Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder.

EARLY  SETTLERS  OF WELD.

BY  E.  J.  FOSTER.

On the western border of the State of Maine, about one hundred miles from Portland, may be found what is sometimes termed a basin, formed by the surrounding mountains. This basin or valley was little known except to hunters until the year 1782, when Dummer and Henry Sewall of Bath, Reuben Colburn and John Beeman of Pittstown, Samuel Butterfield and William Tufts of Sandy River, and Samuel Dutton of Hallowell, set out from the latter place in March to explore the country from the Kennebec river to the Connecticut, and ascertain whether it would be practicable to open a road between the two rivers. In their exploration they crossed this valley, going out through the river-notch into the coun­try west, now the towns of Byron and Andover. They pronounced the land to be of good quality and worthy of cultivation. In pass­ing through this valley they discovered a pond about six miles long, near which they found an old gun and several traps; and on a tree was cut the name of Thos. Webb. This name they gave to the pond, and also to the river, which was its outlet into the Androscoggin. These gentlemen petitioned the General Court for a township to enable them to construct a road from the head of navi­gation on the Kennebec to the upper bars on the Connecticut; they believing that said road would promote the settlement of the country; but for some reason the project for the road was at this time abandoned.

About 1790, a large tract of land in what is now Franklin county was purchased of the State by Jonathan Phillips, and Jacob Abbott of Andover, Mass. was appointed agent to settle the land. Mr. Abbott in 1793 petitioned the General Court for four thousand acres of land in the vicinity of Webb's pond to enable him to con­struct a road on or near that laid out by Mr. Sewall and others a few years before. The Court granted him the land located in No. 6, north of the pond, he agreeing to construct the road within eighteen months from the time of the grant; the road, however, was not completed until 1802.

When Mr. Abbott commenced the settlement of the town, he had changed his residence to Concord, and in 1812 he again removed, this time to Brunswick, Me., where he died in 1820. His son Jacob moved into the town in 1831 and occupied the farm now owned by N. P. Rowell; he lived on this place a few years, then re­moved to Lea Meadows, now owned by J. E. York. In 1840 he removed to Farmington where he died in 1847, at the age of 70. He was the first postmaster of Weld, and Ezra Teague of Wilton, the first mail carrier, bringing the mail to the town once a week.

This part of Maine was surveyed in 1793 by  Samuel Titcomb, surveyor to the State, and this valley was called No. 5. It is situated about fifteen miles west of Farmington, and contains fifty-four square miles. It was incorporated as the two hundred and four­teenth town in the State, Feb. 8, 1816, and named Weld, in honor of Benjamin Weld of Boston, who with Thomas Russell ^jr. and Jacob Abbott purchased Mr. Phillips unsold land in Maine. Caleb Holt named the town, paying into its treasury twenty-one dollars for the privilege.

No. 5 was lotted in October and November, 1797, by Philip Bullen. The first settler was Nathaniel Kittredge, who came in the summer of 1798 on a tour of inspection from Chester, N. H., and being pleased with the appearance of the land, purchased the lot now known as the Marsh farm, of Mr. Abbott who then lived in Concord, N. H.

Mr. Kittredge returned to his home in Chester where he spent the winter, but came back the following, spring, felled trees, burned and cleared a few acres of his land, erected for himself a log house, and returned again to pass the winter in Chester. The next spring, in 1800, he came with his family to No. 5, and remained until 1818, when they removed to Ohio.

Caleb Holt followed Mr. Kittredge as the second settler. He came in the summer of 1800, took the lot now known as the Oscar Conant farm, felled the trees on a few acres for a clearing, and re­turned to spend the winter at his home in Wilton, N. H. In the spring of 1801 he resumed work on his cut down, clearing it from wood, sowing wheat, and planting potatoes, then in the autumn after caring for his crops, returned again to Wilton. For want of roads he took advantage of the snow crust and started with his wife for No. 5, while the snow was yet upon the ground, arriving at their home in the wilderness in Feb. 1802, coming in from Andover, Me., on snow shoes. Mr. Holt had constructed for himself a log house on a ridge, a short distance east of where the buildings now stand, and probably here, his son Caleb was born July 9, 1802, the first birth in the township. Mr. Holt was an enterprising farmer and a large landowner; he made it a point to clear fifty acres of land a year. He had fifty acres on Center hill from which he raised two thousand bushels of wheat in one year; at that time grain was thrashed principally with a hand flail, a good man earning about ten dollars a month. Mr. T. H. Frye thrashed eleven hundred bushels in the winter of 1825, and Mr. Ira Hosmer and Abial Wilkins thrashed twenty-five hundred another winter. Mr. Holt planted the first orchard in town, and made the first cider in the fall of 1829. Mr. Chandler, of Wilton, Me., made his press, that being also the first in the town.

Mr. John Phelps came from Groton, Vt. in the summer of 1800, and made a beginning for a farm east of Mr. Kittredge, returning, as did all the first settlers, to spend the first winter among his friends at home. He came back the last of March with his wife, who was Dolly Clifford, of Pembroke, N. H. The second birth in No. 5 was that of Lois, daughter of John Phelps, Nov. 11, 1802. Some idea may be formed of the trouble early settlers had to obtain their groceries when we are told that Mr. Phelps brought from Farmington five pecks of salt on his back.

Abel and Joseph Russell came next after Mr. Phelps as settlers; their brother Thomas had married a sister of Mr. Abbott, and by him they were induced to visit No. 5, with a view to purchase and settle. They accordingly left their home in Wilton, N. H., in June, 1802, for their brother's in Temple, and from the latter place set out for the settlement of Mr. Kittredge, on the west side of the township, but they lost their way, and at night found themselves in a meadow on what was afterward Joseph Russell's farm. They camped there for the night, and next day renewed their search for the settler, but not, however, until they had looked about where morning found them, and satisfied themselves that this meadow should be the place for their new home. After visiting Mr. Kittredge they purchased two lots on the meadow, and made arrange­ments to commence work the following spring; then they made a clearing, and prepared their land as far as they could for the planting of the usual crops the next year. When spring again returned, their planting was done, a log house built, and Abel put up a barn frame, the first in town, and covered it with hemlock bark.

    Abel married Nancy Claremont of Petersham, Mass., Feb. 12, 1805. Joseph married Hannah Dascomb, of Wilton, about the same time. They soon after took their wives to their new home, arriving the first of March, after spending a few days with their sister, Mrs. James Houghton, who had in the meantime arrived in the settlement. Abel brought a grindstone weighing one hundred pounds, from Temple, on his back. He lived on his farm until his death, June 10, 1858. His wife died Sept. 25, 1862. Joseph's wife died Dec. 17, 1806,  leaving an infant daughter, who became the wife of William Morse, a Methodist minister of Brunswick. Joseph Russell married for his second wife Sarah Holt, of Wilton, N. H., in 1809. Her parents, Simeon and Mary Holt, moved to Weld about 1825, and spent the remainder of their days with Mr. Russell. Mr. Holt died Feb. 24, 1833, aged 81. His wife died Jan. 29, 1837, aged 83.

