eighty three cents, from which Judgment the said Hook appealed to this Court, and recognized to prosecute the same with effect; but has failed so to do. Wherefore the said Asher, Ithamar, and John prays affirmation of said Judgment with additional damages and costs. It is therefore considered by the Court, that the said Asher, Ithamar, & John recover against the said John Hook Jr, the sum of Nineteen Dollars and twenty eight cents damages & Costs taxed at 18.86.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89SV-293Z-S?view=fullText&keywords=John%2CJohn+Hook%2CCanaan&groupId=TH-1961-29360-26176-42

There is a boilerplate record of that case as well which adds the following breakdown of the court costs. It is in a separate database called Kennebec Court Case Files, May 1803, and is image 152 on that roll of film.

Kennebec
to the Honorable the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court at Augusta in the County of Kennebec and for the County of Kennebec, on the last Tuesday of May A.D. 1803

Humbly shew Asher Thornton of Anson in said County and Ithamar Spaulding of Norridgewock in said county, traders, and John Harlow of said Norridgewock, Esquire, that at a Court of Commpn Pleas, held at Augusta in and for said county on the 2nd Tuesday of December last, they recovered Judgment agains John Hook Junior of Canaan in said county, yeoman, for the sum of $18.83 cents damage and costs of suit; from which Judgment he appealed to this Honorable Court and recognised to prosecute the same, but failed so to do; wherefore the complainant pray affirmation of the said judgment with additional damages costs.

costs

of Common Pleas	9.83
Court's bill	2.50
Attorney's fees, etc	1.75
Copy of the case	1.15
attendance 3 days	.99
Travel, 80 miles	2.64
-----
Total	18.86

There are other figures on the page. I don't know what they refer to:

18.83

.45

-----

19.28

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99N7-8VJP?view=fullText&keywords=John+Hook%2CJohn&groupId=TH-1951-41561-14871-66

September 27, 1803

Page 129 of the original, image 129, says:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts

At the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, begun and holden at Augusta in and for the County of Kennebec on the fourth Tuesday of September, being the twenty-seventh day of said month, Anno Domini 1803 by the honorable Francis Dana, Esq., Chief Justice, Simeon Strong and George Thacher, Esqs., Justices.

Pages 156 and 157, images 158 and 159 say:

Case Number 143

Benjamin Kelley of Loudon in the County of Rockingham and State of New Hampshire, Physician Complains that at a Court of Common Pleas begun and held at Augusta within and for the County of Kennebec on the second Tuesday of December last, by the consideration of the Justices of said Court, he recovered Judgement against John Hook and John Hook Junior both of Canaan in said County of Kennebec yeomen for the sum of twenty seven Dollars and twenty eight Cents Debt and twenty one Dollars and forty five Cents Costs. From which Judgment the said John & John Jr appealed to this Court and entered into Recognizance as the Law directs to prosecute his said appeal with effect, but has failed so to do. Therefore the said Kelley prays affirmation of said Judgment with additional Debt and costs. It is therefore considered by the Court that the said Kelley recover against the said John Hook and John Hook Jr the sum of twenty eight Dollars and fifty one Cents Debt and Costs of suit taxed at $ 30.49 Cents.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89SV-29SJ-6?view=fullText&keywords=John+Hook%2CJohn&groupId=TH-1961-29360-26176-42

December 9, 1806

Page 276 of the original, image 287, says:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Kennebec
At a Court of Common Pleas begun and holden at Augusta within and for our County of Kennebec on the second Tuesday of December being the ninth day of said month, Anno Domini 1806, by the Honorable Joseph North, Daniel Corry, Nathaniel Dummer and Charles Robins, Esquires
Continued actions

Pages 306 and 307, images 317 and 318, say:

