William Bingham’s Maine Lands 1790–1820

Principal Manuscript Sources

Most of the documents printed in these volumes have been taken from one or another of four manuscript collections. These four collections, with the abbreviations which will be used in the text to designate them, are as follows:

Collection	Abbreviation
BARING PAPERS. This is a microfilm collection originally made by the Public Record Office in London from papers in the archives of the banking house of Baring Brothers. There is a print of this collection in the Library of Congress, together with a calendar of the papers.	BaP
BINGHAM PAPERS. These papers cover most of the business activities of William Bingham during his lifetime and include as well the records of the Bingham Estate during the nineteenth century. They are now at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, where they were recently placed on deposit by the Bingham Trustees.	BP
COBB PAPERS. These are the papers of General David Cobb, bequeathed to the Colonial Society of Massachusetts by his great-grandson George Nixon Black. They are now on deposit at the Massachusetts Historical Society.	CP
KNOX PAPERS. This well-known collection of the papers of General Henry Knox is the property of the New England Historic Genealogical Society and has been for some years on deposit at the Massachusetts Historical Society.	KP

1 See Bangor Historical Magazine, v. 53.

2 See Bingham to Cobb, Philadelphia, 9 February 1796, in CP.

3 This agreement is included as typical of many which Cobb made with lumbermen who wished to cut timber on the Bingham lands. There is an almost identical agreement with Josiah Hitchings, dated Machias, 7 January 1796, in CP. These agreements were probably negotiated by Thomas Cobb in his father’s absence.

4 This document is included as one of the few letters from squatters in CP. The land referred to was Cobb’s property on the Androscoggin, which he had purchased of the State in 1792. See Eastern Land Papers, Box 8, in the Massachusetts Archives. Cobb’s son-in-law, Samuel S. Wilde, in a letter dated Warren, 16 February 1796, in CP, gave a detailed report to the General on the state of this property.

5 This would mean that, according to established Massachusetts policy, he could have one hundred acres for five dollars. See the Resolve of 26 March 1788.

6 KP, xxxiii. 124.

7 The survey of the “back tract,” when presented by the Committee, was closer to three million acres than the one million originally expected. See above, pp. 559–561. See also Osgood Carleton’s map, above, facing page 16. There are copies of the “back tract” contract in BP and KP, xxxi. 44.

8 For this sale to Titus Goodman, Jonathan Maynard, and Park Holland, see Report of the Committee for the Sale of Eastern Lands (1795), Table xvii, which includes the prices which Bingham quotes below. These three townships are the present Great Lake Stream Plantation, Waite, and Talmadge.

9 This presumably refers to the survey of that part of the “back tract” which was done in the summer and fall of 1793. See Jackson to Bingham, Boston, 10 November 1793, in BP.

10 Bingham was to put 1,250 settlers on the Penobscot tract and 220 on the six townships. The contracts called for a deposit of thirty dollars a head in six per cent stock for the Penobscot settlers and forty-five dollars a head in specie for those on the six townships. Bingham’s figure should have been $47,400. See below, pp. 719, 744.

11 Knox was anxious to get a loan from Baring. There is frequent mention of this proposal below in this chapter.

12 This may refer to the contract for the six townships or that for the “back tract.” In both cases it had been necessary for Bingham to get Henry Jackson and Royal Flint to make the contracts over to him.

13 KP, xxxviii. 130.

14 This report became the basis for the Land Law of 1796, in which the minimum price was set at two dollars per acre.

15 Leonard Jarvis, a member of the Massachusetts Land Committee, had sizable holdings in what is now Ellsworth and Surry. See Bangor Historical Magazine, viii. 227–230.

16 The seventh article of the contract stipulated that forty inhabitants per township be placed on the lands purchased.

17 Article ten read as if the total number of settlers could be placed anywhere on the tract, not necessarily forty per township.

18 Presumably Knox means Bingham’s two letters of 4 and 6 February, KP, xxxviii. 115 and 117. See above, pp. 670–672.

19 Jared Ingersoll, one of the leading Philadelphia lawyers of his day and the son of the Loyalist of the same name.

20 For participation by New Englanders in the Georgia land speculations, see A. M. Sakolski, The Great American Land Bubble, 135–136. See also above, p. 608.

21 KP, xxxviii. 135.

22 This letter, in BP, reports on Knox’s negotiations with the Land Committee and his belief that they will be unable to modify the original contract.

23 On Ely, see R. E. Moody, “Samuel Ely: Forerunner of Shays,” New England Quarterly, v. 105–134.

24 KP, xxxviii. 140.

25 On the lottery prizes and the problem they created, see above, pp. 28–29.

26 This was Pinckney’s Treaty, whereby the United States gained the right to navigate the Mississippi and an entrepôt at New Orleans.

27 KP, xxxvii. 42. This memorial is not in Jackson’s hand.

28 These were the lands on either side of the Penobscot River above present-day Bangor which had been reserved for the Penobscot Indians and which were soon to come on the market.

29 KP, xxxviii. 143.

30 KP, xxxviii. 151.

31 On Henry Jackson’s note to William Tudor, see above, pp. 59–61

32 KP, xxxviii. 157.

33 By this treaty, which had been negotiated the previous year, the United States purchased peace with the Dey of Algiers.

34 A new Georgia legislature had repealed the land grants made the year before by their corrupt predecessors. This led to the case of Fletcher vs. Peck. See A. J. Beveridge, The Life of John Marshall, iii. Chapter x.

35 Joseph Barrell, merchant, of Boston, had purchased some twenty tickets in the land lottery of 1786. See Lottery Book in the Massachusetts Archives, a copy of which is in BP.

36 KP, xxxviii. 162.

37 This was the bridge at what is now Augusta, completed the following year.

38 KP, xxxviii. 166.

39 For Bingham’s relations with Robert Gilmor of Baltimore, see M. L. Brown, “William Bingham, Eighteenth Century Magnate,” Pa. Mag. of Hist, and Biog., lxi. 399–403.

40 There is a William McMurtrie listed as a merchant living in Philadelphia in the census of 1790.

41 This may have been Jonathan Dwight of Springfield, who is listed as one of the winners in the lottery. See the Lottery Book in the Massachusetts Archives, a copy of which is in BP.

42 This power of attorney is in CP.

43 This disturbance arose over the Pennsylvania law which required lands to be settled within two years of the date of acquiring title. See S. J. and E. H. Buck, The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania, 207–210.

44 Samuel Adams.

45 There is a practically identical copy of this letter in CP.

46 The original grantees were those who had been granted the township of Trenton in 1762, and who had failed to live up to the conditions of their grant. See an undated memorandum on Trenton in Cobb’s hand in CP.

47 See the map of Gouldsborough facing page 524.

48 For Cobb’s letter to Swan, see the following document.

49 Township No. 17 was the present Deblois.

50 Swan had met Cobb in Maine in the summer of 1795. He called on Cobb at Taunton in January, 1796, and left a letter for him asking for terms on the purchase of land. See Swan to Cobb, Taunton, 29 January 1796, in CP. In a letter dated Stonington, 5 May 1796, in CP he replied to this letter of Cobb’s and said that the terms were too high. One Seth Bannister in a letter dated Brookfield, 22 February 1796, in CP, also asked about Township No. 2, North Divisiion, but nothing seems to have come of this nibble either.

51 KP, xxxix. 16.

52 In a letter dated Boston, 4 April 1796, in BP, Knox wrote Bingham that six per cents were selling in Boston from 18/2 to 18/4.

53 In a letter dated Boston, 14. April 1796, in BP, Knox wrote Bingham that Colonel Nathan Jones of Gouldsborough would be willing to take the census of settlers on the lower tract and the six townships. On 22 April he wrote again that the colonel’s fee would be high. Apparently nothing ever came of this proposal.

54 On 24 March 1796 the House had asked the President to turn over to them Jay’s instructions and other papers connected with the treaty. On 30 March Washington sent a message to the House in which he politely refused their request and suggested that they had no power in connection with the ratification of treaties. For the President’s reply, see Writings of Washington (J. C. Fitzpatrick, editor), xxxv. 2–5.

55 Omer Talon was the land agent for the Asylum Company, which controlled a million acres of land in Pennsylvania. John Nicholson was the leading speculator involved. See S. Livermore, Early American Land Companies, 171–174. For Alexander Baring’s opinion of Talon, see below, pp. 893–894.

56 According to the terms of Jay’s Treaty, a three-man commission was to determine the true St. Croix. Washington first appointed Knox, who later refused on the ground that he was personally interested in the outcome. See H. S. Burrage, Maine in the Northeastern Boundary Controversy, 42.

57 KP, xxxix. 24.

58 This letter is in BP. In it Knox urges Bingham to start a program of bona fide settlements in Maine and says, “As to mere speculation, it is a phantom that will, that must vanish.” He closes with another appeal for a loan from Baring.

59 This was Alexander Wilcocks, attorney and Recorder for the city of Philadelphia. See Heads of Families, First Census, Pennsylvania, 227.

60 See Sir Francis Baring’s letter to Bingham, above, p. 594.

61 All these drafts are in BP in a package of papers entitled “Vouchers for 1796.”

62 This power, dated 30 April 1796, is in CP and authorizes Cobb to sell lands for a period of six months.

63 This was a reference to the work of Charles Williamson, agent for the Pulteney Associates in western New York. See P. D. Evans, “The Pulteney Purchase,” N. Y. State Hist. Ass’n Quart. Jour., iii. passim. See also H. I. Cowan, Charles Williamson, Rochester Historical Society Publications, xix (1941).

64 The signature is in Bingham’s hand, the rest in that of a clerk.

65 Though these questions and answers are in the same hand as that of the Baring document printed above, internal evidence indicates that the author was Bingham. The questions had been proposed by Cobb. There are copies of Baring’s Observations and Bingham’s Answers to Questions in BaP.

66 KP, xxxix. 47.

67 These two letters are in BP and report progress on negotiations with Shaw and the forwarding of the necessary papers.

68 For an account of Cobb’s movements and activities from the time he left Philadelphia until his arrival with his family at Gouldsborough in June, see his diary, Bangor Historical Magazine, v. 53–56.

69 KP, xxxix. 64.

70 In a letter dated Boston, 24 April 1796, in BP, Knox writes of the death of two of his children from putrid sore throat.

71 In a letter dated Boston, 6 May 1796, in BP, Knox informed Bingham that he was being threatened by William Hill with a suit for nonpayment of one of the notes to Duer which Hill had come into possession of.

72 There is a copy of this letter in KP, xxxix. 78.

73 These letters are in KP, xxxix. 67 and 72. In them Bingham announces his plans for his coming trip to Maine.

74 Presumably Joseph Hall, who, among other things, acted as James Swan’s London agent. See H. C. Rice, “James Swan,” New England Quarterly, x. 475.

75 In this letter, which is in BP, Knox reports that a new memorial to the legislature on the subject of the “back tract” has been presented.

76 KP, xxxix. 87–88.

77 In a letter dated Boston, 6 June 1796, in BP, Knox replied that the news of Baring’s refusal had left him prostrate and that his financial affairs were in a truly desperate state. For Baring’s reasons, see Baring to Bingham, Philadelphia, 18 May 1796 in BP.

78 KP, xxxix. 89.

79 Apparently the legislature went as far as to draw up a resolve on this business empowering: the Land Committee to modify the contract, but never got around to passing it. See the copy of this resolve, dated 7 June 1796, in BP.

80 Bingham’s two daughters, Ann and Maria, were both in their teens. Miss Abby Willing was Mrs. Bingham’s youngest sister. For John Richards, who was soon to become coagent with Cobb in the management of the Maine property, see above, p. 653, note 2. Apparently Henry Baring planned to come—see Bingham to Knox, Philadelphia, 4 May 1796, KP, xxxix. 57—but was unable to do so.

81 See Bingham to Knox, Newport, 20 June 1796, KP, xxxix. 104.

82 See Knox’s letter to Cobb, Montpelier, 6 July 1796, in CP, and 17 July 1796, Bangor Historical Magazine, iii. 119. Apparently the party stayed with Mrs. Archbald, as suggested by Knox (see above, p. 760). This was presumably Mrs. Francis Archbald, who kept a boardinghouse on Bowdoin Square, where Henry Jackson was the star boarder. See the Boston Directory for 1796.

83 In his letter to Knox of 20 June cited above, Bingham expresses his hopes that the papers necessary for the conveyance to Baring can be made ready. See also Bingham to H. Jackson, New York, 17 June 1796, KP, xxxix. 103.

84 See above, p. 171.

85 See Knox’s letter to Cobb of 6 July cited above. See also two undated vouchers in BP, both receipts from Joseph Weeks of Portland: the first for £4/3/8 for cheese, chickens, butter, and other commodities for the Maine excursion; the second for $533.33 for the hire of the Mercury from 20 July to 30 August 1796.

86 Baring did not get around to writing the Hopes about the excursion to Maine until December. This letter is, therefore, out of chronological order.

