The First Chief Justice of Maine's Supreme Court - 52 Ancestors #42

"PrentissMellen" by John Brewster, Jr. -
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Licensed under Public Domain via Commons

The first Chief Justice of the Maine State Supreme Court was my 1st cousin, 7X removed.

Prentiss Mellen, son of Rev. John & Rebecca (Prentiss) Mellen, was born on October 11, 1764, in Sterling, Massachusetts. He attended Harvard College with his brother, Henry, from 1780-1784. After graduating from Harvard, he worked as a tutor and studied law with Shearjashub Bourne. He was admitted to the bar at Taunton in October 1788 and practiced in Sterling and Bridgewater, Massachusetts. However, he was still struggling to find his place. In July 1792, he moved to Biddeford, Maine and began his rise through the ranks of Maine's top lawyers, eventually settling in Portland and joining an active group of lawyers.


The Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the Nineteenth Century states that:
      When pleading at the bar, Mr. Mellon was fervid and impassioned. His countenance gleamed with bright intelligence. His intuitions were quick, and of necessity not always accurate...His client's cause he made his own. He never forgot or neglected it, nor failed to avail himself of an antagonist's errors or weakness to achieve a victory. His musical voice, tall and imposing appearance, and fascinating manner were all elements of professional power that he well knew how to utilize.

In addition to his work as a lawyer, Prentiss Mellen was involved in the political arena. He served on the Executive Council of Massachusetts in 1808, 1809, and 1817. In 1817, he was also Elector-at-Large to the Electoral College. He was a Representative from Massachusetts from 1817-1820. In 1820, he was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice until October 1834 when he was constitutionally forced to retire at the age of 70.

"Official medallion of the British Anti-Slavery Society (1795)"
 by Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) and either William Hackwood or Henry Webber;
Licensed under Public Domain via Commons 

In 1833, he became the president of the newly formed abolitionist society of Portland. The vice-presidents were Samuel Fessenden and Rev. Gershom Cox.

Prentiss wasn't done, though. In 1838, the Governor of Maine appointed him to be the chairman of the committee overseeing the revision and codification of state laws. This work produced 178 chapters under twelve titles. Once adopted by the Maine Legislature, it became the first volume of the Revised Statutes.


Again The Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the Nineteenth Century gives a glimpse into his character.

     Deeply religious, devoutly attendant upon public worship, faithful, and conscientious in the performance of every duty, and true in every relation of life; of cheerful and gay temperament, overflowing with wit and anecdote, social and benevolent - he was a welcome guest in every company, and one of the brightest ornaments of the society in which he lived. Possessed of vivid imagination and nice literary taste, he himself cultivated a seidisant acquaintance with the muses. Poetry, or rather rhyming, was the sport of leisure hours to the very evening of his life...Judge Mellen met death with all the composure that might have been expected from one of his sincere faith and firm religious principles. Perfectly submissive to the Divine will, he was wishful to depart, and yet content to stay. When the silver cord was at last loosened, the golden bowl broken at the cistern, his spirit triumphantly ascended to its celestial home.

Prentiss Mellen married Sarah "Sally" Hudson in May 1795 and they had six children.

Children of Prentiss & Sally :

1. Caroline A. was born on February 24, 1796, and died on August 25, 1800.
2. Augusta S. was born on December 27, 1797.
3. Grenville was born on June 19, 1799, and died on September 5, 1841. He was a lawyer and a poet. He married Mary Southgate. 
4. Caroline M. was born on March 26, 1801. 
5. Sally S. was born on January 14, 1803, and died in 1874. She married Nicholas Gilman. 
6. Frederick was born on December 3, 1804, and died in 1834. He was a graduate of Bowdoin College and practiced law. 

Sally (Hudson) Mellen died on September 10, 1838. Prentiss Mellen died on December 31, 1840. They are buried in Western Cemetery in Portland, Maine. His Findagrave Memorial

Henry & Abigail (Pratt) Mellen
Thomas Mellen - brother of Rev. John Mellen, uncle of Prentiss Mellen
Mehitable (Mellen) Freeland
Frances (Freeland) Carter
Elias Mellen Carter
Augustus Mellen Carter
Edward Mellen Carter
T. Richard Carter - my grandfather

Sources:
Findagrave.com
Wikipedia
Biographical Encyclopedia of Maine of the Nineteenth Century. Boston: Metropolitan Pub. and Engraving, 1885. print. Accessed on Internet Archive, 25 Oct. 2015.