Case 160
Benjamin Kimball, Junior, of Concord in the County of Rockingham & State of New Hampshire, Hatter, plaintiff, vs John Hook & John Hook Junior both of Cornville in our County of Kennebec, yeomen, defendants in a plea of Debt, for that the said Kimball by the consideration of our Justices of our Court of Common Pleas holden at Waterborough within and for our County of York to wit at Augusta in our County of Kennebee on the fourth Tuesday of August eighteen hundred and three recovered Judgment against the said John Hook & John Hook Junior for the sum of forty seven dollars & ninety two cents damage & eleven dollars and fifty one cents for his costs of suit as by the record of our said Court remaining fully appear. Which Judgment is in full force unserved & in every part unsatisfied. Whereby an action hath accrued to the plaintiff to demand & recover of the said John Hook & John Hook Junior the sums aforesaid with interest for the same. Yet the said John Hook & John Hook Junior tho often requested have not paid either of the sum aforesaid or the interest but unjustly detain it to the damage of the said Kimball (as they say) the sum of one hundred dollars. This action was commenced & entered the last May term & was from thence continued from term to term until this term, And now in this term the Defendants although solemnly called to come into Court doth not appear but make default. It is therefore considered by the Court that the plaintiff recover against the Defendants the sum of seventy one dollars & thirty two cents damage & costs taxed at $25.93 cents.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L995-23YF?view=fullText&keywords=Hook&groupId=TH-1961-28640-2698-43

Some Hook marriages in Canaan, Maine, 1802 to 1804

2024-11-07T00:00:00-05:00

Here are some Hook marriages in Canaan, Maine, from the years 1802 to 1804. I say "some," but those were the only ones I found. And "1802 to 1804," but the records extended a few years in either direction if I remember right. At any rate here they are in chronological order.

These records are on films that haven't been indexed to match the page of the original books. An explanation of how to find the image of the original record follows each transcription.

Norridgewock Vital Records, 1779 to 1882

Joseph Hook, of Canaan
Sally Webb, of Canaan
Event Date 30 Aug 1802
Event Place Norridgewock, Somerset, Maine, United States

Image 4 of the film informs us that it is of the Norridgewock Vital Records, 1779 to 1882. Image 13 is the grooms' index telling us that the marriage of Joseph Hook is on page 256 of the original book. Image 164 is of page 256, on which we find:

Joseph Hook with Miss Sally Webb, both of Canaan, August 30, 1802

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4D6-B5G

John Hook
Sally Oaks
Event Date 12 Jun 1803
Event Place Canaan, Somerset, Maine, United States

image 37: Caanan, Maine, Vital Records, 1784 to 1891
image 43: the index: the John Hook marriage is on page 6 in the old book, page 21 in this one.
image 63: page 21 of this book which says:

1803, June 12, John Hook to Sally Oaks

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4FQ-XL2

Abigail Hook
James Dudly
Event Date 30 Aug 1803
Event Place Canaan, Somerset, Maine, United States

image 37: Caanan, Maine, Vital Records, 1784 to 1891
image 41: the index: the James Dudly marriage is on page 6 in the old book, page 21 in this one.
image 63: page 21 of this book which says:

1803, August 30, James Dudly to Abigail Hook

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4FQ-6Z9

Lucy Hook
Philip Powers
Event Date 5 Apr 1804
Event Place Canaan, Somerset, Maine, United States

image 37: Caanan, Maine, Vital Records, 1784 to 1891
image 48: the index: Philip Powers marriage is on page 7 in the old book, page 22 in this one
image 63: page 22 of this book which says:

1804, April 5, Philip Powers to Lucy Hook, by Bryce McLeellan, J.P.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4FQ-N93

This last record turns out not to belong to the Hook family. Lucy "Hook" should be Lucy Hood, as we will see in a following article, maybe.

Samuel Page and Samuel Page II of Orono, Maine

2024-10-02T00:00:00-04:00

On November 21, 1829, Samuel Page and Harriet Wiggin, both of Orono, filed an intention to marry.¹ On August 30, 1830, Samuel Page 2d and Julia Dudley, both of Orono, filed an intention to marry.² Their censuses show that these two men were about the same age. Harriet's husband is 50 in 1850³, and Julia's is 48.⁴ These two men were probably first cousins–more on that later, maybe.

Earlier in Orono, Stephen Page and Annie Ayers had a son, Samuel, born 30 March 1801.⁵ Which of the two Samuels above, if either, was Stephen and Annie's son?