87 There is no letter from Baring to the Hopes in BaP between the one dated 26 May 1796 (printed above, pp. 643–670) and a letter to Henry Hope on incidental matters, dated Philadelphia, 29 November 1796.

88 There are three copies of letters to Baring during this period in BaP. The first, dated 21 April 1796, is from Baring and Company and was presumably written by Sir Francis. In it Sir Francis expresses himself as “perfectly satisfied” with all that Alexander has done and willing to depend on his son’s judgment in everything. Since “we have pitched our tent in the District of Maine,” he advises against further purchases elsewhere, though he is willing to consider additional property down east. He wonders if the large bodies of water on the Maine lands do not make them swampy and foggy and urges Alexander to be very careful when he goes into the woods, lest his health be undermined. The complexion of Americans, according to Sir Francis, proves how unhealthy most of the country is. He closes by urging that the present proprietors keep close control of the property and not “admit the slightest shade of democracy” by allowing the agents any real power.

The second letter is an undated one from Henry Hope, possibly the one of 29 April mentioned above. In it Hope also approves Alexander’s actions and expresses his eagerness to read the young man’s first-hand impressions after the summer excursion down east. He emphasizes the need for keeping careful accounts, though, he adds, “we suppose the staff officers [Knox and Cobb] too good military men to be good accountants.” He closes his letter with comments on the American political situation, agreeing with Alexander’s estimate of the United States government and “of its permanency, at least as long as will answer our purposes.” He supposes the choice of Washington’s successor “must occasion some bustle.”

The third letter, preumably from Sir Francis Baring and dated 22 July 1796, is a review of what has been done to date, with some general suggestions as to sales, additional purchases, and expenditures for improvements.

89 The map referred to from time to time in this letters appears to be the small printed one, a copy of which is in BaP. See above, p. 646, note 7.

90 See above, pp. 663–664.

91 While the gentlemen were away, the Reverend Paul Coffin called at Montpelier and wrote the following account of his visit.

August 15, 1796. “Dined at General Knox’. His House draws air beyond all the ventilators which I had before seen. I was almost frozen for three hours before we took dinner and plenty of wine. The General being absent, gone East, in a Portland Packet with Mr. Bingham, I dined with Mrs. Knox and her daughters, and Mrs. Bingham and her sister and daughter. We had a merry dinner, the little Misses talking French in a gay mood. Mrs. Bingham was sensible, had been in France, could talk of European politicks, and give the history of the family of the late King of France, etc. The General’s house with double piazzas round the whole of it, etc. exceeded all I had seen . . .” Coll. Me. Hist. Soc, iv. 326–327.

92 Presumably the same fisherman mentioned by Cobb. See below, p. 808.

93 The present town of Calais. At some point on this trip up the Schoodic, Noailles apparently was nearly drowned. See below, p. 805.

94 The present town of Baileyville.

95 I have not been able to identify Stone and Bailey. Presumably Bailey was the man for whom the town was named. The census taker failed to reach Baileyville when the census of 1790 was taken.

96 While becalmed, Baring wrote a letter to his brother-in-law, Pierre César Labouchere, which is the only really informal one in BaP. In this letter, dated Machias, 12 August 1796, Baring reported that he was “on board ship almost totally becalmed for this last four or five days, which if you were much accustomed to the sea, you would know is a most tedious situation, and what with me renders it still more so is that we are so tormented to death with Musketoes which infest all uncleared countries that I have not slept two hours for several nights past.” He explains that they had left their ladies at General Knox’s, “the accommodations in a new country being indifferent,” which was putting it mildly. Passamaquoddy Bay Baring thought extraordinarily beautiful; “the only thing that prevents our enjoying our situation as much as we otherwise should is the immensity of Musketoes; they plague us beyond anything you could conceive from so insignificant an insect. The inhabitants tell us they are particularly plenty this year and I have the satisfaction to hear that strangers are the greatest sufferers and that I am soon likely to be inured to them.”

Baring also sent an interesting request to Labouchere, to be transmitted to Henry Philip Hope, who, it was thought, might come to America in the fall: “If he passes through England . . . desire him to bring out a servant and a good groom that he can depend on; also three good horses and one or two light chairs for me, since I much regret I did not take them. They are not luxuries but indispensable, for you can not travel without them and every thing of the kind here is twice as dear and much worse, and good servants are not to be had. I am particularly fortunate in John, who is a real treasure. Two horses which I travel with cost me about 100 guineas; I could certainly get them in London for 50 and yet the purchase is thought a good one. I believe I can get my money back.”

Despite his troubles with Musketoes, Baring was enjoying himself: “Setting aside the gratification I receive from this excursion on the score of bussines, it has been an agreable thing on that of pleasure. Our ladies are every thing we could wish and put up with the inconveniences very well.”

97 The “largest village” was the present Machias on the Machias River; the other settlement was near the present East Machias.

98 This was the purchase from John Lucas. See above, p. 62.

99 The present Columbia Falls.

100 When actually incorporated that same year, the town was named Addison.

101 I have found no other mention of these Quaker families in any of the contemporary letters. There is no mention of them in Centennial Historical Sketch of the Town of Columbia (Machias, 1896).

102 The plain is in the southwest corner of Columbia, near the Cherryfield line.

103 Alexander Campbell. See Bangor Historical Magazine, vii. 164–166.

104 Colonel Nathan Jones. See Historical Researches of Gouldsborough, Maine, 12–16.

105 This may have been the place where the future Lord Ashburton ran what Cobb called a “mud race,” presumably an attempt to get ashore at low tide. See below, p. 809.

106 This was Theodore Jones, of what was later to become Ellsworth.

107 Christopher Bartlett. See G. E. Street, Mount Desert, 170.

108 For Henry Philip Hope, see below, p. 847, note 8.

109 In his letter to his father dated 11 December 1795 in BaP, Baring had also made this point. He spoke of all the New England people marrying young, and of there being no elderly bachelors.

110 The present town of Alexander.

111 The present town of Deblois.

112 Compare these readings with those reported by William Morris. See above, p. 202.

113 Rufus King, at this time the United States minister to Great Britain.

114 Presumably Dr. Thomas Ruston. See above, p. 546, note 7.

115 For this suit, see above, p. 171.

116 Christopher Gore was by this time in England as one of the United States representatives on the claims commission set up by Jay’s Treaty.

117 The report of William Morris. See above, pp. 188–205.

118 I believe this to have been the temporary contract drawn up on 1 May 1796, to serve until the final arrangement with trustees could be decided upon.

119 Baring had at first supposed that because Henry Hope had been born in America, he was still an American citizen and thus could hold lands in this country in his own name. See Baring to Hope and Company, 26 February 1796, in BaP.

120 From several indirect references in BaP, I believe that Augerstein was a correspondent of the Barings in Hamburg. An Ellis family is mentioned as active in land speculation in upper New York State and possibly the first Ellis was the foreigner referred to here. See History of the State of New York (A. C. Flick, editor), v. 189.

121 Baring did just this in a letter dated Philadelphia, 31 January 1797, in BaP.

122 Bingham eventually had to pay this loan of Knox’s. There are many references to it and to Knox’s inability to pay in BP and KP. There is a copy of Knox’s obligation to Baring, dated Thomaston, 6 October 1796, in BP.

123 W. O. Sawtelle, in Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, ix. 224, suggests that Alexander Baring may have first begun to court Bingham’s daughter Ann, whom he was to marry two years later, while on this excursion to Maine.

124 KP, xxxix. 134.

125 Julia was Knox’s eighth child. She, like so many of the others, died in infancy. See Bangor Historical Magazine, v. 130.

126 For Walker’s suit, see above, p. 171.

127 J. C. Jones, a Boston merchant, held a mortgage on part of what was formerly the De Gregoire grant. See Cobb to Eli Forbes, Gouldsborough, 2 December 1796, in CP.

128 KP, xxxix. 160.

129 Job Nelson of Castine. See W. Willis, History of the Law, the Courts and the Lawyers of Maine, 188–192. Gleason was one of Knox’s agents on the Waldo Patent.

130 La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt and Robert Gilmor, Jr.

131 There is another, almost identical, copy of this letter in CP.

132 These accounts are in CP. For a general statement of the finances of the Maine speculation, see the Appendices.

133 No. 13 is the present Marion township, No. 15 the town of Cooper, and the other two are still unincorporated.

134 KP, xxxix. 177.

135 The present Islesboro.

136 Miss Barnum was Deborah Barnum, the daughter of the Reverend Caleb Barnum of Taunton. See S. H. Emery, History of Taunton, 217.

137 Knox’s fifth son. For his children, see Bangor Historical Magazine, v. 129–130.

138 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

139 Dr. Allen was presumably Dr. Benjamin Alline, first treasurer of the town. See Historical Researches of Gouldsborough, Maine, 19. The others are presumably Benjamin Godfrey, Daniel Wright, and Abigail Noonan, all listed under Gouldsborough in the 1790 census.

140 No. 7 north of Gouldsborough is still unincorporated. The others are the present towns of Cherryfield, Columbia, Deblois, and Baileyville, respectively.

141 Cobb’s debt to the state was presumably the money due on the purchase of his Androscoggin lands in what is now Leeds.

142 KP, xl. 10.

143 Cobb would know how the people of Warren felt about this because his son-in-law, Samuel Wilde, lived there.

144 Vose was Captain Thomas Vose, Knox’s superintendent on the Waldo Patent. See N. Brooks, Henry Knox, 240.

145 In Europe, Napoleon was whipping the Austrians under Wurmser as part of his Italian campaign, while the French armies on the Rhine, under Jourdan, were being beaten. The Spanish had joined the French in 1796. See Cambridge Modem History, viii. 497, 572–573, 460.

146 John Swanwick was a Republican representative from Philadelphia.

147 Henry Dearborn had served as Representative in Congress for the District of Maine from 1793–1797. A Republican, he was defeated in the 1796 election by Isaac Parker, later Chief Justice of Massachusetts.

148 This letter of instructions on the supervision of the lumbering business is in CP.

149 Donald Ross was a Scotchman who had settled in what is now Ellsworth after the Revolution, where he lived until his death in 1804. His account book, in CP, indicates that he had served in the British navy before coming to this country. See also A. H. Davis, History of Ellsworth, Maine, 24, where, however, the dates of Ross’s retirement and death are incorrectly given.

150 Sheriff Richard Hunnewell (or Hunewell) was a resident of Penobscot, then the shire town, and is frequently mentioned in Cobb’s diaries. The name is spelled with one “n” in the Heads of Families, First Census, Maine, 30. See also W. Willis, History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, 685.

151 On 30 October 1796 Cobb wrote Brewer a set of instructions similar to those sent Stephen Jones. A copy of this letter is in CP. He resided in what is now Perry, on Passamaquoddy Bay, and is not to be confused with the founder of Brewer, Maine, opposite Bangor.

152 Number 8 is the present town of Hancock, No. 14, Waltham. Number 20, Mariaville, would certainly also have to be supervised.

153 This was Seth Tinkham. See his letter to Bingham dated Wiscasset, 5 November 1796, in BP, in which he encloses a copy of Walker’s bill.

154 Presumably a reference to one of Knox’s ships.

155 This was Tench Francis, who was in charge of purchasing naval supplies for the government. Knox had a contract with him to provide spars. See Knox to Francis, 13 September and 17 October 1796, KP, xxxix. 143 and 175.

156 This was George Brimmer, an early settler on Union River and agent for Leonard Jarvis. See Bangor Historical Magazine, iv. 73.

157 There is a copy of this letter in CP.

158 The Parsons family was an extremely numerous one in Northampton. See J. R. Trumbull, History of Northampton, passim. This Parsons had doubtless become interested in Maine through the agency of Cobb’s brother-in-law, Dr. Ebenezer Hunt.

159 There is a copy of this letter in CP.

160 KP, xl. 34.

161 KP, xl. 37

162 Though John Greenleaf’s actual bankruptcy did not take place until the following year, he was already in serious difficulties. See W. B. Bryan, History of the National Capital, 1. 297–298.

163 Blair McClenachan was a wealthy merchant importer of Philadelphia. See J. S. Davis, Essays, I. 373.

164 There were settlements at Kilkenny Stream, at the head of Kilkenny Cove, in the present town of Hancock, and at Hog Bay, the present village of East Franklin.

165 The correspondence between Bingham and Knox for the year 1797 can be followed in BP and in KP, xl and xli.

166 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

167 There is in CP a manuscript diary which Cobb kept from 1 January 1797 to 19 February of the same year. This diary, which is devoted almost exclusively to remarks on the weather, does mention the few arrivals and departures which did a little to relieve the monotony of the Maine winter. Cobb’s anxiety about his son is also duly recorded.

168 This is a reference to Charles Williamson, agent for the Pulteney Associates. See P. D. Evans, “The Pulteney Purchase,” New York State Historical Association Quarterly Journal, iii. 83–104.