    Mary, a daughter of Mr. Holt, lived at Mr. Russell's home the latter part of her life and died there February 7, 1857, aged 57. Aseneth Russell, a sister of Abel and Joseph, lived on Joseph's place in her old age and died there May 17, 1868, aged 78. Joseph died June 28, 1858, aged 78, and Sarah his wife died March 13, 1857, aged 76.

In the spring of 1803 James Houghton of Dublin, N. H., came and bought land, he took the lot next to Mr. Holt on the north, made a clearing and built a log house that summer, and in the spring of 1804 brought his family. He drove a cow and hog from Temple, arriving at No. 5 late at night, and his house not being quite ready for occupancy, they stopped with Mr. Bowley. Mr. Houghton and his boys went next morning with a horse and sled on the snow crust to Mr. Kittredge's for hay which they had cut there the summer before. Mr. Houghton's house was a short distance south of the present residence of Sewall Houghton, probably here, Harvey, son of James Houghton, was born on Sept. 29, 1804. James Houghton died Dec. 21, 1835, aged 80. His wife was Hannah, sister to Abel and Joseph Russell. She died Nov. .25, 1850, aged 84.

William Bowley came to the settlement from Bristol, N. H. Also, in the spring of 1803, he bought the south half of the Caleb Holt lot, made a clearing, and built a log house that summer, and the next spring came with his family. He built a frame house a few years after, said to be the first of the kind in the settlement; it stood on a small ridge of land west of where the road now runs, but the road passed Mr. Holt's and Mr. Bowley's houses then. Mr. Bowley died May 25, 1856, aged 77. His wife was Margaret Curtis, of Bristol, N. H. She died Dec. 11, 1847, aged 69. Mr. Holt, Mr. Houghton, and Mr. Bowley planted orchards, but nothing of them remain.

Oliver Bowley of New Sharon came with William, and his father Gideon came that year and erected a saw mill at the foot of Webb's pond, and a grist mill the next year. He with his sons John, Oliver, Benjamin, and Isaac lived near the mills until 1840, when they all went to Ohio with the Mormons.

Amaziah Reed and Lemuel Jackson also came in 1803; they were from Greene, and were both ministers of the Baptist church. They bought land and made clearings, and in 1804 brought their families. Mr. Jackson came from Middlesex, Mass., to Greene in 1798, then from the latter place to No. 5 in 1803; he began his farm near Mr. Parkhurst's, where Jacob Holman now lives. His wife was Mindwell Ward of Augusta. He moved west in 1818; he was called in his time a smart preacher, though he could neither read nor write; he commenced to hold meetings in 1804 and formed the Baptist church in 1809 with about fifty members, most of whom were on the west side of the pond.

Mr. Reed was born in North Yarmouth, and moved to Sydney in 1793, and came with his family to No. 5 in 1804. He settled on the west side of the pond where Arthur Sennitt now lives. He remained in town about twenty years, then removed to Ohio. His wife was Jedida Bumpus of Wareham, Mass. A daughter, Rhoda, was born to Mr. Reed, Sept. 27, 1803, the only birth in the settlement that year. Joseph Storer ^jr. came from Deering, N. H., in the spring of 1804, and settled on a hill in the west part of the township, where Samuel Copps afterward lived. He remained there until about 1840, when he removed to a farm on the Phillips road where he died Jan. 3, 1857, aged 80. His wife was Betsey, a sister to Ebenezer Newman. She died Feb. 22, 1849, aged 62.

Ebenezer Hutchinson came in the spring of 1804, and settled on a lot in the southwest of the township. A daughter, Rhoda, was born to him Oct. 18, 1804.

In 1805, Jere Foster, Jacob Coburn, Eben Newman, Samuel White, Joseph and David Carlton, and Isaac and Nehemiah Storer came to the settlement with their families. Some, and perhaps all of them, had been in the year before and made clearings and other preparations for a home. These families, in all twenty persons, came to Andover, Me., with teams, arriving the first of March; here they remained five weeks, until a snow crust formed, when they started on foot for No. 5. They camped on the bank of Swift river, in Byron, the first night, where they built a large fire of spruce logs and all lay down to rest. But Jere Foster and Joseph Carlton could not sleep, so they kept the fire burning, told stories, and sung songs till morning, when the journey was renewed and their place of destination reached before the approach of another night.

Jere Foster took a half lot on the west side of Phelps' hill where he lived until 1818, when he sold to Daniel Dolley, who had married his daughter, and moved to a farm a short distance north of the village. He remained there until the death of his wife when he sold his farm and went to live with his youngest son's widow, Mrs. Eliza E. Foster, where he died Oct. 10, 1866, aged 95. His wife was Sally Kellum of Ipswich, Mass. They came from Goffstown, N. H., to No. 5.

Joseph Carlton came from Stoddard, N. H., and settled at the foot of Sanborn mountain, a short distance west of Mr. Kittredge.

Jacob Coburn came from Wilton, N. H., and settled on Coburn hill, where Orrin Hardy now lives. He remained there until his death, Aug. 25, 1847, aged 67. His wife was Millicent Buss of Wilton. She died Aug. 28, 1861, aged 83. Isaac Storer settled on a farm in the west of the town now occupied by his son Leonard; his dwelling stood a short distance south of the present one. Mr. Storer died Aug. 27, 1861, aged 81. His wife was Lucretia, a sister to Ebenezer Newman. They came from Hopkinton, N. H.

Ebenezer Newman came from Andover, N. H., and settled on the farm now owned by Wm. S. Robertson, on the west side of the pond. Mr. Newman was a soldier of the Revolution, and received a wound in his leg at the battle of Long Island, which was the cause of his death. He married Sarah Dowse of Billerica, Mass., and soon after settled in Deering, N. H., where they remained until 1799, when they removed to Andover, Me., and lived there until 1805 when they came to No. 5. He died Sept. 29, 1839, aged 83, and his wife died Aug. 26, 1851, aged 89.

Nehemiah Storer came from Deering, N. H., to No. 5, and soon after married Lucy, daughter of Nathaniel Kittredge, and lived with him until 1818, when they removed to Ohio.

Samuel White came from Deering, N. H., and took the farm now owned by Robert Dunning. He remained there until his death May 10, 1847, aged 83.  His wife was Rachael Farrington of Wilton, N. H. She died May 1, 1847, aged 79.