Sorting them out

The first time I looked at these families was at least 20 years ago and I remember that at the time I was certain that Harriet's husband was Stephen and Annie's son. I took another look about a week ago and couldn't for the life of me figure out why I thought so. Then I remembered that the probate records of Penobscot County, Maine, were online at familysearch. There I found the probate records of Stephen Page's estate in 1857.

Stephen died on January 4, 1857, and on March 2 his widow Jane requested that Samuel Page be made administrator.⁶ I think it is safe to assume that she asked her husband's son Samuel to handle the responsibility, and not a nephew. I am pretty sure this was Samuel Page who married Harriet Wiggin for two reasons.

A bit of negative evidence: there are a lot of documents in the file and not once is Samuel called Samuel 2nd. Nor does he ever sign his name as Samuel 2nd. I don't know if that proves anything–maybe they would have just assumed which Samuel they were dealing with. On the other hand, the Penobscot County land records are also online and they do refer to both Samuel and Samuel 2nd.
More important is the fact that at a court session held in May 1858 in connection with the estate, a Charles F Page appeared as a witness for the widow, Jane Page. If he testified his testimony either wasn't recorded or wasn't preserved, but he claimed a travel allowance for attending one day.⁷ Charles F Page was the son of Samuel Page and Harriet Wiggin. He was born about 1833 and is named in the household of Samuel and Harriet in 1850 and 1860.³^,⁸ Samuel calls him one of "my children" in his will written 4 April 1877.⁹ It's a lot more likely that Jane's lawyer would call her husband's grandson as a witness rather than his brother's grandson.

Then whose son was Samuel Page 2nd?

The short answer is I don't know. Based on his year of birth he is very likely a grandson of Joseph Page, one of the early settlers of the Orono area. Joseph had 4 sons: Joseph, James, Isaac, and the Stephen mentioned above. My money would be on the son Joseph as Samuel 2nd's father, since Samuel named his first son Joseph. But that is not enough evidence to say for sure.

Conclusion

For more on the Page family, see the Page and Paige tags in this section of the site, the Page and Paige surnames in the New England Families section, and the article Samuel Page II and Joseph Page, of Orono, Maine.

Footnotes

¹ "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28Q-HMM1), image 201, Entry for Samuel Page and Harriet Wiggin, 21 November 1829.

² Source: Town Records of Old Town, Maine. Microfilm at New England Historic and Genealogical Society. Section 2. Births, Deaths, Marriages and Misc. Town Records, 1827 - 1839 Marriages, starting on page 201.) The Page-Dudley record is on page 207.

³ 1850 Census, Maine, Penobscot, Orono, Series M432, Roll 264, Page 258, dwelling 295, family 393, "United States Census, 1850", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6V3-62R : Fri Mar 08 01:03:38 UTC 2024), Entry for Samuel Page and Harriet Page, 1850.

⁴ 1850 Census, Maine, Penobscot, Orono, Maine, Penobscot, Orono, Series M432, Roll 264, Page 257A, dwelling 273, family 370. "United States Census, 1850", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6VS-YG8), Entry for Martha McPheters and Saml Page, 1850.

⁵ Orono Town Records.

⁶ Penobscot. Probate Records 1816–1892, 1839, Probate Estate Case Files 1816–1892, 1839 (image 374). Currently available by doing a live text search at https://familysearch.org/en/labs.

⁷ Penobscot. Probate Records 1816–1892, 1839, Probate Estate Case Files 1816–1892, 1839 (image 379).

⁸ Maine, Penobscot, Orono, Veazie Post Office Series M653, Roll 446, Page 910, family 154, dwelling 154, "United States Census, 1860", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDCH-Z3B), Entry for Samuel Page and Harriet Page, 1860.

⁹ Penobscot. Probate Records 1816–1892, 1839, Probate Estate Case Files 1816–1892, 1839 (image 339).

Samuel Page II and Joseph Page, of Orono, Maine

2024-10-02T00:00:00-04:00

Working back through the Page family in Bangor and Orono, Maine, we come to Joseph Page, a railroad engineer who married Abigail Dudley. Those might not have been the most characteristic attributes of Joseph, but they help identify him among the other Joseph Pages in the area and in my records.