169 In Cobb’s diary for 9 January appears the entry: “The carpenters began to work for Mr. Tillinghast.” See above, p. 549, note 3.

170 This document, reviewing the history of Trenton from the time of the grant of 1762, is in CP.

171 This presumably refers to Cobb’s purchase of lands on the Androscoggin River. There is a letter from Cobb to Samuel S. Wilde, dated Gouldsborough, 20 February 1797, instructing Wilde on the management of these lands, and a long reply from Wilde dated Warren, 22 March 1797, describing the property, both of which are in CP. Cobb’s request for a loan from Bingham was doubtless prompted by a desire to complete the payments to Massachusetts. For Thomas Davis, Treasurer of Massachusetts, see above, p. 273, note 5.

172 These gentlemen were Alexander Campbell of Narraguagus (Steuben) and Paul Dudley Sargent. For Campbell, see Bangor Historical Magazine, vii. 164–167. For Sargent, see E. W. Sargent, Epes Sargent of Gloucester and his Descendants, 213–216.

173 Presumably Andrew Kidstone, a recent arrival in Gouldsborough. He is mentioned in Cobb’s store account for 1799 printed below, pp. 1001–1009.

174 There is a practically identical copy of this letter in CP.

175 Both these short notes are in CP. In them Bingham and Baring speak of their being busy with concern affairs and express their complete approval of what Cobb has done.

176 Oak Point is at the end of the western peninsula of Trenton, directly across from Bartlett Island.

177 There is a Hog Island in Flanders Bay, off the present West Gouldsborough.

178 This document is included both as an example of the type of agreement Cobb made with local workmen and as a description of a Maine sawmill of the 1790’s.

179 Colonel Noah Hall was the father of Thomas Cobb’s wife, Abigail Hall. He, with his daughter and son-in-law, had accompanied Cobb to Gouldsborough in 1795. See Bangor Historical Magazine, IV. 73. Colonel Hall is mentioned frequently in Cobb’s diary for 1795 and 1796.

Elisha Goodwin was later to be one of the first settlers of Mariaville. Presumably he was induced to go there by Cobb, who was trying to establish a settlement in that town. See A. J. Coolidge and J. B. Mansfield, History and Description of New England, Maine, 206.

180 In modern sawmills, a “nigger” is a device which holds the log in place while it is being sawed. Presumably this is the piece of equipment Cobb is referring to. The draw-up chains and wheels pull the log up to where the “nigger” can hold it. I want to thank Mrs. J. Watson Webb of the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, for supplying me with this information.

181 For this draft, see above, p. 823. The draft itself, dated 13 December 1796, is in BP.

182 This was the period when the French were seizing large numbers of American vessels in French ports.

183 This was Samuel Hull, for whom the present Hull’s Cove on Mt. Desert was named. See G. E. Street, Mount Desert, 164.

184 Mount Desert.

185 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

186 The present town of Deblois.

187 There is a letter in CP from Thomas Davis to Cobb dated Boston, 14 March 1797, approving Cobb’s plans for the enumeration and his nominees to do the enumerating.

188 For Parsons, see above, p. 822, note 5.

189 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

190 This was Henry Philip Hope, a first cousin once removed of Henry Hope. A sleeping partner in Hope and Company, he preferred collecting works of art and precious stones to a business career. His most famous acquisition was the Hope Diamond. See H. W. and I. Law, Book of the Beresford Hopes, 69–72, 113–115. There is a charming portrait of Henry Philip Hope, attired in some kind of oriental costume, in ibid, facing page 114.

Henry Philip Hope had arrived in New York in November, 1796, where he had been met by Baring, who wrote of Hope’s proposed stay in America: “This is not a country to afford great luxuries and enjoyments for young men, but I am sure he will very shortly perceive that though the curiosities of Rome are not to be found in it, nor the refinements of London or Paris, that it offers a curiosity of a larger and more gratifying import of a rising country, a spectacle the most grateful to a liberal mind and the most instructive whether considered with the eye of the philosopher, the politician, or the merchant.” See Baring to Henry Hope, 29 November 1796 in BaP.

191 This was Robert Pagan, one of the leading citizens of St. Andrews. See H. S. Burrage, Maine in the Northeastern Boundary Controversy, 31, 55–58. It was during this summer that Pagan discovered the evidence which identified the Schoodic as the true St. Croix.

192 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

193 KP, xl. 157.

194 For the Blount Conspiracy, see F. J. Turner, “Documents on the Blount Conspiracy,” American Historical Review, X. 574–606 and also 273–274.

195 This tract included a good part of present-day Ellsworth.

196 For the petitions and vote in this abortive separatist movement, see E. Stanwood, “The Separation of Maine from Massachusetts,” Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., xli. 138. The record is apparently not clear as to how the vote went.

197 KP, xl. 170.

198 After the disturbance caused by Samuel Ely, commissioners had been appointed to settle disputes between Knox and his tenants.

199 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

200 These accounts are in BP. For the accounts of the Bingham speculation generally, see the Appendices.

201 This refers to the launching of the U.S.S. Constitution. See J. Winsor, Memorial History of Boston, iii. 332.

202 In his History of the United States for 1796, James Thomson Callender first “broke” the story of Hamilton’s relations with Reynolds.

203 A reference to Hamilton’s salary as Secretary of the Treasury.

204 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

205 This is the last reference to the Parsons-Leonard contract that I have found. Apparently nothing ever came of it, despite the fact that Oliver Leonard himself finally settled in Orrington.

206 KP, xli. 13.

207 M. M. Hays, the Boston merchant, was a close friend of both Knox and Cobb and often cashed bills for them.

208 This was Lansdowne, one of the most beautiful country estates of the day. For the purchase see M. L. Brown, “Mr. and Mrs. William Bingham of Philadelphia,” in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, lxi. 305–306, where a picture of the house is given.

209 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

210 By this time, Willing and Cramond had been fully authorized to act as trustees for the Baring property in this country. See above, p. 675.

211 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

212 I believe this was Alexander Deforest of Newtown, Connecticut. See Heads of Families, 1790 Census, Connecticut, 20. I have not been able to discover a Newfield in that state and believe Cobb made a slip of the pen when he wrote it.

213 The letter of 30 September is in KP, lv. 176; there is an almost completely illegible letter-book copy of it in BP. The letter of 10 July is printed above, pp. 850–852.

214 When an attempt was made to launch the Constitution on 20 September 1797, the ship stuck, and when a second attempt was made two days later, it stuck again. Finally, on 21 October a successful launching was achieved. See J. Winsor, Memorial History of Boston, iii. 333–334.

215 There were three Orleanist princes in America at this time, all members of a cadet branch of the French royal house: the Duc de Chartres, the Duc de Montpensier, and the Duc de Beaujolais. See F. Childs, French Refugee Life in the United States, 28–30.

216 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

217 In the copy in CP, Cobb adds: “Brick, in this instance, cannot be made without straw.”

218 KP, xli. 20.

219 For a full statement of Bingham’s expenditures, see the accounts in the Appendices.

220 Although, after the excursion to Maine, John Richards had decided not to accept the agency (see above, p. 791), he changed his mind after his return to England, when a firm he had been interested in went bankrupt. In July, 1797, he had several conferences with the Barings and the Hopes and emerged with the appointment as agent to represent the European partners in the management of the Maine property. Whatever John Richards may have really thought about the prospect of going to live in Maine, he put a good face on the business and set off for America determined to do his best. See Richards to Hope and Company, 27 March 1797, Henry Hope to Baring, 15 April 1797, Sir Francis Baring’s opinion on the Richards agency, dated 26 July 1797, Henry Hope’s statement on the Maine Lands for Richards, dated 5 August 1797, Hope and Company to Richards, London, 5 August 1797, and Richards to Hope and Company, 20 July and 6 August 1797. All these documents are in BaP.

221 The Hopes had been considering James Wadsworth as a possible agent. See Henry Hope to Baring, 15 April 1797, in BaP.

222 According to arrangements made in England, Richards was to receive an annual salary of $1,500 and the residuary profits on 50,000 acres of land. See Hope and Company to Richards, 5 August 1797, in BaP.

223 Bingham complained frequently of Cobb’s accounting methods. For some examples of Cobb’s arithmetic, see Appendix H.

224 The sisters mentioned were the daughters of John Nixon of Philadelphia. Thomas Mayne Willing married Jane Nixon; I have not been able to discover the first name of Cramond’s wife. See E. L. Clark, Record, of Inscriptions . . . of Christ Church Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1864), 83.

225 There is a Dutch banker named DeSmeth mentioned in J. B. Manger, Recherches sur les Relations Economiques entre La France et La Hollande, etc. 115. I have not been able to identify either Condere or the agent Hollinger mentioned immediately below. For more information on this sale, see Baring to Hope and Company, Philadelphia, 10 January 1797, in BaP.

226 The letter breaks off here at the end of a page. Apparently one or more pages are missing. When the letter picks up again, Baring is describing Henry Philip Hope’s impressions of America.

227 These may have been lands in Macomb’s “Great Purchase” which Gouverneur Morris and William Constable were selling in Europe, though I have found no record of a sale to the Archbishop of York. There is no Baring letter from Albany in BaP.

228 The only letter in BaP from the Hopes to Baring during 1797 is one from Henry Hope dated 15 April 1797, in which he approves Baring’s work and offers some pretty shrewd advice on the development of the purchase. He complains of William Jackson’s “pompous account” of the lands and says he was led to believe there were roads separating the Maine townships, “instead of imaginary lines making one mass of almost impenetrable woods.” “This is a piece with Mr. Williamson’s fine street in Geneva, to which nothing was wanting but houses.” He opines that a lifetime of work and the resources of the Bank of England would be necessary to cut all the roads. Despite these handicaps, he is sanguine about the future prospects of the speculation.

229 In 1782 the State of New York had set aside a tract for veterans southwest of, and bordering on the Oswego River.

230 William Wadsworth. See N. A. McNall, An Agricultural History of the Genesee Valley, 1790–1860 (Philadelphia, 1952), passim.

231 Baring’s account of the Genesee lands should be compared with the many other contemporary descriptions extant. See N. A. McNall, An Agricultural History of the Genesee Valley, especially Chapter V, which contains an account of the settlement of this area, and 258–260, which contains a bibliography of journals and travels.

232 The main cause of this difficulty was the proprietors’ unwillingness to continue pouring money down a rat hole. By 1800 they had spent almost one and a half million dollars and had received back a little under $148,000. See P. D. Evans, “The Pulteney Purchase,” New York State Historical Association Quarterly Journal, iii. 90.

233 This was the Big Tree Treaty. See P. D. Evans, The Holland Land Company, 188–192.

234 Paul Busti. See P. D. Evans, Holland Land Company, 44 and note.

235 Kamouraska is about halfway between Quebec and Riviere du Loup.

236 The final disposition of this territory was, of course, to be negotiated by Baring himself some forty-five years later.

237 This is, I believe, the earliest reference to John Black’s residence in this country.

238 Robert Gilmor of Baltimore was a partner of Bingham’s in many commercial enterprises.

239 There is an account of this transaction in Baring to Hope and Company, 10 January 1797, in BaP. Soderstrom, who apparently at one time was connected with either the Hopes or the Barings, had become indebted to Robert Morris, and the Hopes stood to lose if he were unable to pay. Baring agreed to loan Morris enough money to repay the debt and some more in addition, and took close to 100,000 acres of land in New York and Pennsylvania as security for repayment by Morris.

240 On the Vaughans, see R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 119–130.

241 Alexander Wilcocks was Recorder of the city and had acted as Baring’s lawyer on several occasions. I have not been able to identify McNeil.

242 I have not been able to identify Wollaston.

243 The London residence of the Hopes was in Cavendish Square; that of the Barings in Devonshire Square.

244 For Cobb’s itinerary see the short diary in CP covering this trip to Philadelphia. The announcement of his departure with Mrs. Wilson is in Knox to Bingham, Boston, 25 December 1797 in BP. There is an extensive correspondence between Knox and Daniel Davis in KP.

245 There is a brief memorandum in KP, xli. 66, which indicates how little Knox knew of what was going on. In it he wonders what T. M. Willing and W. Crammond have to do with the business, showing that he had not been told of the trustee arrangement.

246 Baring’s account of the discussions is printed below, pp. 915–916; the plan of operations below, pp. 919–935.

247 See H. Jackson to Cobb, Dorchester, 30 August 1798, in CP, printed below, pp. 941–943

248 The bill of sale for this schooner, dated Boston, 20 April 1798, is in CP.

249 See Knox to Bingham, Boston, 24 August 1798, in BP.

250 See Knox to Bingham, Boston, 3 December 1797, in BP.

251 See Knox to Bingham, Boston, 21 May 1798, in BP.

252 See Bingham to Knox, Philadelphia, 13 May 1798, KP, xli. 108, and Knox to Bingham, Boston, 4 and 27 June 1798, in BP.