    David Carlton was a brother to Joseph, and commenced on the farm of Calvin McLaughton, where he lived until 1818, when he went west with Nehemiah Storer. They traveled on foot to Ohio. James Masterman and Daniel Storer came from Hopkinton, N. H., in the autumn of 1805. Mr. Masterman had a horse, and they took turns riding. They reached No. 5 after a journey of five days. Mr. Storer lived with his father until he was fourteen years of age, then worked out summers and attended school winters till nineteen, when his father gave him his time, and he started Nov. 1, 1805, with Mr. Masterman for No. 5. Mr. Storer was employed by Caleb Holt in 1806 for one year for 130 dollars, and in 1807 by Andrew Linscott, of Chesterville. There he became acquainted with, and married Jennie Bradbury in March, 1810. Daniel Storer bought land in 1808 on the west side of Coburn hill, where he worked, living alone, until his marriage. He remained on this place till 1816, when he removed to Storer hill in Carthage, where by industry and good management he made an excellent farm. When the war of 1812 broke out, he was just getting his land in good condition for raising grain, and said he, " wheat sold for two dollars per bushel, and flour for six dollars per one hundred pounds, then I and many others about me got a good start." He lived here to a ripe old age, and died in 1872. His wife is now living at the age of 96.

James Masterman made a short visit to No. 5, then returned to Deering, and in March, 1806, came with his family to the settlement and lived that summer in a log house on Nathaniel Kittredge's lot. He bought land where Hiram Masterman now lives, made a clearing, built a log house on it that summer, and the next fall occupied it with his family. He lived on this farm until his death, which occurred May 10, 1842, at the age of 83. He was the first deacon of the Congregational Church of Weld, and held the office until a few years before his decease. Mr. Masterman was a soldier of the revolution. His wife was Hannah Dowse of Billerica, Mass., and a sister to the wife of Ebenezer Newman, also to the wife of Nathaniel Kittredge. She died Aug. 17, 1858, aged 83.

Stephen  B. Webster came from  Haverhill,  Mass., to  Andover, Me., in 1800; he was a blacksmith and worked at his trade in Andover. He was one of a large party who came to No. 5 in the spring of 1805 and settled a short distance east of Nehemiah Storer, where he remained until about 1812, when he exchanged farms with James R. Kittredge, receiving the one now occupied by Asa Masterman. Mr. Webster lived there until his death. His wife was Hannah, daughter of Dea. James Masterman. In 1805 there were four births in the settlement, July 5, Stephen, son of Amaziah Reed, Sept. 9, Hannah, daughter of Stephen B. Webster, Oct. 15, Lucretia, daughter of Isaac Storer, Nov. 13, Anna, daughter of Lemuel Jackson.

John Storer came in the spring of 1806 from Deering, N. H., and settled on the southeast quarter of Benj^m Masterman's lot; his house was a short distance south of the present residence of Ira Masterman; some of the apple trees which he planted there are still living. He remained on this place until 1816, when he removed to No. 4 with his brother Daniel. He died Nov. 10, 1829. His wife was Eliza Bradbury of Chesterville, and is now living at the age of 94. There came also in 1806, Freeman Landers, Pomp Russell, Abraham Ireland, Eliphalet Lane, Jonathan Pratt, Benjamin Phinney and Elisha Holman. Freeman Landers came from Greene and settled south of Amaziah Reed's; he lived in town but a few years, then returned to Greene, where he died soon after. His wife was a sister to Wm. Stevens.

Pomp Russell was a negro born in Charlestown, Mass., in 1765; he was at the battle of Bunker Hill and served in the army until the close of the war. He entered the British lines at one time as a spy, was taken and sentenced to be shot, but while confined in a hollow square, and preparations were being made for his death, he ran around the square, broke through and escaped to the woods before he could be caught, and soon reached the American army. At the close of the war he married Margaret Southwick of Charlestown, and settled in Petersfield, N. H., where he engaged in farming ; he came from that town to No. 5, and settled at the foot of Mt. Hurricane, on land which Abel and Joseph Russell gave him. When Pomp was five years old, Mr. Thomas Russell, the father of Abel and Joseph, bought him, paying for the boy five pounds. Mr. Russell cared for him the same as for his own children, and when he was twenty-one years of age, gave him his freedom.

Abraham Ireland came from Lisbon and settled on the hill west of Abel Holt's; he lived there until 1815, when he moved to Canaan, Me., and from there to Lincoln, where he died about 1840. Two of his sons, Joel and Jonas, enlisted in the war of 1812; Jonas left the town soon after the close of the war and was never heard from. Joel was wounded in his thigh, which crippled him for life. He married Dorothy Francis and moved to Canton, from there he went to Byron, then to Weld, where he died. His wife is still living at the age of 90. Johnathan Pratt was born in Hanover, N. H., and in 1792 married Isabelle Collins of that town, and soon after moved to Turner, and in 1806 came to No. 5. He settled a short distance from Amaziah Reed, between him and Abel Holt.

    Mr. Pratt built the first two story house in town, and he at one time had a large property, but lost it. Benjamin Phinney was the next settler; he was born in Harpswell, and in 1792 married Polly Wheeler of Bowdoin; they settled soon after their marriage in Brunswick, but moved to Greene in 1799, and from that town to No. 5 in 1806. He began on a lot south of Amaziah Reed on what is now called the Merrill farm; here he remained about six years, then moved to a piece of wild land near the head of the pond, since known as the Skoffield farm; he remained here but a few years when he sold to Jere Fisk and took another piece of land north of this a short distance, now known as the Waldron Keal farm, where he lived until his death. Solomon Buss, of Wilton, N. H., came to No. 5 in the spring of 1806, and lived in the house of Jacob Coburn a few years, then returned to Wilton; he was a brother to Jacob Coburn's wife. Philip Judkins came from Greene the same year and bought: a farm about one mile south of Abel Holt, where he died March 10, 1821, aged 40.