Dressed To Impress? - 52 Ancestors #17

Only the wealthiest were allowed
to have gold buckles or buttons

This week's optional 52 Ancestors theme is "prosper" so I thought it appropriate to talk about the case of Agnes Knight who was not thought to be wealthy enough to warrant her wearing a silk hood. Well, apparently her family had prospered in the New World as her husband's good friend testified in his letter to the justices of Salem.


In her book, Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival and Freedom in the New World, Dorothy Mays discusses the sumptuary laws of colonial Massachusetts. These laws banned the wearing of gold or silver lace or buttons, ribbons, silk hoods, and other "fancy" items. Only the most wealthy of colonists were exempt from these laws. Even the very wealthy were banned from long wigs or flowing shirt sleeves. Mays outlines some historical precedents for these laws and notes that many Governor John Winthrop even spoke to colonists about the need to keep adornments in the home to a minimum because such displays caused others to feel bad about themselves.

In 1653 the wife of Deacon Knight (Agnes, wife of Richard), was summoned to court for wearing a silk hood. This troubled him exceedingly, and in his behalf his friend, Mr. Edward Rawson wrote to one of the justices at Salem the following note:

Honorable Sir, 
An honest godly man, a friend of mine in Newbury, whose name is Richard Knight, whether of ignorance or wilfulness by some neighbour is presented for his wife's wearing of a silk hood, supposing he has not been worth two hundred pounds. It being grievance to him, who is advanced (in years) to be summoned to court, that never useth to trouble any, at his request I thought fit to inform you on my owne knowledge of his estate is better worth than three hundred, and therefore I desire you would, as you may, forbeare, in your warrant to insert his name, in it, it may be; if not, at least that you would take private satisfaction of him in your chamber, which he can easily give you, or any, in a moment. Not else at present but my service to you and Mr. Symon Bradstreet. 
Yours friend and servant, 
Edward Rawson
Now at Newbury, the fourteenth of August, 1653 

Agnes Knight was my 10th great-grandmother.

Richard & Agnes (__) Knight
Anna Knight
Elizabeth Jaques
Henry Knight
Eunice Knight
Hannah Sawyer
Catherine Hilton
Loann Churchill
Anna J. Rowe
Eva D. Hayes
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Massachusetts Sumptuary Laws Women of Early America by Dorothy A. Mays, 2004

In Genealogy Heaven - NERGC 2015 - Day 2

Today was another whirlwind day at NERGC in Providence.

Creating Maine Towns

I started my day with a great presentation, "Creating Maine Towns: How the Wilderness was Tamed" and was so impressed with the dynamic speaker, Carol Prescott McCoy, that I went to see another of her presentations in the afternoon. She talked about all my favorite places, like Sudbury, Canada, which isn't really Canada at all but Bethel, Maine and New Marblehead, which is now the town of Windham, Maine, where I live and teach. She even referenced my ancestor, William Cotton of Woodstock. Carol lives in Brunswick and has a genealogy business called Find Your Roots.

The second presentation was a fascinating case study where she outlined her process in trying to identify the mother of Mary Drummond.  Mary's father was quite easy to find, but her mother is a bit of a riddle. Thomas Drummond was an escaped slave who became a clothes dresser (tailor) and town crier in New Bedford, Massachusetts. His story is pretty fascinating as he came to own about $1500 worth of property, a sizable amount for any person in the early 19th century, much less a person of color. He was married twice and the second marriage took place just before or just after his daughter, Mary's birth. The records are conflicting, but the story is really interesting. 

In between Carol McCoy's presentations, I went to see Judy Russell's presentation on Women & the Law and although I thought I knew quite a bit about the topic, I definitely learned a lot more. As usual, she had really great examples to illustrate her points. I also went to see Diane Gravel's presentation, "Women in the World of Piracy". 

Of course, there was also all the networking, meeting new people, checking out exhibitors, and visiting with my favorite geneabloggers. By the end of each day, my brain is full! 