253 See Bingham to Knox, Bellevue, Black Point, 7 August 1798, in BP. (Letter book copy.)

254 For a discussion of this point, see M. L. Brown, “William Bingham, Eighteenth Century Magnate,” Pa. Mag. of Hist. and. Biog., lxi. 427–428. C. W. Hare’s report to the Bingham Trustees, dated Philadelphia, 1 January 1806, lists Knox’s debts to Bingham as close to $180,000. One of the items included is the loan to Baring. This report is in BP.

255 This document, dated 25 July 1806, is in BP. Knox died about three months later.

256 See Bingham to Knox, Philadelphia, 28 May 1798, KP, xli. 116.

257 See M. L. Brown, “Mr. and Mrs. William Bingham,” Pa. Mag. of Hist, and Biog., lxi. 318. Unfortunately there is almost no material on Baring’s marriage in BaP. In May, 1797, Baring wrote his father about the necessity of having someone in America to represent the English partners and indicated that he would be willing to stay. He followed that letter up with another the next day in which he spoke of his remaining in America as “a very great advantage to me.” Sir Francis, at some later late, drily endorsed the letter: “A.B. proposes to remain in America—his object must then have been a marriage with Miss Bingham.” Aside from these two letters, dated 31 May and 1 June 1797, the record in BaP is silent, though Baring must certainly have written other letters which either have been since destroyed or were not microfilmed.

258 See Bingham to Knox, Bellevue, Black Point, 30 September 1798, KP, xli. 155.

259 See Bingham to Knox, Philadelphia, 24 January 1799, KP, xlii. 33.

260 See, for example, Reverend Samuel Reed to Cobb, Warwick, 14 May 1798, in CP, in which some land agents are introduced.

261 Bingham had commissioned Omer Talon to attempt a sale in Europe, but to be on the safe side he also wrote Sir Francis Baring urging him to try to find a purchaser also. He even went so far as to send powers of attorney to Sir Francis to enable him to give a deed to the property. See these powers, dated 24 January and 7 February 1797, and also Bingham to Francis Baring, 22 January and 4 July 1797, all in BaP.

262 See the document printed immediately below.

263 It is interesting to note that Baring could make an offer of this nature less than four months before his marriage to Ann Bingham.

264 This document, which is in BaP, attempts to estimate the population of the United States by citing various reports, travellers’ accounts and so forth. It looks as if it had been prepared for publication, but whether or not it ever was or who the author was I have been unable to discover.

265 This was Edward Thornton, who had come to this country as George Hammond’s secretary and who was charge d’affaires at the British legation in Washington from 1800 to 1804. After a long and distinguished diplomatic career he was finally knighted.

266 This was Charles Williamson, agent on the Pulteney Purchase. Baring’s entire report shows that he has been greatly influenced by Williamson’s program. For further evidence on this point, see above, pp. 900–901.

267 John Black, who was later to play such an important part in the history of the Bingham lands in Maine. For a sketch of Black, see Bangor Historical Magazine, iv. 61–65. See the portrait of him facing page 906. I wish to thank Miss Helen Shute, of Ellsworth, Maine, for her help in obtaining a photograph of his portrait.

268 This system of accounting follows closely the suggestions which Henry Hope had made to Richards before the latter’s departure. See Hope’s statement, dated 5 August 1797, in BaP.

269 This frank statement is pretty good evidence of how little Cobb had been able to do to make his headquarters attractive. Baring’s remark, on the other hand, could hardly have contributed to the morale of his agents.

270 These were the tracts in Trenton and what is now Ellsworth that have been mentioned frequently above.

271 See above, p. 927.

272 See above, p. 927.

273 See above, p. 928.

274 See above, p. 928.

275 The last paragraph of this document is in Baring’s hand, the rest in that of a clerk.

276 This may be an oblique reference to Baring’s love affair with Bingham’s daughter Ann.

277 I have found no advertisements of the Bingham lands in the Boston papers of this period. It may be that Baring was referring to advertisements for several other tracts in Maine. See, for example, the Boston Columbian Centinel for 7, 14, 21, and 31 March and 7 and 14 April 1798.

278 Whether this is a misprint for the $18,000 loaned Knox, or another debt which Bingham owed Baring I am unable to discover.

279 This presumably refers to Bingham’s difficulties with the Willinks of Amsterdam. See M. L. Brown, “William Bingham, Eighteenth Century Magnate,” Pa. Mag. of Hist, and Biog., lxi. 407–409.

280 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

281 For the Cabot suit, see below, pp. 1125–1138.

282 Mrs. Morton was Sarah Wentworth Morton, known as “the American Sappho.” See E. Pendleton and M. Ellis, Philenia, The Life and Works of Sarah Wentworth Morton, 1759–1846, University of Maine Studies, 2nd Series, No. 20.

283 This was David Godfrey, captain of the Gouldsborough Packet. He is mentioned frequently in CP.

284 This was the appointment by President Adams of Washington, Hamilton, C. C. Pinckney, and Knox to head the new army. For Knox’s reaction to this, see N. Brooks, Henry Knox, 250–251.

285 Nathan Rice and Caleb Gibbs were Cincinnati friends of Jackson’s. See F. S. Drake, Memorials of the Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts, 310, 436. Isaac Winslow was a cousin of Knox’s. Elliot was, I believe, Samuel Elliot, a Boston merchant and a general in the militia.

286 John Fabrique was a settler whom Cobb and Richards engaged to start the “hothouse” settlement at Mariaville.

287 Eli Forbes, Registrar of Deeds, at Castine.

288 This was Alexander Campbell of Narraguagus. See Bangor Historical Magazine, vii. 164–166. I have not been able to discover what happened to the General’s mills.

289 There is some material on this transaction in KP, xliii. 76 and 166.

290 For this theater, see J. Winsor, Memorial History of Boston, iv. 362–364.

291 Michael Moses Hays, the merchant, Benjamin Russell, editor of the Centinel, presumably John Coffin Jones, William Eustis, and Patrick Jeffrey.

292 There is a copy of this letter in CP. In it Cobb simply announces the start of the year’s campaign and encloses his annual accounts.

293 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

294 Presumably this was a joke sent by Cobb to Ross after the latter had complained of the threats against him by the lumbermen.

295 This was the capture of the French frigate L’Insurgente.

296 This was the commission of Oliver Ellsworth, William R. Davie, and William Vans Murray who finally reached agreement with France in 1800.

297 This is the only mention I have found of Tyler’s taking possession. It must have been done for Knox and Duer, rather than for Bingham, as Cobb says, though Bingham accepts Cobb’s statement in the latter’s letter of 8 May 1799 (see below, p. 961) without comment, presumably acknowledging its correctness. Tyler was John Steel Tyler of Boston, who had served in Henry Jackson’s regiment during the Revolution. See Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, xvi. 235.

298 This document is included as another example of frontier letter-writing.

299 There are a William and a Joseph Tupper listed in the census of 1790 as living in Township No. 22, the present Jonesboro.

300 This was Jacob Townsley, a friend of Cobb’s who lived in Steuben.

301 Possibly Theodore Jones, the only Jones listed as living in Trenton and Union River in the census of 1790.

302 There is a James Hopkins listed in the census of 1790 as living in Trenton.

303 These references to “repelling” and “shooting at” the King of Prussia appear to be the eighteenth-century equivalent of the more modern “striking a blow for liberty.” In each case the ammunition came out of a bottle.

304 There is a practically identical copy of this letter in CP dated 9 May instead of 8 May.

305 There is a practically identical copy of this letter in CP.

306 Presumably this was the mortgage which De Gregoire placed on his property to gain funds and which was paid off when the sale to Henry Jackson was made. See above, p. 802, note 1.

307 KP, xlii. 86.

308 This must refer to Hamilton’s original loans. While there were temporary loans throughout the 1790’s, there were no long-term ones of any consequence until 1800. See D. R. Dewey, Financial History of the United States, 113.

309 Peleg Coffin of Nantucket, who had recently succeeded Thomas Davis as Treasurer of Massachusetts. See A. Starbuck, History of Nantucket, passim.

310 This letter is in KP, xlii. 33. In it Bingham again speaks of the necessity of selling the Kennebec tract and expresses interest in Knox’s program for building frigates for the federal government.

311 According to the original contract with the state, the lands were to be exempt from state taxes for ten years. This meant that taxes would be levied in 1801.

312 This letter, dated 26 May 1796, is in CP. In it Cobb reports from Boston on his attempts to get workmen to go down east.

313 General Henry Dearborn had been much interested in speculation in Maine Lands in the early 1790’s. See above, p. 65.

314 For John Vaughan, see R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 119–120.

315 There is in CP an undated document in Cobb’s hand which explains the methods by which the harbor of Gouldsborough might be improved. Since it speaks of the need of establishing a regular packet, it must have been written before 1798, but it is additional proof of Cobb’s hopes that Gouldsborough might one day become a great port down east.

316 KP, xlii. 101.

317 Limited commercial relations had recently been established with the government of Toussaint L’Ouverture in Haiti.

318 This bank was established 15 June 1799. See W. W. Chadbourne, A History of Banking in Maine, 1799–1930, University of Maine Studies, 2nd Series, No. 37, 13.

319 Probably the home of either Nathaniel or Stephen Hardison, both of whom lived in Sullivan according to the census of 1790.

320 Samuel S. Wilde, Cobb’s son-in-law, and his family had just moved from Warren to Hallowell.

321 Webb’s Brook, situated in the present-day town of Waltham, flows into Graham Lake, the source of Union River.

322 Probably one of the family of Meletiah Jordan, one of the first settlers in what is now Ellsworth.

323 The census of 1790 lists a Samuel Debeck as living in what is now Ellsworth.

324 There is no Emerson listed as living in Sedgwick according to the census of 1790. It may possibly have been Joseph Ementon; more likely, Mr. Emerson came to Sedgwick after 1790.

325 Probably John Lee of Penobscot, the only Lee listed as living in Hancock County by the census of 1790.

326 Probably either Thomas or Joseph Moon of Sullivan, both of whom are listed in the census of 1790. See L. A. C. Johnson, Sullivan and Sorrento Since 1760, 355, and also the map reproduced on the inside of the covers of that volume.

327 This document is included simply as an example of the type of letter which Cobb received regularly from settlers. James Richardson, Jr., was the son of one of the first settlers on Mount Desert. See G. E. Street, Mount Desert, 115, 144.

328 For Samuel Vaughan, see R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 121.

329 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1793–1803, 10–27, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. For John Merrick, see E. H. Nason, Old Hallowell on the Kennebec, 99–106, and D. R. Goodwin, Notice of John Merrick, 1 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc., vii 379–402.

330 I believe this may be a misprint for Ogier. The Ogier family were merchants of Quebec, one of their number, Abraham, later settling in Camden. See Bangor Historical Magazine, vii. 111–112.

331 There is a Silas Coolidge listed in the census of 1790 as living in Trenton or Union River.

332 Sarah Coffin Jones, the daughter of Stephen Jones of Machias.

333 Jesse Dutton is listed in the census of 1790 as living on Union River.

334 There were three Killpatricks, Robert, Marten, and Samuel, and an Edward Berry listed by the census of 1790 as living in Trenton. Presumably John was a member of the same Killpatrick family.

335 Job Anderson is listed in the census of 1790 as living in Trenton.

336 Possibly Nathaniel and James Smith, the only two Smiths listed in the census as living in Trenton. One of these may well have been the Smith against whom the execution rested.

337 Nelson was Job Nelson of Castine, one of the leading lawyers of Hancock County. Mr. Wetmore was William Wetmore of Castine, later Judge of Probate for Hancock County. See W. Willis, History of the Law, the Courts and. the Lawyers of Maine, 188–192, 125.

338 General Cobb’s eldest son.

339 This document is included as an example of the type of nibble Cobb received occasionally from possible purchasers of land. There is nothing in CP to indicate that anything ever came of the proposal to settle Germans on Union River. I have not been able to identify the author of this letter.

340 There is a Thomas Brewer listed as shopkeeper in the Boston Directory for 1796.

341 For a breakdown of Bingham’s expenditures on the Maine Lands, see the Appendices.

342 This suggestion is another sign of Bingham’s almost desperate determination to find some source of income from the Maine Lands, for General Cobb’s basic policy had been to discourage lumbering and try to develop agriculture.

343 There is a John Harding listed in the census of 1790 as living in Trenton. Presumably this was his son.

344 I believe this to have been the man whom De la Roche had left in charge of his property, though I have been unable positively to identify him as such.

345 This personal store account of Cobb’s is included here to shed light on life in Gouldsborough at the turn of the century, to show the prices prevalent there, and to indicate the type of store which Cobb and Richards had established.

Most of the people mentioned in this account are listed as residing in Gouldsborough by the census of 1790.

The additions at the bottom of each page of this account have been omitted. For those who care, I must confess that I have not checked the addition of the total, but I am confident that it is wrong. There are several obvious miscalculations in the account which I have left as they stand.