Elisha Holman was the next settler; he was born in Sutton, Mass., and married Phila Packard of Bridgewater, Mass., in the winter of 1799, and moved to Dixfield in March, 1800, where he remained until 1806, when he came to No. 5 and bought the land now the farm of Harrison Holman. A brook crossed this farm, and on that in 1807 Mr. Holman erected a saw-mill, the first in town. In 1808 he added to his mill a set of stones for grinding grain. This was a great accommodation to the settlers, as they were compelled to take their grain a distance of twenty miles, to Farmington or Andover, to be ground. Some of the men would carry a bushel of corn or wheat on their shoulders this distance to the mills, and return in the same way with their flour. Before grist-mills were constructed, the settlers used what they called samp-mills, made like a mortar from a short piece of a large log; into this they put the dry corn and cracked it with a stone or club of wood, which was sometimes attached to a long pole made to act as a spring assisting them to handle the heavy pestle in pounding the corn. Nathaniel Kitteredge manufactured one of these machines  which served the families in his part of the town until better facilities for the purpose were offered. After the corn was sufficiently broken in these mills it was boiled and eaten with milk or maple syrup. Mrs. Jere Foster made at one time a large kettle of samp and placed it on the hearth near the open fire to keep hot, when a gentleman from Boston who had come to the settlement to purchase land, called on her, and while standing before the fire, by some mishap stepped into the kettle, upsetting himself and the samp; thus destroying her forthcoming meal which had been procured only by long and tedious labor. Mr. Holman's mill was carried away by a freshet in 1838, but he rebuilt the saw and grist-mill in separate buildings, and in 1844 his son Gustavus constructed another dam on the same stream above his father's mills, where he built a shingle and clapboard mill, and in the great freshet of 1869 they were all carried off, and never rebuilt. Mr. Holman died on the farm, which he had occupied many years, Sept. 9, 1865, aged 88. His wife died Nov. 13, 1856, aged 77. There were three births in the settlement in 1806, Ebenezer, son of Ebenezer Hutchinson, May 8; Philip, son of Philip Judkins, Aug. 15; Hannah, daughter of Joseph Russell, Dec. 6. Mrs. Russell died at this time, and this was the first death in the settlement.

Stephen Holt came in the spring of 1807 from Wilton, N. H. His father was a sea-captain, and lived in Andover, Mass., when Mr. Holt was born, but soon after moved to Wilton. Mr. Holt married Hannah Lovejoy of ——, N. H. They settled on the next lot north of Abel Russell, where he built a log house on the hill east of the present residence. He remained on this place until 1818, when he removed to the farm now owned by Paul Sanborn ; he remained here until 1850, when he removed to the farm of his brother Asa, who died in 1825, and his widow in 1850. This farm was the one now owned by Japhet P. Maxwell. Mr. Holt remained on this place until his death, Dec. 9, 1855, at the age of 69. His first wife died Nov. 5, 1843, aged 56, and he married Phebe Douglass of Dixfield in 1846; she is now living in Jay.

Nathan Holt came with his brother Stephen, and being young, he lived with him until he was twenty-one years of age, when he bought a half lot of land on the east side of Hedgehog Hill, of Abel Houghton in 1822, made a clearing and built a log house and barn the first year; here he lived alone two years, and on Dec. 12, 1824, married Phebe Savery  of Dixfield. They have ever since lived on this farm, and the last sixteen years their son Aaron has resided with them. Mr. Holt is now 84 years of age.

William Holt, father of Stephen and Nathan, came into the settlement about 1812, and lived with Stephen, but he soon after went to Phillips where he died in 1825, and his wife resided with her daughter, Mrs. Benjamin Houghton, where she died.

Joseph Storer ^sen., came from Hopkinton, N, H., in April, 1807, and settled on the farm where Levi Webster now lives ; but the buildings were on the hill above the present residence. Mr. Storer and his wife Rachel Low, were born in Ipswich, Mass., and married in 1776; they settled in Hopkinton, N. H., where nine children were born to them, Joseph, Isaac, Nancy, Aaron, Ruth, Daniel, Eliza, Lois, and John; these all came to No, 5. Joseph ^sen.,  died Jan. 6, 1826,  aged 74; his wife died June 10, 1821, aged 68.

Ephraim Russell, the next settler, was a brother to Abel and Joseph; he came from Wilton, N. H., in 1807, and bought land of which he made what is now known as the Scammon farm. He married Rebecca, daughter of Abraham Ireland, Apr. 6, 1809. He remained on his farm until about 1850, when he moved to Readfield where he died a few years since.

Bartholomew Reed, a son of Amaziah, came from Freeport in 1807, and bought land in No. 6, west of Lemuel Jackson; he cleared a few acres and erected buildings, but in a few years he removed and settled on land near the present Holt school-house. He was a convert in the great revival of 1808-9, and a soldier in the war of 1812. He removed to Ohio with others in 1818. His wife was Sylva, daughter of Lemuel Jackson.

   Elijah Stearns was born and lived in Merrimac, N. H., until 1802, when he married Polly Rollins of New Salem, N. H., and went to Goffstown to live; but in the winter of 1807 came to No. 5. He cleared a farm on the road leading from John Phelps' to James Masterman's, which had just been completed. He was a soldier through the war of 1812. Charles, a son of Edward, son of Elijah, is an electrician of some note. Elijah lived on the farm he cleared until his death about 1855; his wife died a few years before him.

The births in the settlement in 1807 were: Feb. 26, Sarah, daughter of Stephen B. Webster;  March 3, Rachel, daughter of Samuel White; April 8, Benjamin, son of Joseph Storer; April 23, Bethia, daughter of James Houghton; July 12, Hulda, daughter of Amaziah Reed; Aug. 1, Abel, son of Abel Russell; Oct. 7, James, son of James Masterman.

Samuel Gordon was the next settler; he came from Chester, N. H., in the spring of 1808, having previously married Ruth, daughter of Joseph Storer. He settled near the place afterward occupied by Keyes' mill. He taught school winters, first a private school in his own house, and afterward the district schools. He was a town officer many years, and deacon of the Baptist Church, from its formation in the town in 1809, until near the close of his life. Late in life he moved from his farm to one at the head of the pond, where he remained a few years, then went to live with his daughter Mary, wife of Stephen Holt; here he died Apr, 11, 1865. His wife died in 1876.

David McLaughlin came to the settlement in 1808 from Dixfield, where his father who was a revolutionary soldier, lived after the close of the war, and where he died in 1805. David's mother soon followed him to the settlement; his brothers were, Hezekiah, John, Silas, Phineas, Amasa, Benjamin, Hiram, and James. The four eldest were in the war of 1812. Hezekiah was killed; the others went west in 1818-20, except Silas and James.

Marmaduke Masterman came to No. 5 in the spring of 1808, from Hillsboro, N. H., and settled on the north side of the farm now owned by David Masterman, a few rods from where the sawmill now stands; here he remained a few years, then moved to the Ira Masterman farm where he lived until he went west in 1840. Two sons, Daniel and Nichols, and three daughters, Malinda, Harriet, and Phebe, went west with him. Mr. Masterman was born in Deering, N. H., and his first wife was Phebe Nichols of Hillsborough. She died Aug. 27, 1817, and he married Hannah Howe of Rumford the next year.