Matrilineal Monday - A Colonial Dress Code

A few times I have come across court records stating a female ancestor was hauled into court for wearing silk or lace so I knew there was some law in Massachusetts that restricted what certain women were allowed to wear. I have listed my connections below. I found that a sumptuary law was passed in Massachusetts in 1651. According to About.com, such laws can be found as far back in history as ancient Greece and Rome. In fact, I had heard of them, i.e. the restriction of purple cloth to royalty, but I didn't know what they were called or that these laws extended to other time periods. The purpose of the laws throughout history seems to be linked to the fear that excessive spending was morally wrong and flaunting one's wealth could be morally corrupting. It may have also been used to force the average person to buy locally and thereby enrich the local economy. 

The full text of the Massachusetts law can be found here. The gist of it is that the Puritan leaders were upset by the "intolerable excess...especially among people of mean condition." They decided to make issue a reminder to be "sober and moderate" and express their "utter detestation and dislike that men and women of mean condition should take upon them the garb gentlemen by wearing gold or silver lace, or buttons, or points at their knees, or to walk in great boots; or women of the same rank to wear silk or tiffany hoods, or scarves which, though allowable to persons of greater estates or more liberal education, we cannot but judge it intolerable..." 

The standard of wealth sufficient to be allowed to wear such finery?  An estate valued at or above £200.  Today, that would be about $304 using a direct exchange rate but Economic Heritage has a series of interesting calculators. Perhaps the simplest is the real value of commodities which gives a modern equivalent of £23,200 or $35374. 

Who got to be the fashion police? The selectmen of the town were "required" to "take notice of the apparel of the inhabitants.." and "whosoever they shall judge to exceed their ranks and abilities in costliness or fashion of their apparel in any respect, expecially in the wearing of ribbons or great boots (leather being so scarce a commodity in this country) lace, points, etc..." 

And the icing on the cake? 
"...this law shall not extend to the restraint of any magistrate or public officer of this jurisdiction, their wives and children, who are left to their discretion in wearing of apparel, or any settled militia officer or soldier in the time of military service, or any other whose education and employment have been above the ordinary degree, or whose estate have been considerable, though now decayed." 

So when you go to get dressed today, remember...

From Ancestral Lines From Maine to Virginia, by Carl Boyer, page 132:
"Nicholas Noyes' wife, Hugh March's wife, and William Chandler's wife were each presented for wearing a silk hood and scarf; but were discharged on proof that their husbands were worth two hundred pounds each. John Hutchins' wife was also discharged upon testifying that she was brought up above the ordinary rank."

Nicholas Noyes' wife, Mary Cutting, is my 11th great-grandmother.
Hugh March's wife, Judith is my 8th great-grandmother

While I have a William Chandler in my line, this refers to Mary (Fowler) Chandler and I am not related to her.
Frances Alcock was the wife of John Hutchins. She was later accused and arrested during the Salem Witchcraft hysteria and released on bond as the hysteria was dying down in December 1692. The use of spectral evidence had been ruled inadmissible and in January 1693, 49 of the 52 surviving prisoners were released. Love, the daughter of John & Frances, married my 9th great-granduncle, Capt. Samuel Sherborn.

Noyes Line:
Nicholas & Mary (Cutting) Noyes
Peter & Hannah (Noyes) Cheney
John & Mary (Chute) Cheney
Edmund & Mary (Plummer) Cheney
Edmund & Susanna (Middleton) Cheney
Stephen & Mehitable (Cheney) Blaisdell
William & Susannah (Blaisdell) Rowe
Stephen & Elizabeth (Hilton) Rowe
Charles & Loann (Churchill) Rowe
George & Anna (Rowe) Hayes
Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

March Line:
Hugh & Judith March
George & Mary (Folsom) March
Humphrey & Sarah (March) Deering
Ebenezer & Elizabeth (Deering) Emmons
Eliakim & Molly (Wildes) Emmons
Jacob & Sarah (Shepard) Emmons
Gilbert & Laura (Emmons) Yates
Estes & Eva (Hayes) Yates - see above

Sherburne/Sherborn Connections: Sisters of Capt. Samuel, who married Love Hutchins
Elizabeth (Sherburne) Langdon - 10th great-grandmother traces to Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother
Ruth (Sherburne) Moses - 9th great-grandmother traces to Linona Alice Yates