At any rate, when I started researching the family I arrived at the conclusion that he was the son of Samuel Page II and Julia/Judith Dudley. "Arrived at" describes the process, since I never found a birth record for Joseph or for any of Samuel II's children. So why did I put him in that family? For the following reasons:

Joseph's second marriage record, to Carrie (Baker) Emery in 1903 said his father's name was Samuel.¹
Joseph's censuses pointed to a birth about 1831. Joseph's first marriage was in 1854, meaning he'd probably be in his father's household in 1850. The 1850 household of Samuel Page II and Julia Page in Orono includes a son Joseph, age 19.²
There was another Samuel Page in Orono at the time–the husband of Harriet Wiggins. His 1840 household included a male between 5 and 10 who could be Joseph, but in 1850 we learn that Samuel and Harriet's 17 year old son was named Charles.³^,⁴
On that 1850 census, Samuel and Julia had a daughter named Eunice, age 8. She died in January 1860 and in August of that year Joseph named his newborn daughter Eunice.⁵^,⁶
On July 6, 1848, Samuel Page 2nd and someone named Joseph Page bought land in Orono from Nathaniel Treat described as "beginning at the Southeasterly corner of Lot numbered Sixty six."⁷

At the time, that was enough evidence to say that Joseph Page was the son of Samuel Page II and Julia Dudley.

Penobscot County Land Records

A month or so ago a descendant of Joseph told me about a new section of familysearch.org, namely https://www.familysearch.org/en/labs/. Familysearch has done an OCR scan of some older records that haven't been indexed yet and one set of records is the U.S. Land and Probate Records 1630-1975, including those for Penobscot County, Maine. You can do a full text search of them at the lab section of the site.

I've been going through them and, lo and behold, the land purchased by Samuel and a Joseph Page in 1848 was part of Joseph Page the railroad engineer's estate when probated in 1913. His will mentions "1/2 part of a lot consisting of 6 acres in common and undivided, being part of Lot 66 known at Nathaniel Treat lot in Orono."⁸ So he was the Joseph Page who was part purchaser in the 1848 deal.

Conclusion

That seems to sew things up as far as Joseph being the son of Samuel Page II. Hopefully the newly available records will clear up a few other questions about the Pages in Orono and Bangor–I would really like to identify Samuel II's father. For more on that see the article Samuel Page and Samuel Page II of Orono, Maine.

Footnotes

¹ "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KCDH-73L : Tue Jul 09 09:27:14 UTC 2024), Entry for Joseph Page and Carrie B Emery, 01 Dec 1903.

² 1850 U.S. Census, Maine, Penobscot, Orono, Series M432, Roll 264, Page 257A, Census sheet 515.

³ 1840 U.S. Census, Orono, Series M704, Roll 149, Page 255.

⁴ 1850 U.S. Census, Orono, Series M432, Roll 264, Page 258.

⁵ 1860 Mortality Schedule, Orono, Maine, d January 1860, Eunice Page.

⁶ Joseph's daughter's birth date is calculated from her age at death. She died March 4, 1867, age 6 years, 6 months, 10 days. "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HK6-Q7H : Wed Jul 17 02:15:50 UTC 2024), Entry for Eunice M Page, 04 Mar 1867.

⁷ Treat to Page 2nd et. al. Penobscot County Land Records, Volume 198, Page 527, July 6, 1848. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37Q-V9KR-K?view=fullText&keywords=Volume+198%2CPenobscot%2CCounty%2Cland&groupId=TH-909-85638-38203-8

⁸ Penobscot County Land Records, Case Number 6790, Volume 321, page 434, Last will and codicil of Joseph Page, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89XT-QP8S?view=fullText&keywords=Joseph+Page%2CMaine%2CMAINE&groupId=TH-1971-40384-17772-33.

James Hawkins, Portland, Maine, 1860 to 1892

2019-09-06T00:00:00-04:00

In 1871 Mr James Hawkins of No. 1 High Street Court, Portland, Maine, received a letter postmarked in Wexford, Ireland.(footnote)The image of the envelope sent from Wexford, Ireland, to James Hawkins in Portland, Maine, was once at Jim Forte's Postal History site but is no longer. Who was James Hawkins and does this postmark tell us anything about his place of origin in Ireland?