Abel Holt came in the autumn of 1808, from Wilton, N. H., and settled on the Luther Hutchinson farm. He married Grace Hobert of Wilton in 1808. She died June 10, 1822, and he married Isabella, daughter of Jonathan Pratt, Jan. 2, 1823. Mr. Holt was one of the first school teachers in town, and a deacon of the Baptist Church many years,

Abel Fisk also came to the settlement in the autumn of 1808 from Wilton, N. H. He came through Temple, Me., as did some others, and brought his goods on a wagon drawn by two horses, one of which he lost in the bog at Alder brook. Benjamin Houghton, in going to Temple a few days after, encountered a white-faced bear feeding on the flesh of the horse. Mr. Fisk settled in the southwest part of the town, and remained there until 1818, when he returned to Wilton, N. H., discouraged by the hard fare of the settlers, as we may judge from the account of the Rev. Samuel Sewall who visited him in the summer of 1817, and found him with nothing to eat except the milk of cows, and potatoes which were then growing on the clearing. The season of 1816 was very cold, and but little raised in the settlement, and the next year provisions were scarce and dear, consequently some of the settlers less pru­dent than others, suffered for want of proper food. Jere Foster said his family lived on the growing rye soon as the kernel could be shelled by hand; this was cooked and eaten with milk, and was better fare than some others were able to provide. Mr. Fisk was a good teacher, and taught school nearly every winter while he was in the town. Abel Fisk and Ebenezer Hutchinson married sisters.

    Asa Holt was the next to come; he was about fifteen years of age, and lived with his brother Stephen a few years, then learned the trade of a house carpenter which he followed the remainder of his life. He began the farm where J. P. Maxwell now lives near the village. He married Sibyl Butterfield, of Brattleborough, Vt, in 1815; he soon after opened a store for trade with the settlers, buying large quantities of shaved shingles of them which he sent to Hallowell for disposition. He died June 12, 1825, his widow continuing the trade he had established until 1829, when she married Joshua Eaton, of Wilton; he continued the trade until the death of his wife Dec. 22, 1830. He then erected a more commodious building for the purpose and in company with James Brown continued in trade till 1834, when he sold his interest in their business to Brown and returned to Wilton, where he afterward became a Congregational minister. One child was born to Asa Holt, a daughter Mary who after the death of her mother went to Brattleborough, Vt.

James Kittredge was born in Chester, N. H., in 1783, and in 1806 married Mary Abbott, of Dumbarton, and soon after moved to the latter place, from which they came to No. 5, and settled on the Asa Masterman farm. He built a log house as soon as he arrived, and from logs hewed enough boards to construct a floor on which to place their bed, and moved in. His house contained the first window, (other than an opening in the wall stopped in coldest weather by a board or blanket,) in the settlement; it was made of a sheep-skin scraped very thin and stretched across the opening in the wall; this of course was not like glass, but let in the light and kept out the wind and cold. The next winter he finished his floor and another overhead. He taught school winters for several years in his own house at first, and afterward at different houses constructed for the purpose in the settlement; he also held several town offices. Mr. Kittredge died July 8, 1852, aged 68. His widow taught a school summers for ten or twelve years in her house, doing her house work and teaching the children to read and write, and to " cipher " as far as the " Rule of Three " in Arithmetic. She spent her declining years with her son Decatur in Carthage, where she died Feb. 3, 1882, aged 95. The births in the settlement for 1808 were: Jan. 4, Mary, daughter of Philip Judkins; Jan. 24, Barnard, son of Elisha Holman; April 6, Mary, daughter of Isaac Storer; Apr. 15, Anna, daughter of Ebenezer Hutchinson; June —, Jason, son of Jonathan Pratt; Aug. 5, Hannah, daughter of Stephen Holt; Oct. 8, Stephen, son of Stephen B. Webster; Nov. 2, Mahala, daughter of John Phelps; Dec. 18, Daniel, son of M. D. Masterman.

Benjamin Masterman was born in Deering, N. H., and married Nancy Waugh of the same town, in the spring of 1809, and came to No. 5 soon after. He settled on the farm where his son David now lives, and remained here until his death.

Jonathan Dutton was born in Goffstown, N. H., and married Marian Abbott of Concord in the autumn of 1808, and the next spring moved to No. 5, and took the farm now occupied by John Coding in the westerly part of the town.    The family went west in 1820.    In   1818-20 many of the settlers went from this town to Western New York and Ohio.   Among them were the names of Carleton, Masterman, Robinson, Jackson, Storer, McLaughlin and Newman; about forty persons left the town in these two years to seek better homes in the then West; some went on foot, others went with horses; some acquired property, others were always poor, and a few returned to Weld.

William Stevens was born in Charlestown, Mass., where he remained until 1805, when he came to Sidney, Me., where he married Betsey, a sister to Lemuel Jackson, in 1806; they soon after moved to Greene, where they lived till 1810, when they came to No. 5. He settled a short distance south of Abel Holt, where Robert Dunning now lives; he remained in town until his death, June 14, 1820.

Jacob Ela came from Cheshire, N. H., and settled on the west side of Coburn Hill, where he built a blacksmith shop, and made a small clearing; he remained here but a short time, but moved from place to place, and died a few years ago in Mercer.    His wife was Rachel, a sister to Jotham Button.

Charles and Jeriah Bass came from Wilton, N. H., and bought land in No. 5, now the farm of Benj^m Jones; they lived here until 1819, when they sold to Ebenezer Jones of Andover, Mass. Jeriah went to Wilton, Me., and Charles moved to a wild lot, where he remained till 1855, when he sold to Oliver Masterman, and went to the village, where he died May 23, 1862, aged 77 years. His wife was Susannah, a sister of Eliphalet Lane, an early settler of No. 5; they were from Deering, N. H. After the death of her husband Mrs. Bass went to Wilton with her daughter, Mrs. Cyrus Greenwood, where she died Aug. 16, 1869, aged 78 years.

Simon Keyes was born in Wilton, N. H., and his wife Hannah Hosmer was born in Lincoln, Mass.; they were married in 1798 and settled in Lunenburg, Mass.; lived afterward in Bolton, and in Wilton, N, H., from whence they came to Temple, Me., in 1807; here he erected and run a saw-mill till 1810, when he came to No. 5, and settled near Joseph Storer. He was a carpenter by trade, and followed this business until the war of 1812, when for fear of Indian troubles he returned to Temple, but came back to No. 5 in 1813, and built a saw-mill on the Keyes brook, and soon after a house near the mill. The mill was carried away by the freshet in 1820, but the following year he constructed another, and also a grist-mill, which were in use till 1850, when they were taken away. He did a large amount of carpenter and cooper work beside the manufacture of many farming tools and the running of his mills. He did also some surveying. He died in 1852, at the age of eighty-five years. His wife died some years before.

Nicholas Berry came from Wilton, N. H., to No. 5 and settled where Peter Reynolds now lives; he remained here until 1818 when he removed to Farmington. He built the first bridges in town.

—— McAllister came in 1810 from New Hampshire, and settled near Isaac Storer; he built a blacksmith shop and worked at this trade a few years, when he went to Rumford. It is said he was the first blacksmith in the settlement.