346 A good example of down east phonetic spelling.

347 Despite Cobb’s claim that the store did not operate on credit, these figures indicate that he charged his purchases and paid ten per cent interest on the balance. Apparently he had paid $196.39 in the course of the year.

348 See below, pp. 1022–1023.

349 His commission, dated 5 July 1800 and signed by Caleb Strong, is in CP.

350 See Cobb to John Avery, Boston, 20 August 1800, in CP.

351 See below, pp. 1073–1074 and p. 1076.

352 See Josiah Harris to Cobb, Machias, 15 October 1800, and Louis Delesdernier to Cobb, Passamaquoddy, 3 November 1800, both in CP.

353 See Freeman to Cobb, Portland, 30 January 1800. Cobb agreed to pay the costs on the advice of Isaac Parker. See Parker to Cobb, Portland, 1 February 1800, and Cobb and Richards to Parker, Gouldsborough, 24 February 1800. All of these letters are in CP.

354 See Thomas Pagan to Cobb, Castine, 27 May 1800, and John Schaeffer to Cobb, St. Andrews, 4 April 1800, both in CP.

355 See Sylvester Maxwell to Cobb, Northampton, 10 April 1800, in CP.

356 See Cobb to Vaughan, Gouldsborough, 12 March 1800, in CP. The excerpts, in Vaughan’s hand, are also in CP.

357 See Wilde to Cobb, Hallowell, 2 January 1800, in CP and also below, p. 1032.

358 See Welch and Moore to Cobb, Gouldsborough, 3 January 1800, and his reply dated Gouldsborough, 27 January 1800, both in CP.

359 See Joseph Wingate to Cobb, Hallowell, 24 March 1800, in CP.

360 See below, pp. 1077–1078.

361 This letter is missing from CP.

362 Almost all of the above names are listed in the census of 1790 as residing in Carratunk Town.

363 Austin’s Stream joins the Kennebec at the present town of Bingham.

364 Presumably the John Dinsmor and Daniel Foster listed above.

365 George Warren, the son of General Joseph and Mercy Warren, had begun the practice of law in Winslow in 1792. He was a representative in the General Court and also acted as a land agent. Apparently much of his time was “wildly spent” and his death hastened by “habits of dissipation.” See W. Willis, History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, 178–179.

366 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 28–30, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

367 Number 20 is the present-day Mariaville. Presumably this road followed approximately the same route as the present Route 200 of Maine. See also L. A. C. Johnson, Sullivan and Sorrento since 1760, 33–34.

368 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

369 Moses Gill had served as Lieutenant Governor under Increase Sumner and upon Sumner’s death had acted as governor until succeeded by Caleb Strong.

370 E. H. Robbins was the principal owner of Robbinston, a township on the Passamaquoddy. See M. Greenleaf, A Survey of the State of Maine, 407. He was later Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts.

371 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

372 These accounts are in BP and copies of them in CP. For a summary of the concern’s financial condition, see Appendices C and D.

373 This would run from present-day Deblois to present-day Beddington.

374 Number 23 is the present Centerville.

375 Number 12 is the present Columbia.

376 Number 11 is the present Cherryfield.

377 See Gustavus Fellows to Cobb, Number 22, 22 January 1800, in CP.

378 This refers to Cobb’s gore of land on the Androscoggin in the present town of Leeds, called Littlesboro’ before 1801. Swift may have been Dr. Foster Swift of Taunton, an old friend of Cobb’s who may have been concerned with the General in this purchase.

379 I assume this refers to land in Hallowell, in which case it might be the property of Samuel Dutton, who is listed in the census of 1790 as living there. Why it was necessary to make arrangements in Boston I do not know.

380 This is one of the rare places in CP where Cobb mentions his wife and children.

381 Phineas Bruce, the lawyer.

382 Probably Chandler Robbins, a graduate of Harvard who had settled at Hallowell in 1791 as a merchant. See E. H. Nason, Old Hallowell on the Kennebec, 132. I have not been able to identify neighbor Cutter.

383 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 41–44, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

384 The second of these letters, asking about a tax sale of Madame de Leval’s land, is in CP.

385 Apparently Cobb was right in his account of the tax sale. At least De la Roche kept title to his property for another twenty years. For the reacquisition of most of this property by the Bingham Trustees, see above, pp. 171–172.

386 This was presumably the letter from Wingate to Cobb dated Hallowell, 24 March 1800, in CP. Wingate was the man who had been trying to interest people from the Merrimack Valley to settle on the Kennebec.

387 For the arrival of the Jenningses in Littlesboro’, see A. J. Coolidge and J. B. Mansfield, A History and Description of New England, Maine, 187.

388 The wife of one of the few new settlers in Gouldsborough whom Cobb had been able to attract. See above, p. 549, note 3.

389 I believe this to have been the Mr. Lincoln mentioned in Cobb’s fragmentary diary for 1797 in CP. In the entry for 8 January Cobb speaks of “Mr. Lincoln from Passamaquoddy.” The census of 1790 lists several Lincolns as living in the area east of Machias but none in Passamaquoddy proper.

390 Hichborn was an old friend who had served in Jackson’s regiment during the Revolution. See above, p. 150, note 4.

391 Lucy Knox, later Mrs. Ebenezer Thatcher.

392 This apparently refers to Napoleon’s conscription policy.

393 This document is included as an example of the petty problems that General Cobb had to handle during his agency.

394 This was Joseph Patten of Columbia, Cobb’s subagent for that area.

395 Mr. Robert Hallowell, either senior or junior. The junior of that name did not add the name Gardiner until 1803. See R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 4. For Thomas Brattle’s horticultural achievements, see J. Winsor, Memorial History of Boston, iv. 628.

396 For a note on the Kennebec Agricultural Society, see Maine: A Guide Down East (WPA Writers’ Project), 356.

397 Joseph Wingate of Hallowell had originally come from Amesbury, Massachusetts. E. Prescott was presumably a member of the family of Benjamin Prescott, who had settled in Hallowell shortly after the Revolution. See E. H. Nason, Old Hallowell on the Kennebec, 130–131, 38.

398 This was Knox’s eldest son, Henry Jackson Knox.

399 Presumably Jackson and Hichborn.

400 Both Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and Secretary of War McHenry were dismissed when Adams reorganized his cabinet.

401 Ward Boylston was the nephew and heir of Moses Gill, then Lt. Governor of the Commonwealth. See R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 10.

402 This was Henry Jackson Cobb, who was a midshipman aboard the U.S.S. Constitution.

403 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 45–48, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

404 These were old settlers in Gouldsborough. The census of 1790 lists a Benjamin Alline, a Benjamin, though no Peter, Godfrey and Daniel Wright.

405 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

406 A Boston friend who at this time resided at the old residence of Governor Hutchinson in Milton. See J. Winsor, Memorial History of Boston, iv. 610, note 3.

407 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 52–63, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

408 There is a section of present-day Columbia, then No. 12, which is called Epping. Cobb had attempted to start a settlement there.

409 For the story of the Tudor note, see above, pp. 59–61. There is a lengthy opinion from the pen of James Sullivan on this subject in KP, xli. 57, dated December, 1797, which attempts to show how payment of the Tudor note may be avoided.

410 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 64–69, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

411 The comma is inserted to make evident what I believe to be the correct reading of this sentence.

412 The route of Vaughan’s road would go roughly from Bangor along the Kenduskeag to Garland and then west through Dexter, Harmony, Athens, and Solon to the Kennebec.

413 The present Great Moose Lake in the town of Hartland.

414 This letter is in the same hand, probably that of a clerk’s, as that of John Merrick to Bingham, Hallowell, 13 October 1799. See above, pp. 983–991.

415 Presumably Josiah Quincy.

416 See Flint’s receipt for $2,500 dated New York, 2 April 1793, in BP.

417 Knox had trouble with settlers on the Waldo Patent from time to time. For the most serious outbreak, see R. E. Moody, “Samuel Ely: Forerunner of Shays,” New England Quarterly, v. 117–134. I have not been able to identify the particular piece of rascality referred to here. On this general problem, see also R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 66–73.

418 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 70–72, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

419 This was probably Osgood Carleton’s map, which was published in Sullivan’s District of Maine in 1795. See the reproduction facing page 16.

420 I have not been able to locate the paragraphs referred to.

421 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

422 Hull may have been a member of the family of Captain Samuel Hull of Mount Desert. The only Burr I can discover east of the Penobscot at that time was Perez Burr, who lived in the Passamaquoddy country, and he does not seem a very likely candidate.

423 Beal was apparently one of the men whom Cobb and Richards had induced to reside in one of their “hothouse” settlements. See below, p. 1119, note 1.

424 There are four Gubtails listed in the census of 1790 as living in Gouldsborough. Since none of the first names begin with “n,” this was presumably a son of one of them.

425 Colonel Noah Hall, Thomas Cobb’s father-in-law.

426 Thomas Dennie, merchant, of Boston, sold Cobb and Richards most of their wine. There are several of Dennie’s bills in CP.

427 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

428 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 77–83, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

429 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

430 There is one of these handbills in CP which is reproduced facing page 1077. For the newspaper advertisements, see the Centinel for 13, 20, and 27 September 1800.

431 The present Bingham and Brighton Plantation.

432 This was Moses Barnard, who, with his associates, held four-fifths of the present towns of Cornville and Madison. See M. Greenleaf, Survey of the State of Maine, 413.

433 This road would follow roughly the present Route 147 of Maine.

434 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 86–89, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

435 The present Eddington.

436 This must refer to shares in the Ohio Company. Jackson had known Rufus Putnam in Boston and the “friend” at Marietta may well have been he.

437 On this episode, see Works of John Adams, ix. 239–240.

438 This was the Convention of 1800, by which France dropped the Franco-American alliance while the United States assumed the claims of its citizens against France.

439 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 90–92, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

440 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 93–96, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

441 The letter referred to is William Jones to Cobb, Concord, 20 October 1800, in CP. In it Jones offers to act as Bingham’s agent on the Kennebec tract and to bring some settlers with him.

442 Not identified unless it is a facetious name for a drink.

443 This was Major Alfred Langdon, a tavern keeper and “merchant” in what is now Ellsworth. See A. H. Davis, History of Ellsworth, 25–26.

444 Cobb’s daughter Mary, who was known as Polly.

445 Presumably a reference to A Journey over land to India etc. (London, 1795) by Donald Campbell of Barbreck.

446 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 97–102, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

447 The “Mariaville Frigate” was the facetious name given the boat bringing stores to the settlement. The “great Bonaparte” and the “Scotch friends” were apparently those in charge of the boat. Cobb’s memorandum must have announced that liquor was on board.

448 These were the two men who had contracted to build the mill.

449 Ross was right. In 1809 Peters and Pond brought suit against John Richards. See their appeal of the decision dated February, 1810, in CP.

450 For the Smiths, see above, p. 996, note 2.

451 This reading is not clear. There is a distinct comma after what looks like “Monkies.” It seems to refer to one of Ross’s household pets in any event.

452 This is a reference to the books which Cobb had sent.

453 This may well have been Major Meletiah Jordan, one of the first settlers in Ellsworth.

454 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 103–106, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

455 This document is included as an example of frontier spelling at its finest. I have not been able to identify the author.

456 The proposed road would have followed roughly the route of the Maine Central Railroad as it runs from Calais to Machias today.

457 This may have been Francis Grant, listed in the census of 1790 as living in Sullivan, or one of his family.

458 There is a Thomas Hapworth listed in the census of 1790 as living in Union River.

459 George Brimmer of Ellsworth was agent for Leonard Jarvis.

460 After the Revolution, Timothy Pickering had purchased lands in the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. Now that he had resigned his position as Secretary of State, he was planning to develop his property there. He soon gave this plan up, however, and returned to his native state. See O. Pickering, Life of Timothy Pickering, ii. 247–287; iv. 14–34.

461 For the birth of William Bingham, Jr., see M. L. Brown, “Mr. and Mrs. William Bingham,” Pa. Mag. of Hist, and Biog., lxi. 321.

462 For an account of Mrs. Bingham’s death, see M. L. Brown, “Mr. and Mrs. Bingham,” Pa. Mag. of Hist, and Biog., lxi. 321. For Alexander Baring’s account of these misfortunes, see A. Baring to F. Baring, 29 March and 12 May 1801, in BaP.

463 See Bingham to Cobb, Philadelphia, 8 and 21 June 1801, in CP.

464 This account is printed below, pp. 1128–1138.

465 See W. A. Robinson, Jeffersonian Democracy in New England, especially 42–46.

466 See below, pp. 1142–1143, and pp. 1152–1154.

467 See below, p. 1177.

468 See Cobb’s appointment as Chief Justice, dated 14 June 1803, in CP. There is also in CP an undated draft of Cobb’s acceptance.

469 See the document in CP entitled “Promises of Land in Sundry Towns” sent to Baring and dated Gouldsborough, 15 February 1801.