There is only one James Hawkins in Portland in this time period. When I started researching him I first found him at 8 Maple Street in the 1869 Portland City Directory. Maple Street is 2/10 of a mile from 1 High Street Court.(footnote)1869 Portland Directory page 125, image 62 at ancestry.com. But the earliest he appears in Portland is in the John Deehan household on the 1860 Census, age 22, working as a mariner.(footnote) 1860 Census, John Deehan Household, Ward 4, Portland, Maine, at familysearch.org. His listings in the Portland City Directories can be found below.

On July 9, 1861, James married Margaret McGlinchey in Portland,(footnote)Maine Vital Records, Copy of an old marriage, Hawkins-McGlinchey, 1861, at familysearch.org. and in 1870 they were in Ward 6 with three children: Margaret (age 8), James Jr (5), and Ida (1).(footnote)1870 Census, James J Hawkins, Ward 6, Portland, Maine, at familysearch.org. Margaret, the mother, died June 18, 1877, of typhoid fever,(footnote)Maine Vital Records, Copy of an old death, Margaret E Hawkins, 1877, twice at familysearch, here and also here. and James, the father, died September 4, 1892.(footnote)Maine Vital Records, deaths, James Hawkins, 1892, at familysearch.org. They are both buried in Calvary Cemetery.

The Irish records

James' death record said that his parents were James J Hawkins, a sea captain, and Margaret Furlong, both born in Ireland. On Griffith's Valuation, those two surnames overlapped most often in County Wexford. With the help of ancestry.com's index, I found baptisms of

Pat Hawkins, March 2, 1825, sponsor: Betsy Furlong
Pat Hawkins again, May 29, 1826, sponsors: Edward Durkham and Catherine Murphy
John Hawkins, May 9, 1828, sponsors Garret Roche and Mary Cleary

all in Wexford Parish, Ferns Diocese, and all sons of a couple named James Hawkins and Margaret Furlong.(footnote)Irish Catholic Parish Registers, at the National Library of Ireland. I didn't find a baptism record for a James Hawkins born to this couple.

On Griffith's Valuation of the town of Wexford, Civil Parish of St Mary's, there is a James Hawkins leasing a house and yard on Stonebridge Lane. Stonebridge Lane is on the waterfront, which seems like a good place for a sea captain to live. And it is a 4 minute walk from the parish church where those three baptisms took place.

Conclusion

On the first go round of research, I wasn't very confident that I had found James Hawkins place of origin in Ireland, but as I look at it again, I think I did. An exact date of birth on the American records and a matching baptism would have clinched it. Or a sibling in Portland who was also found in Ireland. But I'm pretty sure we can say that James Hawkins of Portland is the son of the couple in Wexford.

After all that, it was a little disappointing to find out that James and Margaret (McGlinchey) Hawkins do not have descendants. Their children James and Ida are in the same household in Melrose, Massachusetts, in 1920, both single and in their 50's. Daughter Margaret married in Portland in 1909 at about age 47, and she and her husband Earl Ebersole are in Lansing, Michigan, in 1920, without children.

But maybe our James Hawkins had siblings, possibly the Pat and John baptized in Wexford Parish, and one of their descendants is interested in knowing what happened to their ancestor's brother.

Portland City Directories

When I moved this article to the new website I took another look at the Portland City Directories. The earliest I found James was in 1866, working as a clerk. Soon after, he opened up a lunch "saloon" or oyster house and stayed at that for many years. A few years before he died he became an insurance agent. The listings are as follows:

1866 James J Hawkins, clerk, 22 Cotton
1869 James J Hawkins, 8 Maple Street
1873 James J Hawkins, eating saloon, 356 Commercial, house same address
1875 James J Hawkins, laborer, 2 High St place
1877 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 333 Commercial, house 1 High Street Court
1879 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 339 Commercial, house 1 High Street Court
1881 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 333 Commercial, house 1 High Street Court
1881 Business Section
Oyster and lunch rooms, James J Hawkins, 333 Commercial
1883 James J Hawkins, lunch saloon 459 Commercial and 132 Center, house 39 Cotton
1883 Business Section
Eating houses, James J Hawkins, 132 Center and 459 Commercial
1885 Business Section
Eating houses, James J Hawkins, 281 Commercial
1887 James J Hawkins, eating house 255 Federal, house 39 Cotton
James Jr clerk, bds 39 Cotton
1888 James J Hawkins, eating house, house 39 Cotton
1889 James J Hawkins insurance agent, house 39 Cotton
James Jr, clerk, bds 39 Cotton
1890 James J Hawkins insurance agent, house 39 Cotton
James Jr, clerk, bds 39 Cotton
1892 James J Hawkins, insurance agent, house 8 Parris
Jame Jr, clerk, 507 Congress, bds 8 Parris
Maggie, seamstress 238 Middle, bds 8 Parris

Ann (McAlister) Paige, Bucksport, Maine

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

Helen, Ann, and Jimmy Paige, 1947

Ann McAlister was born in Bucksport, Maine, Dec 16, 1905, the daughter of Frank and Josephine (Delano) McAlister. In 1910 and 1920 she was living in Bucksport with her parents and her brother, Royce.

Sometime in April of 1930, Ann was married to Augustus "Zeke" Paige, also of Bucksport. They were living with her widowed father and aunt on April 22, 1930, when the census was enumerated. They had one child, a daughter Barbara Ann.

Ann was a painter who began her painting with Frank Hamabe of Blue Hill and later attended Haystack Art School, and the University of Maine. She had showings in Bucksport, Bangor, and elsewhere in Maine.

Ann (McAlister) Paige died January 11, 1984, in Orland, Maine, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Orland, with her husband.

For more about her husband Zeke and his family see: Augustus "Zeke" Paige, Bucksport, Maine.

For her daughter see: Barbara (Paige) Deegan, Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Sources for Augustus Paige's information can be found in his individual record in the New England Families tree.

Augustus "Zeke" Paige, Bucksport, Maine

2018-10-09T00:00:00-04:00

Jimmy, Helen and Zeke Paige, 1947

Augustus Ezra Paige, or "Zeke" as he was known, was born Apr 13, 1905, most likely in Bangor, Maine, the first son of William Paige and Margaret Jenkins. His daughter Barbara's birth record is the only document I have found so far that says he was born in (East) Boston, Massachusetts, and it's possible that Zeke's wife filled that out. A picture of him and his mother shortly after his birth was taken in Maine, according to the inscription.

When the 1910 census was taken, Zeke, his parents, and his siblings, were living with Zeke's grandparents Oscar and Martha (Cowan) Page, at 60 Brimmer Street, Brewer. Both Zeke's father and grandfather were firemen for a steam railroad.

By 1919 Zeke's parents had returned to East Boston and in 1920 they were at 89 Putnam Street. Zeke's sister Cecelia and brother Charles were with them, but the other children remained in Maine with their grandmother Martha who had been remarried to William M Gray.

I don't know when Zeke himself returned to Maine, but on the 1930 Census he is enumerated twice. On April 7, he was single and living with his grandmother and Mr. Gray on Main Street, Bucksport. On April 22, he was married and living with his wife, the former Ann McAlister, her father Frank McAlister, and Frank's sister Augusta Williams. They were also on Main Street, Bucksport. Zeke was working as a truck driver for a construction company.

Between 1935 and 1940 Zeke, Ann, and their only daughter Barbara moved from Bucksport to Orland, Maine, where they remained for the rest of their lives. In 1940 Zeke was an electric truck operator for a paper mill.

Zeke's death on June 29, 1964, is recorded as occurring in Bucksport, but Ann was living in Orland at the time of her death in 1984. Both Zeke and Ann are buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Orland, Maine.

For a little information about Zeke's wife Ann see: Anne (McAlister) Paige, Bucksport, Maine.

For his daughter see: Barbara (Paige) Deegan, Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Sources for Augustus Paige's information can be found in his individual record in the New England Families tree.