Isaac Barrett with three brothers, Job, Reuben, and David, came next from Mason, N, H. Isaac began the farm now owned by James Barrett in the southwest part of the town; he remained here until his death Aug. 17, 1848, aged 69 years. His first wife was Polly Dodge of Dixfield; she died July 23, 1824, aged 45. His second wife was Abigail Richardson of Jay; she died Aug. 31, 1870, aged 77. Reuben stopped in the settlement but a short time, then returned to New Hampshire. job lived on the west side of the pond a few years, then moved to Mexico, Me., in 1815, where he died leaving children. David married Phebe, a sister to Abel and Joseph Russell, and settled on the hill west of Lorenzo Robertson's present residence; he remained here until 1812; he then enlisted in the army and served eighteen months, when he returned, and lived in different places until he died at the residence of his son at the village, Feb. 12, 1864, aged 82. His wife died Sept. 13, 1852, aged 80. His father was in the war of the Revolution, he in the war of 1812, and a son and grandson in the Civil war.

Births in the town 1810: Hannah, daughter of Stephen B. Webster, b. April 2; John, son of Eben Hutchinson, b. April 16; Amos, son of Abel Holt, b. Aug. 12; Sarah, daughter of James R. Kittredge, b. Sept. 15; Ira, son of Benjamin Masterman, b. Oct. 2; Phebe, daughter of M. D. Masterman, b. Oct. 6; Hiram, son of Jere Foster, b. Oct. 10; Henry, son of Isaac Storer, b. Oct. 25; Franklin, son of Samuel Gordon, b. Nov. 11; John, son of Philip Judkins, b. Nov. 24; Hannah, daughter of Simon Keyes, Nov. 27, (b. in Temple); Benjamin, son of Jere Whitney, b. Dec. 2.

Deaths in 1810: Gardner, son of Elisha Holman, died March 7, aged 7 years, and Barnard, another son of the same, drowned June 22, aged 2 years. No other death appears on any record for this year.

Seth Ela came from Cheshire, N. H., to No. 5, in 1811; he was a brother to Jacob, who came the year before; Seth married Rebecca Button, a sister to his brother Jacob's wife; he settled on the farm now owned by Sylvanus Pratt, and lived here until his death, Nov. 23, 1850, aged 63. He was an enterprising townsman, and a town officer for many years.

George Robinson and his son Samuel came from Greene in 1811, and bought the David Carleton farm, where Calvin McLaughlin now resides; they were here until 1815, when they returned to Greene; they were shoemakers, and the first in town.

Enoch Bristow came from New Hampshire, made a clearing near the present residence of Joshua Soule, but remained in town but a short time.

John Dalton came in 1811 from Goffstown, N. H., and settled in the northwest part of the town, where he cleared a farm, on which he died; his farm was afterward abandoned.

Sampson Freeman came from Lewiston in 1811, and settled in the southwest part of the town, but went away in 1820, leaving two sons, Smith and William, who soon after died.

Births in town 1811: Hermon, son of Stephen Holt, b. Feb. 26; Charles, son of Jonathan Pratt, b. March 10; Charles, son of Charles Bass, b. March 18; Horace, son of Elisha Holman, b. April 22; Polly, daughter of Benjamin Phinney, b. June 4; Bethiah, daughter of David McLaughlin, b. June 23. Nancy, daughter of Abel Russell, b. Aug. 27; Nancy, daughter of James Masterman ^jr., b. Sept. 15; Ephraim, son of Ephraim Russell, b. Oct. 1; Enoch, son of John Phelps, b. Oct. 2; Fanny, daughter of Jacob Ela, b. Nov. 8.

Deaths in 1811: I find but one death recorded in the town for this year, which was of Abel, son of Abel Russell, died Sept. 15, aged 4 years.

Freeman Ellis of Sumner came into the town in 1812, and bought two lots of land near the present upper village; on one lot he built the house now owned by D. F. Holt; the other his son Isaac made a farm of, and it is now known as the Wm. Skolfield farm. Mr. Ellis was the first justice of the peace in town; he also held other offices during his residence here.

David Reed came from Yarmouth and settled on the west side of the pond, where he remained until 1818, when he probably went to Ohio with his brother Bart. No other settlers came to No. 5 in 1812; probably the breaking out of the war this year took their attention in other directions, though the settlement was at this time incorporated by the name of Webb's pond plantation, and the first meeting called for choice of officers at David Wheeler's house, March 23, 1812. The following officers were chosen: Moderator, Jonathan Pratt; Clerk, John Storer;  Assessors, Jonathan Pratt, Abel Holt and Stephen Holt. The Collector's office was set up at vendue, and was taken by Jonathan Pratt at five cents on the dollar. A warrant was posted at this meeting, appointing another the 6th of April following, for the purpose of casting their votes for Governor, Lieut.Governor, Senators and Councilors. Elbridge Gerry received forty-three votes, and Caleb Strong one, for Governor. Wm. Ring received forty-seven votes, and Wm. Phillips one, for Lieut.Governor. At the same meeting eight hundred dollars were appropriated for the construction and repair of roads, and one dollar per day allowed for labor. Caleb Holt, Stephen B. Webster, John Phelps, David Wheeler, Joseph Storer, Abel Holt and Eben Hutchinson were chosen Highway Surveyors, and Abel Holt, Treasurer. Seventy dollars were appropriated for support of schools, and the plantation divided into four districts. Amaziah Reed, Jere Foster, David Wheeler and Joseph Russell were chosen a committee to establish the schools, and this was the first act of the inhabitants toward public schools in the plantation, though private schools had been taught for several years among the settlers.

Births in town 1812: Daniel, son of James Houghton, b. Jan. 3; Susannah, daughter of Charles Bass, b. March 25; Levi, son of Abel Holt, b. April 18; Melinda, daughter of Marmaduke Master-man, b. April 27; Lydia, daughter of Ebenezer Hutchinson, b. May 22; Betsy C., daughter of Jotham Dutton, b. June 11; Lucinda, daughter of Benjamin Masterman, b. July 2; Moses, son of Elijah Stearns, b. Aug. 14; Esther, daughter of William Stevens, b. Sept. 1; Eleanor, daughter of Isaac Storer, b. Oct. 16; Daniel Bradbury, son of Samuel Gordon, b. Nov. 24. I find recorded very few deaths, and no marriages in the town previous to 1813.

At a meeting of the settlers on Apr. 6, 1812, they voted to establish a road running from Holeman's Mills eastward, to James Masterman's, four and three-fourths miles; a road from Keyes' Mill, by Jacob Coburn's and James Houghton's to the house of Wm. Bowley; a road from a point near Abel Holt's to Holeman's Mills; also a road from a point near Stephen Webster's to Keyes' Mill, thence to Abel Russell's house. Prior to this time no roads had been provided by the settlement, except paths leading across lots, and marked by spotted trees. The settlers at this meeting also voted that Jere Foster, Amaziah Reed, Stephen Webster, John Storer, Caleb Holt and David Carleton, be a committee to procure from the state sixty-four guns and bayonets.