470 See Cobb to Hare, Castine, 29 June 1803, in CP and below, p. 1163.

471 See John Lee to Cobb, Castine, 2 January 1801, in CP and below, pp. 1154–1155.

472 See John Avery to Cobb, Boston, 28 July 1801, in CP.

473 See G. W. Granger to Cobb, Washington, 18 November 1802, in CP.

474 See Mason Shaw, Jr., to Cobb, Wrentham, 24 August 1801, and Cobb to Mason Shaw, Gouldsborough, 22 September 1801, both in CP.

475 Henry Jackson kept up a fairly regular correspondence, but there is in CP only one letter from Knox and one from Eustis during this period.

476 See Wilde to Cobb, Hallowell, 5 February 1801, and Cobb to Wilde, Gouldsborough, 3 March 1801, both in CP.

477 See Jackson to Cobb, Boston, 15 April 1801, and Cobb to Robert Smith, Secretary of the Navy, Boston, 1 April 1803, requesting his son’s release. Both letters are in CP.

478 See below, p. 1143.

479 See, for example, two letters in CP from Thomas Cobb to Cobb, dated Castine, 24 September and 7 October 1803, which show Thomas active in legal affairs in Hancock County.

480 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 107–102A, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

481 There is a copy of these accounts in CP.

482 For the Trenton case, see above, p. 994.

483 Wilde had been a presidential elector in the election of 1800 and had presumably voted for Adams.

484 Francis Charteris was a famous eighteenth-century criminal in England. He amassed a large fortune through blackmail and other nefarious practices.

485 Henry Dearborn was the leading Jeffersonian politician in Maine.

486 This was Alexander Campbell of Narraguagus, who had been state senator from eastern Maine for many years.

487 James Payson, first physician in what is now Ellsworth. See A. H. Davis, History of Ellsworth, 21.

488 There is a photostatic copy of this letter in William Bingham Letters, 1795–1803, 103A–104A, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. There is a copy of the statement mentioned in this letter in CP. It shows that the agents had “promised” something over 7,000 acres at prices which would total something over $11,000.

489 This was the report that the subject of Bingham’s settling duties had been brought up in the Massachusetts legislature.

490 The original letter is Cony to Cobb, Augusta, 14 March 1801, in CP.

491 The present towns of Hancock, Franklin, Cherryfield, and Columbia.

492 This indicates that Richards must have corresponded regularly with the Hopes. Unfortunately, this letter is the only one of his reports in BaP until a much later period.

493 Sir Lucius O’Trigger was a character in Sheridan’s The Rivals.

494 David Godfrey, the former captain of the packet.

495 This was presumably Quaker Joe Russell, a friend of Cobb’s. See R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 106.

496 This was probably Joseph Barrell of Boston, who had bought a large number of tickets in the land lottery of 1786. See above, p. 712, note 8.

497 The census of 1790 lists an Isaac Farnsworth as living in No. 22, the present Jonesboro, and an Isaac Lovett as living in No. 5, the present Harrington.

498 I believe Beal was one of the settlers at either the Mariaville or the Beddington settlement. The census of 1790 lists two Beals as residing in No. 22 (Jonesboro) and one on Union River.

499 There is a Thomas Bacon listed in the census of 1790 as living in Gouldsborough.

500 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

501 This resolve was passed 19 June 1801.

502 Jackson was placed in a difficult position by this resolve. He had neither the means nor the wish to fulfill the terms of the back tract contract. On the other hand, he feared that he might render himself liable to suit by Bingham if he gave up the contract without the latter’s express direction. Bingham formally renounced all interest in the contract in his letter to Cobb dated Philadelphia, 1 August 1801, in CP. For the final settlement of this business, see below, p. 1223, note 4.

503 KP, xliv. 33.

504 William Cushing, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court, then on circuit duty.

505 Section 25 of the Judiciary Act set forth the conditions under which a suit might be removed from a state to a federal court. In general such a removal could be made when the suit involved the authority of the federal government and the decision in the state court went against that authority.

506 Bingham, as a prominent Federalist, was afraid the Republican majority in Congress might refuse to honor his claim.

507 Bingham later learned that he was wrong in this. See below, p. 1152.

508 This account of the Cabot Suit is taken from the first part of a pamphlet which Bingham had printed sometime during the spring of 1801 to support his claims, and which he speaks of to both Knox and Cobb (see above, pp. 1126 and 1127). The second part of the pamphlet consists of a series of documents which are included to prove the assertions he makes in this account. Since Bingham footnoted his own account very thoroughly, I have simply followed his lead, substituting numbered footnotes for the marginal asterisks and page references of the original. The use of the series of periods is taken from the original and does not indicate ellipsis. The documents printed at the end of this pamphlet will be hereafter cited as Pamphlet Documents.

There is a vast amount of material on this case in BP, including all the originals of the documents which are printed in this pamphlet. I have made no attempt to go behind the pamphlet itself, since Bingham’s account is sufficiently detailed to provide a background for the effect of this suit on the Maine Lands.

There is an excellent account of the Cabot Suit in M. L. Brown, “William Bingham, Agent of the Continental Congress in Martinique,” and “William Bingham, Eighteenth Century Magnate,” Pa. Mag. of Hist. and Biog., lxi. 30–34. and 431432, where numerous additional references are cited.

509 See the bills of lading in Pamphlet Documents, 1. These seem to indicate that there were 1,000 barrels of flour. The cargo was shipped by Denroches and Thompson of Cork to Joao Pedro de Lisboa of Lisbon.

510 See Heilm’s statement sworn before Bingham at Martinique, 17 January 1779, in Pamphlet Documents, 1. Heilm swears that the Hope is a Danish vessel but says nothing about the character of the cargo.

511 The certificate of the Marquis de Bouillé, acknowledging that he ordered the sale of the cargo, is in Pamphlet Documents, 4. It is dated Martinique, 2 October 1779.

512 See Bingham to Secret Committee of Congress, St. Pierres, Martinique, 2 February 1779, Pamphlet Documents, 5.

513 Bingham’s accounts, dated St. Pierre, Martinique, 7 July 1779, are in Pamphlet Documents, 2–3.

514 See Bingham to Secret Committee of Congress, St. Pierres, 2 February 1779, Pamphlet Documents, 5. This letter contains the sense of the quoted statement, but the wording is different.

515 See William Tudor to Bingham, Boston, 22 August 1779, Pamphlet Documents, 7. Tudor was counsel for Thomas Russell, Bingham’s agent in Boston.

516 See Bingham to Secret Committee of Congress, St. Pierres, 6 October 1779, Pamphlet Documents, 5–7, in which he reviews his conduct in the case and asks for help.

517 This resolution directed the Massachusetts legislature to call off the suit until the ownership of the cargo could be determined. See Pamphlet Documents, 8.

518 This letter was part of the resolution cited above. Again the wording of the text is different from that of the document.

519 For this certificate, dated Auditor’s Office, 30 April 1800, and signed by R. Harrison, see Pamphlet Documents, 3.

520 The attachment order, issued by John Jay and dated Boston, 22 January 1793, commanded the Marshal to seize Bingham’s goods up to the value of $20,000. See Pamphlet Documents, 17–18. The date of this order is significant. At this time Bingham was in the midst of his negotiations with the Massachusetts Land Committee and less than a week later was to come to the final agreement. He would then have property in Massachusetts which could be attached.

521 A similar order of same date and issue for the seizure of goods up to $10,000. See Pamphlet Documents, 19–20.

522 This was Bingham’s Memorial to Congress, dated Philadelphia, 6 June 1780, in which he asks Congress to investigate and take action in the matter. See Pamphlet Documents, 8–9.

523 These resolutions are dated 20 June 1780. See Pamphlet Documents, 9–10.

524 This is a slightly altered version of the fourth of the resolutions cited above.

525 The document cited simply states that Bingham is not guilty in the suit of William Carlton vs. Thomas Russell, Trustee of William Bingham. It is undated. See Pamphlet Documents, 21.

526 The decision is in Dallas Reports, iii. 19–42.

527 The owners’ bill to Bingham, dated 8 May 1779, comes to $30,885.53. See Pamphlet Documents, 20. In the court order mentioned above, the owners are given as John Cabot, George Cabot, Joseph Lee, Moses Brown, and Israel Thorndike of Beverly, Joshua Ward and Stephen Cleveland of Salem, Jonathan Jackson of Newburyport, Francis Cabot of George Town, Maryland, and Samuel Cabot of Boston.

528 The vessel was valued by the captors at $4,000. See court order cited above, Pamphlet Documents, 19.

529 This document displays Thomas Russell’s accounting to Bingham for the sale of thirty barrels of West India rum, sold by Russell for Bingham. The account is dated Boston, 26 October 1779. See Pamphlet Documents, 10–11.

530 This document is a similar accounting by William Erskine dated Boston, 8 September 1779. This cargo was made up of sugar and rum. See Pamphlet Documents, 12.

531 This letter, dated Philadelphia, 19 April 1793, is a very full review of the whole case with comments on the pertinent documents. See Pamphlet Documents, 28–31.

532 See James Sullivan and Christopher Gore to Bingham, Boston, 14 June 1794, Pamphlet Documents, 13–14, which reports on this trial.

533 This statement is in the letter cited in footnote 8 above.

534 This statement is in the letter cited in footnote 8 above.

535 See John Lowell, Jr., to Bingham, Boston, [?] January 1793, Pamphlet Documents, 23–24.

536 These accounts, dated 8 November 1779, are in Pamphlet Documents, 25–26.

537 This statement is in the letter cited in footnote 8 above.

538 See Bingham to the Secretary of State, Philadelphia, 31 July 1794, Pamphlet Documents, 16.

539 See William Bradford to Bingham, Philadelphia [?], 7 August 1794, Pamphlet Documents, 16–17.

540 The decision of the Supreme Court, given 2 March 1795, is in Pamphlet Documents, 21–22.

541 See extract from the deposition of John Lowell, Jr., dated Boston, 1 October 1798, Pamphlet Documents, 28.

542 See footnote 8, page 1135.

543 See extract from the letter of Timothy Pickering to John Davis, Philadelphia [?], 1 October 1796, Pamphlet Documents, 31–32.

544 See extract from the letter of Pickering to Davis, Philadelphia [?], 12 September 1797, Pamphlet Documents, 32.

545 See extract from the letter of Pickering to Davis, Philadelphia [?], 12 September 1797, Pamphlet Documents, 32.

546 See extract from the letter of Davis to Pickering, Boston, 2 April 1799, Pamphlet Documents, 32.

547 See Davis to Pickering, Boston, 1 November 1796, Pamphlet Documents, 22, in which Davis asks for instructions on how to proceed with the Bingham case.

548 This was the same Jones who had been in trouble before. See above, p. 959, note 3.

549 Meletiah Jordan, one of the first settlers in what is now Ellsworth.

550 Possibly Jacob Sawyer, a signer of an Ellsworth petition to the General Court in 1808. See A. H. Davis, History of Ellsworth, 70.

551 Ballstown then included the present towns of Jefferson and Whitefield.

552 Presumably Nathaniel Dummer of Hallowell. He had been a judge in the Court of Common Pleas since 1799. See E. H. Nason, Old Hallowell on the Kennebec, 107–110.

553 Daniel Cony.

554 Cobb’s son, George Washington Cobb.

555 Jefferson’s message to Congress of the preceding December.

556 This line is from Donatus’s Life of Vergil.

557 I believe the fourth letter mentioned should read “July 26th.”

558 This road could not have followed a very logical route, for unlike Cobb’s other roads, there is no modern one that follows the same course.

559 The present town of Deblois.

560 This was presumably Cony to Cobb, Augusta, 1 December 1801, in CP. In this letter Cony makes a strong plea for devising some means of giving the settlers their deeds.

561 There is an undated copy of this Memorial in CP. No. 23 is the present Centerville.

562 Apparently this exchange was never made. See the map, made about 1818, facing page 862, on which No. 23 does not appear as part of Bingham’s property.

563 There is in CP a Scire Facias dated Salem, 2 February 1802, ordering Bingham to appear in court and show cause why the judgment should not be executed.

564 I have found no trace of Knox’s reply in either BP or KP. However, in Bingham to Knox, Philadelphia, 23 April 1799, KP, xlii. 76, Bingham discusses the propriety of paying John Davis, even though he is employed by the United States, and says, at one point, “However, I shall take your hint and remit Mr. Davis a handsome fee—entre nous.” This seems to indicate that Knox had suggested greasing Davis’s palm

565 On Bingham’s daughter Maria and her escapades, see M. L. Brown, “Mr. and Mrs. William Bingham,” Pa. Mag. of Hist. and Biog., lxi. 319–320, and S. E. Morison, Harrison Gray Otis, 1. 136–139. See also A. Baring to F. Baring, Philadelphia, 7 May 1799, in BaP.

566 Samuel Thatcher of Warren had been elected a representative to fill the vacancy of Silas Lee. See W. Willis, History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, 225–229.