Barbara (Paige) Deegan, Ritchfield, Connecticut

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Barbara Ann Paige was born August 27, 1931 in Old Town, Maine, the daughter of Augustus and Ann (McAlister) Paige, of Bucksport, Maine. Between 1935 and 1940 Barbara's family moved to Orland, Maine.

On December 1, 1951, in Bangor, Barbara was married to Max Ernest Knowlton, of Bangor, the son of Everett and Marguerite Knowlton. They were living with his parents at 806 1/2 State Street, Bangor, in 1951, but soon moved to Connecticut where Max received his Social Security number in either 1951 or 1952.

Max served in the US Army from Mar 13, 1953 to Feb 28, 1956. By June 4, 1956, the couple was divorced. Max was married in Bangor on that date to Jacqueline Stevens.

Barbara was also remarried soon, to Robert W Deegan. They are listed as husband and wife at 48 Stillwater Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut, in the 1958 Stamford Directory. They remained in Stamford until about 1963 when the moved to Sugar Loaf Mountain Road, Ridgefield, Connecticut. There they remained until at least Barbara's death.

Barbara attended nursing school in Maine and worked at the former Stamford Hall Psychiatric and Rehabilitation Hospital. Later she was involved with the Red Cross in Ridgefield. In 1974 she established the Meals on Wheels program in that town, which she supervised until the late 1980′s.

Barbara and Robert Deegan had no children. Barbara died March 10, 2001, at Danbury Hospital and Robert died on August 19, 2003.

There was a lengthy obituary for Barbara published in the News-Times of Danbury, Connecticut, on March 12, 2001. For the complete text see her page in the New England Families tree on this site.

For Barbara's father see: Augustus "Zeke" Paige, Bucksport, Maine.

For her mother see: Anne (McAlister) Paige, Bucksport, Maine.

Benjamin Cowan of Monson, Maine–A Brief Ancestry

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Benjamin Cowan was born between 1834 and 1838, probably in Salem, Maine, the son of James Cowan and Lucrecia Winslow.

According to a descendant, Benjamin Cowan's great grandfather Thomas Cowan arrived in America with a group of Scottish Presbyterians from northern Ireland, led by a minister named James McGregor. Research shows that this migration was in 1718, from Aghadowey, Derry/Londonderry County.

I have looked through the Session Book for the Presbyterian Church, Aghadowey, Co. Londonderry, Ireland, 1702-1725, in the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections Department, New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston, Mass.), Mss 439. A "Granny o Cohan" and a "Noaly/Nealy o Cohan" are listed as receiving aid from the church.

This area might be a good place to look for the Cowans' Irish place of origin.

Benjamin's mother Lucretia Winslow might be the daughter of Kenelm Winslow and Elizabeth Cole; The Coles were from Plymouth Colony. There were a Kenelm and Edward Winslow in Plymouth as well, one of whom may be the immigrant ancestor for the Maine branch. Edward Winslow was a 1620 Mayflower passenger, Kenelm Winslow and the Coles were not.

The paternal ancestry of Benjamin's paternal grandmother, Susannah Kilbourne goes back to Rowley and Salem, Massachusetts. It includes Mary Jackson, the sister of Elizabeth (Jackson) Howe, executed in Salem on 19 Jul 1692 during the witch trials.

Susanah Kilbourne's mother was Susanna Fiske. The Fiske family have been traced back to a Richard Fiske, born about 1493 in Laxfield, Suffolk, England. They had ben in Suffolk from at least 1208.

Benjamin's story continues in the next article, Benjamin Cowan of Monson, Maine -- His Families and concludes in part three, Benjamin & Sarah (Newell) Cowan of Monson, Maine.

Sources include:

correspondence with descendants
US Federal Censuses
Maine Vital Records, 1892 to 1955, microfilm at New England Historic and Genealogical Society
Marriage Returns of Penobscot County, Maine prior to 1892, Ruth Gray, editor, (Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1994),
Maine Families in 1790, Rockport, ME: Picton Press
Their source was Hallowell Vital Records.
Their source: Dunstable Vital Records.
findagrave.com
rootsweb.com
Early Settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts, George B. Blodgette
Rowley Vital Records
International Genealogical Index, extracted record, at: familysearch.org