On Feb. 2, 1813, a meeting of all qualified* voters in the settlement was called, at the house of David Wheeler, to elect officers for the ensuing year, and to transact any other business which might come before them. Freeman Ellis was chosen moderator; John Storer clerk; Freeman Ellis, Elisha Holman, and Seth Ela, assessors; David Carleton collector, for seven cents on a dollar; Abel Fisk treasurer; Eben Hutchinson, Philip Judkins, Elisha Holman, Jere Foster, Joseph Storer, James Masterman, Daniel Storer, and James Hutchinson, highway surveyors; Caleb Holt, Freeman Ellis, Abel Russell, Joseph Russell, and Abel Fisk, school committee.

Seventy-five dollars were raised to defray the contingent expenses of the plantation for the year; two hundred dollars were appropriated for roads, and seventy-five for schools; a road was established to run from Holeman's Mills to the gate between Jotham Button's and Nehemiah Storer's.

*The qualification consisted of an income of two pounds annually, or a property of forty pounds.

No new settlers came to the plantation this year, probably on account of the war just begun with England. Joel and Jonas Ireland, David Barrett, Bartholomew Reed, Elijah Stearns, John Davis, Hezekiah and Silas McLaughlin, enlisted in the army, and served during the war; all returned except Hezekiah McLaughlin, who was killed at Sacketts Harbor.

In June there came what was called the Indian scare, a rumor circulated through this and adjoining settlements, that Indians were coming to destroy the frontier towns; two forts were immediately erected, one, a log building on the farm of Jotham Dutton, of which no record is left; the other, on the farm of Stephen Webster, was constructed in two stories; the first of rocks twenty-eight by fifty-six feet, and twelve feet high, the walls four feet thick; the upper story was of logs hewn fourteen inches square, and was thirty-two by sixty-two feet, and seven feet high. All went into these forts except Eben Hutchinson and his family. They remained in the forts about six weeks, the men meanwhile going out in squads to work on their farms. At the end of this time, as no Indians had been seen in the vicinity, the settlers returned to their respective homes. The farmers, however, considered these prosperous times, as their products brought them good prices; flour sold in Portland for six to eight dollars per one hundred pounds, and other products in proportion.

Births in 1813: Jan. 1, Gardner, son of Joseph Storer ^jr.; Mar. 3, Hannah, daughter of Philip Judkins; March 23, Dorcas, daughter of Stephen Holt; August 13, Grace, daughter of Abel Holt; Oct. 5, Harvey, son of Elisha Holman; Oct. 11, Mary Ann, daughter of Abel Russell ; Nov. 9, David of David McLaughlin ; Nov. 19, Betsy, daughter of Ephraim Russell; Nov. 25, James D., son of James R. Kittredge.

The year 1814 found the settlement still prospering, the war having made a ready market for farm products, and the laborer received good prices for all he could raise.

Robert Potter, from Wilton, was the only settler who came to the plantation this year, and he remained in town until 1825, when he moved to Carthage, where he died about 1870.

Marriages are recorded in the township for the first time this year (1814). Feb. 28, Lowell Mitchel, of Chesterville, and Lois Storer; March 20, Ira Parlin, of Sumner, and Hannah Houghton; March 27, Lemuel Jackson and Mercy White; May 22, John Reed and Mercy Bumpus; Sept. 22, Ansel Staples, of Bethel, and Deborah Reed; Oct. 6, Eben Newman and Judith Dowse; Oct. 12, Samuel White ^jr., and Lydia Whitney.

Births are recorded for 1814 as follows: March 20, Joseph N., son of Marmaduke Masterman; May 30, Reuben, son of Ephraim Russell; July 5, Benj. W., son of Benj. Masterman;  July 19, Caroline, daughter of Stephen Webster; Nov. 12, Rosalind, daughter of Jacob Ela.

A meeting was held at the house of Jere Foster on March 7, 1814, for the transaction of the annual business of the plantation; few changes were made from last year in the election of officers. David Carleton was made collector, and is to receive four and one-half cents on a dollar for his services; four hundred dollars were appropriated for roads, one hundred for schools, and seventy-five for other expenses of the plantation.

Two bridges were constructed this year, one near Wm. Bowley's, and the other at Holeman's Mills; these were the first erected in the town.

A road leading from James Masterman's to a point near Abel Russell's, and another leading from Temple line, near Mount Blue, thence to the foot of Gammon Hill, thence by Nathan Holt's and Ephraim Russell's to Keyes' Mill.

According to the tax list for 1814, a finished house of three rooms was to be valued at $225.00, and a finished barn, forty feet square, at $50.00, but there were no buildings in the plantation at this time which reached this standard; the nearest approximate were:

 

Jacob Abbott's house and barn at	$140.75
Jacob Coburn's house at	33.75
Jere Foster's house and barn at	142.50
Caleb Holt's house and 3 barns at	321.25
Eliphalet Lane's house at	37.50
Stephen Webster's house and barn at	112.50
Abel Holt's house at	60.00
Jotham Button's 2 barns at	37.50
Simon Keyes' Mill at	40.00
Improved land was rated per acre at	2.25
Unimproved Jand was rated per acre at	.75
Best horses were rated each at	25.00
Best oxen per pair were rated at	30.00
Best cows were rated each at	12.00

    Andrew Jackson was taxed for $200.00 at interest. A meeting was held at the house of Jere Foster March 6, 1815, for choice of officers, and to transact other business of the settlement; two names only appear among the officers which were not mentioned last year: these were Nicholas Berry and Simon Keyes, who were made school agents.

    Fifty dollars were appropriated this year for contingent expenses of the plantation, four hundred for roads, and one hundred for schools. A road was located and accepted, to run from Samuel Phelps, by Joseph Storer ^jr., to Isaac Storer's.

On May 9 the settlers again met, and voted to receive Dr. LaFayette Perkins as their physician and surgeon, provided he make a permanent home with them; also voted to clear for him ten acres of land each year, for three years; voted to continue ail gates and bars across roads for one year. It was voted also at this meeting to petition the General Court for an act of incorporation for the settlement; accordingly a petition was drawn in the usual form, and taken to Boston by a committee, who presented it to the Honor^able Senate and House of Representatives assembled, etc., praying that the inhabitants of township No. 5, lying between the Androscoggin and Sandy rivers in Oxford County, be incorporated as a town by the name of Weld, with privileges, etc., etc.; the township at this time contained more than eighty families. The petition was dated and signed, No. 5, June 1, 1815.

                Abel Holt,

                Stephen B. Webster,     Comm^ittee      

                Freeman Ellis,         

                John Storer, Clerk.