567 Charles Willing Hare was a prominent Philadephia Federalist who was closely associated with the Bingham and Willing families. When Bingham left for Europe, Hare became his agent. See S. E. Morison, Harrison Gray Otis, 1. 304–306.

568 This was Cobb’s daughter Mary, the grandmother of George Nixon Black, who gave the Cobb Papers to our Society

569 In this letter, in CP, Hare speaks of the coming attachment of the Kennebec lands and urges Cobb to try to obtain a fair appraisal.

570 This letter is also in CP.

571 The present Waltham.

572 Jonathan Mason and Harrison Gray Otis. Mason had had a long career in Massachusetts politics and had been elected United States senator to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Benjamin Goodhue in 1800.

573 This refers to the quarrel over the payment of Tudor’s note. See above, p. 1061.

574 Since this copy of the appraisal was sent to Bingham in England, and since Cobb failed to make a copy for his own records, I have been unable to determine the precise terms. Apparently the lands were appraised at something less than fifty cents per acre.

575 Presumably Edmund Bridge of Wiscasset. See W. Willis, History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, 694–696.

576 I believe this passage to be a very sound analysis of the difficulties and mistakes of Bingham and his fellow speculators in the Maine Lands.

577 This was in connection with the financing of the Louisiana Purchase, which the House of Baring handled. See A. B. Darling, Our Rising Empire, 520. There is one letter in BaP from Alexander Baring to the Hopes dated Washington, 31 October 1803, which reports on the settlement of various accounts with American correspondents and in connection with the Louisiana Purchase.

578 See M. L. Brown, “Mr. and Mrs. William Bingham,” Pa. Mag. of Hist, and Biog., lxi. 323.

579 C. W. Hare’s report to the Bingham Trustees, dated Philadelphia, 1 January 1806, in BP, states that this payment was made.

580 For some of these difficulties, see below, pp. 1197 and 1202. The will was not proved in Kennebec County until 1809. See the copy of the Probate Certificate dated 24 May 1809 in BP.

581 For an account of the Bingham Trust see M. L. Brown, “Mr. and Mrs. William Bingham,” Pa. Mag. of Hist, and Biog., lxi. 323–324.

582 For these terms, see the original contract, printed above, pp. 47–53. The settlers had to be spread over the two tracts and a certain number were supposed to be placed on the lands each year after 1796 until the 2,500 had been located by 1803. See the sixteen original deeds in BP.

583 For a discussion of this political development, see W. A. Robinson, Jeffersonian Democracy in New England, 42–47. See also below, pp. 1189–1190 and 1193–1194.

584 Robert Hallowell Gardiner tells a story which illustrates Cobb’s outspokenness. In the course of a heated political discussion with William King, Cobb said, “If you get into power I suppose you will hang all of us Federalists, and (with an oath), if we gain the election, we will hang you.” A few days later a Jeffersonian newspaper announced that a leading Federalist had promised to hang the opposition should the Federalist Party win the election. See R. H. Gardiner, Early Recollections, 107.

585 See W. A. Robinson, Jeffersonian Democracy in New England, 44.

586 See below, pp. 1181–1184.

587 See, for example, Cony to Cobb, Augusta, 31 December 1804, in CP.

588 These proposals are included as among the few examples in writing of actual offers to purchase land. Nehemiah Bosson was doubtless a member of the Bosson family mentioned in F. S. Drake, Town of Roxbury, 154, 167.

589 Cobb must have simply been putting Bosson off, for in a letter to Hare dated Gouldsborough, 20 October 1804, in CP, Cobb speaks of Bosson as a cheat.

590 The three letters mentioned are all in CP. In Hare’s letters he asks Cobb to review the state of the Maine property and also to give advice on how best to handle those who, like Knox and the heirs of Royal Flint, had claims on the estate. Cobb’s reply, among other things, urges Hare to go slowly with Knox, since the latter’s influence would be helpful in connection with effecting a settlement with the Massachusetts legislature in connection with the settling duties.

591 When Cony’s accounts were finally submitted, the total came to $705.17. See Cony to Cobb, Augusta, 31 December 1804, in CP.

592 For the settlement of these claims, see above, p. 384, and below, pp. 1215, 1223–1224.

593 These accounts are in CP, dated 3 December 1804. For the general expenses of the concern, see Appendix G.

594 This probably refers to a letter of the same date addressed to Cobb which is in CP. In this letter Hare urges the preparation of a Memorial to the Massachusetts legislature on the subject of the settling duties.

595 This presumably refers to the document printed immediately after this one, though there may have been several other drafts as well.

596 Richards had taken his wife on a visit to his family in England during the summer of 1804.

597 This draft was probably that prepared by John Richards, though it may have been a later revision. Neither this document nor a copy of it in CP is dated.

598 For Benjamin Walker’s connection with the speculation, see above, pp. 155–157.

599 Actually the Jeffersonians did not win full control in Massachusetts until 1807.

600 Since both Jackson and Knox had claims on the estate, Hare had to move in a very circumspect manner if he were to win their support with the legislature and at the same time reach a satisfactory settlement with each.

601 This probably refers to the proposals of Nehemiah Bosson printed above, pp. 1177–1181.

602 This letter is in CP. In it Hare outlines his plans for petitioning the legislature and suggests requesting that the trustees be allowed to spend the settling duty fines on internal improvements.

603 This may have been a reference to the so-called Pejepscot proprietors who were in the same position as the Bingham Trustees as regards settling duties. See W. A. Robinson, Jeffersonian Democracy in New England, 44.

604 This was Israel Thorndike, who had directed the campaign of the Cabots in their suit against Bingham. See J. D. Forbes, Israel Thorndike, Federalist Financier (New York, 1953). There is no mention of the Bingham suit in this book, however.

605 William King, later the first governor of Maine.

606 This was Daniel Davis, first of Portland and later of Boston. See W. Willis, History of the Law, Courts, and Lawyers of Maine, 111–116.

607 Cobb had gone to Philadelphia in March, 1806, as planned, to discuss the affairs of the concern with the trustees.

608 This settlement was successfully arranged the following summer. Knox’s release, dated 25 July 1806, is in BP.

609 This probably refers to the old question of the Tudor note. See above, pp. 59–61 and 1061.

610 There is in BP an undated power of attorney to Cobb and Richards to sell land east of the Penobscot “jointly but not severally.”

611 When Bingham first made his agreement with Baring, it was understood by both parties that an active campaign to sell land to settlers would be jointly undertaken. It was obviously to Cobb’s advantage to perpetuate this program, for if it were given up, he would probably lose his job.

612 For Bingham’s original contract with Cobb, see above, pp. 501–503.

613 Except for the signatures, this letter is in the hand of a clerk.

614 This letter, in CP, asks for information on the progress of the petition.

615 For the matter of Walker’s bond, see above, p. 157.

616 Though the Federalist candidate for governor, Caleb Strong, had been elected in 1806, the Jeffersonians had won control of the legislature.

617 These two letters are in CP and deal with a proposed trip to Boston by Hare.

618 This document is included as another example of the type of problem which a land agent was continually facing. There is a Benjamin Kimball listed in the census of 1790 as living in Bridgton.

619 I have not been able to identify Mr. Allen of Gray.

620 There are five Ingallses listed as living in Bridgton in the census of 1790, none of whom is named Samuel. This is undoubtedly the son of one of them.

621 There are likewise several Kimballs listed in Bridgton but no Joseph. Again he must have been of the next generation.

622 The field notes of these surveys, transmitted by Daniel Cony in December, 1806, are in CP.

623 See, for example, the Centinel of 26 July and 6 and 16 August 1806.

624 The Waite family was a prominent one in Portland. See W. Willis, History of Portland, 850–852.

625 Presumably James Madison Broom, at this time a member of Congress from Delaware.

626 William Cramond went bankrupt in 1804 and resigned his trusteeship at that time. See below, pp. 1242, 1243.

627 This may have been the Philadelphia financier David Parish, who was an associate of Hare’s. See S. E. Morison, Otis, ii. 66–67, 71–74. There is in BP a letter from Parish to Hare, dated Philadelphia [?], 23 May 1812, which deals with William Jackson’s suit against the Bingham Trustees.

628 See below, p. 1215.

629 Jerome Bonaparte had previously seen a good deal of duty with the French navy in the Caribbean. Though his marriage to Elizabeth Patterson of Baltimore had temporarily displeased his brother, the Emperor, by 1805 he had been allowed to return to France and had been given command of the squadron mentioned above.

630 This was Alleyne Otis, then ten years old. See S. E. Morison, Otis, 1. 238, note 3.

631 Mrs. Smith was Cobb’s daughter Betsy, who had married Ebenezer Smith. When her husband died, she came to live with Cobb and after the death of Cobb’s wife in 1808, Sister Smith, as she was known in the family, became Cobb’s housekeeper. See Historical Researches of Gouldsborough, Maine, 26.

632 This was Stephen Jones, Jr., the son of Stephen Jones of Machias and Richards’s brother-in-law. Shortly after this period, he and Richards established a mercantile partnership in Boston.

633 Not identified. The nearest to Widdington that I have been able to find is Captain Ebenezer Withington, mentioned several times in History of the Town of Dorchester (Boston, 1859), written by a committee of the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society. See also Vital Records of the Town of Dorchester, 1826 to 1840, 288.

634 For an account of this affair, see J. Winsor, Memorial History of Boston, iv. 587–588.

635 Miranda had fitted out a filibustering expedition to attack the Spanish in Venezuela and had received tacit support from the British government. See W. S. Robertson, Life of Miranda, 1. 293–327. Captain Whitby was commanding officer of the British ship Leander, a shot from which had accidentally killed an American aboard a vessel the Leander had ordered to stop for visit and search. For this, Whitby was indicted for murder by a New York grand jury. See H. Adams, History of the United States of America during the Second Administration of Thomas Jefferson, 1. 199–200.

636 This letter is included as another example of the headaches of a land agent. Gowen Wilson was a selectman of Columbia. See L. Leighton, Centennial Historical Sketch of the Town of Columbia (Machias, 1896), 9, 27.

637 A John Laurence and a John Laurence, Jr., are both listed in the census of 1790 as living in what was then No. 11, later Cherryfield.

638 A William and a Joseph Tupper are listed in the census of 1790 as living in No. 22, the present Jonesboro.

639 There is a John Archer listed in the census of 1790 as living in No. 13, now Columbia Falls.

640 There is a John Jordain listed in the census of 1790 as living in what later became Cherryfield.

641 For Otis’s earlier connection with the speculation, see above, p. 171.

642 This letter is in the Otis Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

643 See Resolves of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1807, 12–13.

644 There is in BP a series of annual reports by Hare and others to the trustees. This section, dealing with the Maine property, has been lifted from the very lengthy report for 1807.

645 This was Winthrop Sargent, first governor of the Mississippi Territory.

646 See below, p. 1220.

647 The first deed for the Penobscot tract was properly recorded in 1794, but as the original deeds in BP show, all the rest were neglected on this score. Cobb had the other seven which were not in escrow recorded in 1806. As a result of this settlement, the remaining half of the deeds were lifted from escrow and recorded during the summer of 1807.

648 This letter is in the Otis Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

649 This letter is in the Otis Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

650 A copy of this bond, dated 1 June 1807, is in the Otis Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society.

651 This contract, also dated 1 June 1807, is in the Otis Papers.

652 A copy of this bond, dated 1 June 1807, is in the Otis Papers. Apparently King, at the last minute, tried to get a $4,000 deduction because of the contracts already made by Cobb and Richards to sell lands in these three townships. Hare thought this was outrageous, but left the matter up to Otis. I have found no evidence to indicate that any deduction was made. See Hare to Otis, Philadelphia, 8 June and 22 June 1807 in Otis Papers.

The three men who had held the deeds in escrow also wanted a cut. Otis suggested they each be given a piece of plate, but Hare thought that “would perhaps wear too much the aspect of a present” and suggested giving them about $200 apiece. See Hare to Otis, Philadelphia, 8 June 1807, in Otis Papers.

653 See W. Allen, “Bingham Land,” 1 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc, vii. 357.

654 See Otis to Hare, Boston [?], 28 July 1809, in Otis Papers. See also an undated letter from Richards to Cobb in CP.

655 See Hare to Otis, Philadelphia, 11 October 1809, in Otis Papers.

656 For a general account of this transaction, see W. Allen, “Bingham Land,” 1 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc, vii. 355–358. This article is so full of inaccuracies that it must be used with caution, but since Allen must have obtained his information on the 1807 settlement from either Otis or King or both, I believe the cited part of the article to be substantially correct.

For Alexander Baring’s summary of the settlement, see below, pp. 1240–1242.