    Marriages recorded for 1815: Jan. 22, Robert Potter and Nancy Newman; Jan. 22, Ephraim Houghton and Sarah Masterman,  all of the plantation.

    Births recorded: Feb.11, Sally, daughter of Eben Newman; March 3, Gratus, son of Elijah Stearns; March 10, Abel, son of Abel Holt; April 7, Aaron, son of Joseph Storer ^jr.; June 12, Sarah, daughter of Ephraim Houghton; Aug. 16, Nancy, daughter of Lemuel Jackson ^jr.; Aug. 31, Sophronia, daughter of Elisha Holman; Sept. 21, Stephen, son of Stephen Holt.

    The new arrivals for 1815 to the plantation were, Charles and Jeriah Bass from Wilton, N. H.; Samuel Robinson and his son George from Turner, Me.; Smith Freeman from Lisbon; Noah Staples from Bethel; Thomas Russell from Temple; Dr. Lafayette Perkins from Farmington; and those who were in the army had returned.

    Job Barrett moved from this town to Mexico, Me. Jonathan Pratt ^jr., Daniel Masterman, David Reed, Jesse White, and Zadok Russell, young men of the plantation, commenced to clear farms for themselves.

The year 1816 was called by old settlers "The cold year" because of the very cold weather and frost in every month for the year; the settlers affirm, that on the 9^th of June ice formed on water left standing in their barns. Very little grain was raised, and famine threatened the settlement

    Franklin D. Morrison came from Atkinson, N. H., about this time, and opened the first store in the town for the sale of supplies in James Houghton's log house, Mr. Houghton having previously erected a frame house, which is now occupied by his son Sewall, Mr. Morrison also engaged in the manufacture of potash.

    Jonas and Joel Ireland, and John McLaughlin, took up farms this year, where they afterward built houses and settled.

    The plantation was incorporated as the town of Weld Feb. 8, 1816, and the first town meeting held at the house of Jere Foster on the 18th of February following, when the usual officers were chosen for the ensuing year.

    Marriages recorded for 1816 were but two:  March 28, John Dalton and Susannah Waugh, both of Weld; December 29, John McLaughlin and Martha Newman.

    Births recorded were eight; Jan. 25, Mary Jane, daughter of David McLaughlin; March 26, David, son of M. D. Masterman; April 20, Louisa, daughter of James R. Kittredge; June 2, Anna, daughter of Charles Bass; Aug. 20, Henry, son of Benjamin Masterman; Aug. 25, Dorcas, daughter of Stephen Holt; Oct. 11, Prescott, son of Ebenezer Newman ^jr.; Dec. 18, Phebe, daughter of Ebenezer Hutchinson.

    The year 1817 was also a hard one for the settlers, as the previous summer had been so cold little corn or other grain had been raised, and their supplies for provision were scarce, and prices high; before the harvest was gathered corn sold for two dollars and fifty cents per bushel, and other grain in proportion; this summer the settlers gathered their wheat as soon as it was sufficiently hard to cook, and ate it boiled with milk.

    Nothing of importance to record here occurred at the annual town meeting, unless we mention the vote to raise two hundred and fifty dollars to clear Dr. Perkins' land for him, and guide boards were erected at the different road crossings for the benefit of the traveling public. No new settlers came to the town, and none moved away this year.

    One marriage only was recorded for 1817, Nov. 13, Abijah Keyes and Sukey Newman.

    Births recorded were ten; Jan. 23, Mary Ann, daughter of Samuel Gordan; Feb. 14, Reuben, son of Ephraim Russell; March 1, Andrew, son of Joseph Storer ^jr. ; March 5, Roxanna, daughter of Jacob Ela; March 5, Elizabeth, daughter of Stephen Holt; June 25, Samuel, son of Lemuel Jackson ^jr.; July 3, Mary Ann, daughter of Jotham Button; Sept. 11, Erastus, son of Abel Holt; Oct. 25, Rebecca, daughter of Ephraim Houghton; Nov. 25, Harrison, son of Elisha Holman. I find recorded one death, that of Wm. Freeman, in June; he died with his brother Smith Freeman, and was the first person supported by the town.

    In 1818 the school districts were numbered by the selectmen, and the house in the southeast of the town was numbered one; that on the west side of the pond, two; at the head of the pond, three; near James Masterman's, four; and near Caleb Holt's, five.

    Two poor children of Jesse White were cared for by Samuel White this year, at the town's charge, for seven shillings per week.

    James Greenwood came from Dublin, N. H., this year, and settled on the farm now owned by Maj. Phillips, where he lived until 1843, when he exchanged his farm with Dr. Eastman for a house at Holt's Mills, now owned by D. T. Jones; he remained here about ten years, then with his three sons, Cyrus, James S., and Joseph, he removed to Wilton, and about 1862 they all went to Minnesota. There was quite an exodus from the town this year to the west, as New York and Ohio was then called, and Nehemiah Storer, David H. Carleton, George and Samuel Robinson, Freeman Sampson, John McLaughlin, and some others, left Weld to make new homes in that country. Samuel Phelps and Bartholomew Reed also moved from the town this year.

    Marriages do not appear on the town records for 1818.

    Births were seven: Jan. 6, William, son of David McLaughlin; March 7, Sarah, daughter of Charles Bass; April 10, Sally, daughter of Eben. Newman ^jr.; April 14, Fidelia, daughter of Abel Holt; May 31, Arvilla, daughter of J. R. Kittredge; June 1, John, son of Stephen B. Webster; Sept. 27, Almira, daughter of Benj. Masterman. One death occurred, that of Mary, wife of David McLaughlin, on Sept. 6.

    At a town meeting held at Caleb Holt's July 21,1819, to consider the expediency of the separation of Maine from Massachusetts, fifty-five votes were cast, all in favor of separation. Another meeting was held at the same place Sept. 20, and Dr. Perkins was elected a delegate to the convention to draft a constitution. At another meeting at the same place December 6, the constitution was accepted ; all the votes cast, thirty-seven, being in favor.

    One marriage only is recorded for 1819, that of Daniel Masterman and Eliza Storer, April 20.

    Births mentioned are ten: March 10, Sophronia, daughter of Will. Stevens; March 14, Luther, son of Eben. Hutchinson; Mar. 15, Warren, son of Joseph Storer ^jr.; March 22, Sampson, son of Lemuel Jackson; June 16, Elizabeth, daughter of Benj. Houghton; June 29, Aziel, son of Ephraim Houghton; July 15, Perkins, son of Ephraim Russell, July 19, Armina, daughter of M. D. Masterman; Sept. 18, Roger, son of Jotham Dutton; Oct. 10, Dorcas, daughter of James Houghton ^jr.

    No new settlers came in this year, and but one removed from the town, this was Abel Fisk, who returned to Wilton, N. H.