657 There is a good deal of material on Otis’s attempts to develop his Kennebec property in the Otis Papers.

658 There is a very interesting series of letters from Richards to John Hare Powel in BP written in 1819 and 1820, at the time of the separation movement, which indicate that Richards successfully influenced King and the first Maine legislature to keep the valuation of wild lands low. See, for example, his letter dated Boston, 28 March 1820, in which he speaks of the coming assembly of the “Wise Men of the East” and adds that he has “got at the names of all whose noisy mouths should be silenced—the only question will be whether the price of molasses to sweeten the sop may not be too high.” See also his letter dated Boston, 15 December 1819, in which he reports a conversation with the “great man of Maine” and a program designed to limit the value placed on wild lands.

659 See the draft of a power of attorney to Otis and Richards to sell lands on the Kennebec dated March, 1807. This draft is in BP. There is another copy, somewhat different in form, in Otis Papers.

660 See Hare’s report to the trustees, above, p. 1217.

661 The full records of this sale are in BP. The township in question was No. 3, first range, on the east side of the river, and was sold to James Bridge, Reuel Williams, Daniel and Samuel Cony at one dollar per acre. The purchasers were given ten years to pay. See the account of this sale, dated Boston, 27 August 1807, in BP. Otis and Richards, who effected the sale, got a five per cent commission. There are also the four mortgages which the purchasers gave to Hare and Thomas Mayne Willing, dated 19 August 1807, and copies of the original deed dated 20 June 1807, in BP. When the ten years were up and the purchasers had been unable to pay, they reconveyed the township to the trustees in return for their mortgages. See Deed of Release, dated 19 July 1817, in BP. The township in question is the present Wellington.

662 A copy of the deed to Tilden, dated 24 February 1810, conveying No. 3 3 and part of No. 20 at one dollar per acre is in BP.

663 See above, p. 1215.

664 Henry Jackson’s release, dated 1 September 1807, and witnessed by Harrison Gray and Eliza G. Otis, is in BP. Jackson was probably the more willing to come to an agreement with the trustees because he had finally been able to close out his long and disagreeable connection with the “back tract” contract. For this contract see above, pp. 59–61 and 559–561. In 1801 the Massachusetts Attorney General had been ordered to bring suit against Jackson for not having carried out the terms of this contract. In addition, Jackson had been obliged to pay his note to Tudor and had not been reimbursed by Bingham. See above, pp. 1120 and 1061. Finally, in a Resolve of 9 March 1804, the General Court ordered the Attorney General to drop the suit, and agreed to pay Jackson $2,800 plus interest since 1793 if he would cancel the contract. The fact that William Tudor was chairman of the joint committee which made this recommendation to the legislature suggests that he, having been paid what was due him by Jackson, was now willing to use his influence to help Jackson get out of this entanglement.

665 This settlement between the trustees and the assignees of Royal Flint, dated 10 March 1810, is in BP. Flint had made his claim over to Melancton Smith of New York on 11 April 1792. Smith’s heirs, his son, and John Bleecker, received $12,000 in return for a full release.

666 For the settlement with Major Jackson, see above, pp. 376–384. In a letter to Cobb dated Philadelphia, 6 September 1809, Hare asked Cobb to review the story of his agency for use in connection with Major Jackson’s suit against the trustees. This letter is in CP.

667 In the sale to Tilden, for example, three lottery prizes were reserved. For the information that lottery tickets form the basis of titles in eastern Maine today, I am indebted to the Registrar of Deeds for Washington County.

668 See Hare’s report to the Trustees, above, p. 1217.

669 See below, p. 1230.

670 Most of the correspondence between Cobb and Hare and Cobb and Samuel Milligan, who handled Hare’s affairs in Philadelphia during his absence, for the years 1815 and 1816 deals with tax problems. These letters are in CP.

671 A copy of Cobb’s petition to the legislature is in a letter from him to Hare dated Boston, 19 January 1818, in CP. The legislature’s action is in a Resolve of 17 February 1818.

672 See the map facing page 862 for the proposed division. Apparently this division was never put into effect. See also Appendix H.

673 See below, p. 1231.

674 See the Eastern Argus for 8 and 22 March and 5 April 1810. For these and other newspaper references below in this chapter, I am indebted to my friend Robert E. Moody.

675 See Eastern Argus for 15 March 1810.

676 See Eastern Argus for 22 March 1810.

677 There are few items in CP for the years 1812–1814. Most of them consist of appeals from various towns for more defense and requests for additional JP’s.

678 See J. W. Porter, “General David Cobb of Gouldsborough, Maine,” 2 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc, vi. 4–5.

679 Richards remained a faithful correspondent, however, and also became the merchant in Boston with whom Cobb did a good part of his business during these last years. See the letters and accounts of Richards and Cobb in CP from 1807 to 1820.

680 Wilde, as a good Federalist, viewed the progress of the Republicans in Maine and Massachusetts with alarm. See, for example, Wilde to Cobb, Hallowell, 26 April 1810, in CP. When Maine separated from Massachusetts, Wilde moved to Newburyport, presumably to keep his judgeship in the Massachusetts judicial system.

681 See H. Cobb to Cobb, New York, 13 July, 1811, in CP, where Henry speaks of leaving on a ship for Chile. See also H. C. Swan to Cobb, New York, 23 December 1810, in CP, which gives a good report of Henry as mate aboard ship.

682 Black must have moved to Ellsworth sometime between 1809 and 1811. His fourth child, Elizabeth, was born in Gouldsborough in August, 1809; his fifth child, William, was born in Ellsworth in October, 1811. See A. H. Davis, History of Ellsworth, Maine, 33–34, which also says that Black succeeded Donald Ross, who resigned in 1810, ibid., 32. Since evidence in CP indicates that Ross died either in 1804 or early 1805, this statement must be in error. See G. Hurbert to Cobb, Surry, 26 January 1805, in CP, in which Hurbert asks Cobb for help in settling Mr. Ross’s estate.

683 The earliest letter in CP from Bangor is Thomas Cobb to Cobb, 19 October 1818.

684 Jackson tried very hard to get Cobb to spent the winter with him after the death of Cobb’s wife. See Jackson to Cobb, Boston, 24 December 1807 and 8 January 1808, in CP.

685 There is a good deal of material in BP on Otis’s attempt to develop the Kennebec tract. See especially H. G. Otis, Jr., to Hare, Boston, 12 October 1817, a long report on the condition of the property. Otis also sent Hare a detailed list of the settlers on the Kennebec tract and their holdings.

686 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

687 The present Mariaville and Amherst.

688 The present Eastbrook.

689 This document is included as an example of the difficulties encountered in connection with the establishment of an effective judicial system in a new country. Elisha Cousins was one of the leading men on Mount Desert. See George A. Street, Mount Desert, 154, and note 1 on the same page.

690 Both these letters are in CP. They both request Cobb to give a history of his agency for use in connection with Major Jackson’s suit against the trustees.

691 The present Greenfield and Summit.

692 There is in BP a copy of a deed to Tilden dated I June 1809 conveying Township No. 32 and part of Township No. 33. Tilden was apparently dissatisfied with this purchase for the next year a new deed was made out conveying all of Township No. 33 and part of Township No. 20. See above, p. 1223, note 2. Joseph Tilden is listed as a merchant in the Boston Directory for 1809.

693 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

694 The Sunkhaze enters the Penobscot just above Old Town. The three last-mentioned settlements were in Deblois and Beddington, in Alexander and Princeton, and in Baring and Baileyville.

695 That is, as far as the present Beddington.

696 Osborn Plantation and Aurora. Townships Nos. 22 and 28 are still unincorporated.

697 All but the signature of this letter is in the hand of a clerk.

698 This is a reference to the attacks made by the Republicans on large landholders.

699 There is in CP a letter from Richards to Cobb dated London, 24 November 1810, in which Richards speaks of his passage to England and his stay there.

700 Richards had presumably been in England since 1810. Apparently he returned to Boston as planned, despite the outbreak of war. The fact that he could be appointed a trustee for the European partners (see below in this letter) indicates that he must have become an American citizen, despite his earlier distaste for such a move. See above, p. 656.

701 Richards had also gone abroad in 1804. What is here called the “first” agreement must have been drawn up then. Actually the first agreement was negotiated in 1797 (see above, p. 887, note 2) and the one of 1804 was the second.

702 These accounts, dated 30 June 1812, and covering the period from 1804 to 1812, are in BaP. Including Richards’s salary, his advance of £5,000 and a £2,000 charge for the settlement with Massachusetts in 1807, the total expenses come to a little over £17,000. Something over £2,000 had been received from Richards and Black.

703 Sir Francis Baring had divided his quarter share in the English half of the Penobscot tract between his eldest son, Thomas, and his partner, Charles Wall.

704 See above, pp. 1212–1222.

705 The Bingham trustees would be glad to put a low valuation on the three townships, for by so doing it would appear that they had saved a great deal of money in the settlement with Massachusetts.

706 Richards takes the date of the final settlement when the trusteeship was established on 1 June 1797. See above, p. 675.

707 This was presumably the sale to Joseph Tilden. See above, p. 1223.

708 The questionable readings are the result of the letter’s being badly torn in one place.

709 There is an almost identical copy of this letter in CP.

710 Bingham was incorporated in 1812, Moscow and Kingfield in 1816. Cobb is probably referring to the latter two.

711 This letter, dated Boston, 11 April 1816, is in CP.

712 Cobb did succeed in getting this sum reduced. See above, p. 1225.

713 This letter is in CP. In it Cobb reviewed the state of the concern after the war, enclosed his accounts, and requested a loan.

714 See above, p. 1225, note 2.

715 The accounts printed in the Resolve indicate that the saving was nearer $250.

716 John Hare, brother of Charles Hare, had been adopted by his aunt, Mrs. Samuel Powel, and had taken her name. The Powel family was a prominent one in Philadelphia. See J. W. Jordan, Colonial Families of Philadelphia, i. 112.

717 See Powel to Cobb, Philadelphia, 31 May 1819, and Hallowell, 7 August 1819, both in CP.

718 See Powel to Cobb, Philadelphia, 20 September 1820, in CP. There is a lengthy correspondence in BP between Powel and Richards on the subject of this reorganization.

719 See Richards to Powel, Boston, 29 December 1820, in BP.

720 Cobb to Powel, Gouldsborough, 26 July 1820, in BP.

721 See Wilde to Cobb, Newburyport, 19 April 1821, in CP.

722 See, for example, Thomas Cobb to Cobb, Bangor, 1 March 1821, in CP.

723 He may possibly have been cheered by a gift of liquor from a club in Boston of which he had formerly been a member. See W. Sullivan to Cobb, Boston, 1 August 1820, in CP.

724 See T. Pickering to Cobb, Salem, 24 October 1825, in CP. The original of Cobb’s reply is printed in O. Pickering, Life of Timothy Pickering, i. 431–433. See above, p. 441. There is a copy in CP.

725 See a printed claim form in CP dated 17 July 1828. Cobb was to receive the pay of a captain of artillery.

726 See J. W. Porter, “General David Cobb of Gouldsborough, Maine,” 2 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc, vi. 5.

727 Quoted from Thomas Cobb to Cobb, Castine, 5 September 1828, in CP.

728 See P. D. Evans, “The Pulteney Purchase,” New York Historical Association Quarterly Journal, iii, 102–103.

729 Ibid., 99. For further evidence on this point see also Evans, Holland Land Company, passim.

730 See Baring’s “Observations on Maine Lands,” above, pp. 734–740.

731 See above, pp. 1167–1168.

732 For Black’s operations, see R. G. Wood, History of Lumbering in Maine, 1820–1861, University of Maine Studies, 2nd Series, No. 33, passim. See also W. Allen, “Bingham Land,” 1 Coll. Me. Hist. Soc, 358–360. Allen says that Black was able eventually to indemnify the Bingham estate “for the first cost and interest, forty-two years, and to refund all moneys paid for taxes and agencies, and Colonel Black’s fees.” In the absence of documentation, I should like to question the above statement, especially the part about the interest. For a statement of sales on the Penobscot tract through 1835, see John Black’s accounts in BaP. These indicate that close to one and one half million dollars worth of land had been sold by 1835, most of it during the land boom of that year, and that about $500,000 had actually been remitted. I have not been able to discover how much of the rest was ever collected.

At about the same time Black reported selling 250,000 acres on the Kennebec, some at three dollars an acre. See R. G. Wood, Lumbering in Maine, Univ. of Me. Studies, 2nd Ser., No. 33, 75. Again it is difficult to determine how much of this and his other sales on the Kennebec was collected, especially in view of the panic which followed this boom so closely.

My guess is that the Bingham Estate got back the initial investment and disbursements for improvements and probably got some more or less regular income from the property after 1835. As to the accumulated interest from 1793 to 1835, which would have been well over a million dollars, I am in doubt. If Allen’s statement is correct, the money must have been made from the Kennebec, rather than the Penobscot, tract.

733 The only biographical material on Colonel Black that I have discovered is the short article in Bangor Historical Magazine, iv. 61–65. There is some additional genealogical material on the Black family in A. H. Davis, History of Ellsworth, 32–35. See the portrait of Black reproduced facing page 906.

734 For a different estimate of this obligation, see above, p. 684, note 1.