A Fresh Start - 52 Ancestors #1

Amy Johnson Crow is restarting her 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge for the New Year. This time she will provide some prompts for blog ideas. I will start off trying to use the prompts but if it becomes too burdensome to find an ancestor who fits, I'll venture off on my own tangent. I know the 52 in 52 aspect got me really back into blogging when I was flagging a bit last year. I finished with the same number of posts as the previous two years.

So prompt #1 is called "Fresh Start" and it took me a bit to find my inspiration. I actually had the next three prompts all written before this one...

"Three studies of fishermen" by William Henry Pyne,
Royal Museums Greenwich is licensed under CC BY 2.0

I settled on Nicholas Edgecomb, an early Maine settler and my 9th great-grandfather. Nicholas came to about 1638 to Richmond Island as a fisherman in the employ of Mr. Robert Trelawney. Mr. Trelawney was a merchant from Plymouth, England. Nicholas appears on the books of Mr. Trelawney off and on for the next several years. In 1640 he is found living at Blue Point on the patent of Mr. Thomas Lewis and Capt. Richard Bonython in the area now known as Scarborough, and by 1660  he had moved to Saco. Later his son, Robert, would marry the granddaughter of the patent holder, Thomas Lewis.


Nicholas Edgecomb's wife, Wilmot Randall, also had a fresh start in a new country. She came from England to work as a maid for Mistress Trelawney. In fact, she was in Maine less than a year before she married Nicholas and he had to repay her contract to the Trelawneys. According to records summarized by Walter Goodwin Davis, he paid a little over 6 pounds to the Trelawneys on her behalf.

Although they lived very modestly, Nicholas & Wilmot (Randall) Edgecomb made a fresh start and secured a life for themselves and their children on the Maine frontier. During King Philip's War all of his sons served in the garrison at Black Point (later combined with Blue Point to become Scarborough). His great-grandson, Gibbins Edgecomb served in three campaigns in the Revolutionary War at Falmouth, Maine (1776), Fishkill (1778) & West Point, New York (1778-1779).

Nicholas Edgecomb
Robert Edgecomb
Thomas Edgecomb
Gibbins Edgecomb
Thomas Edgecomb
Mary Edgecomb
Benjamin Perley Philbrick
Lizzie Philbrick
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

52 Ancestors #43 - Thomas Cousins - Attack at Black Point

In the late 17th century, settlers on the frontier suffered greatly from Indian attacks. Those settlers on the Maine coast were not part of the spread of settlers from Massachusetts and the Indians were seeking to halt the expansion and maintain their lands. The area that is now Scarborough encompassed a number of settlements including Black Point and Dunstan. From October 10-13, 1675, the settlers battled with the Wabanaki. Those at Dunstan were critical of the lack of support from Joshua Scottow's garrison at Black Point. Mary Beth Norton notes that several key figures in the Salem Witchcraft hysteria had connections to the area (see In The Devil's Snare, p. 141-143). 

My grandfather, Clayton Blake descends from Thomas Cousins who was serving in the company of Captain John Wincoll and gave the following deposition accusing Joshua Scottow of cowardice and failure to help those under attack. 

"The deposition of Thomas Cousens aged about 30 yeares makes oath that being with Capt. Winckoll when he was ingaged with the Indians neere Blackepointe and faire within sight of the garrison. Capt. Winckoll sent two men to Mr. Scottow for some reliefe, being then likely to have bene overthrowne, by the enimy, but the said Scottow would not send any help to us, he had at that time upward of forty men in his garrison, but from Mr. Foxwels garrison, which was as farr from us as Mr. Scottows garrison was, we have five men which did us a great pleasure, and they left but two men in the garrison, which if we had had releife from Mr. Scottows garrison, in an ordinary way with gods blessing, we might have given the enimye a great overthrow, and after the fight was over, this deponent went to Mr. Scottows garrison, and heard Souldiers generally say, that they see Capt. Winckoll ingaged with the enimy, and would have gone to have releived them. but Mr. Scottow would not suffer them, but charged them to Keepe the garrison, and further this deponent saith that it was generally reported at Blackpoint, that in theire great distress they could have no help from Mr. Scottows garrison, he being the comander thereof, and further saith not. 

Taken upon Oath the 16th January 1679

before me Sam'l Wheelwright

Comiss.

In answer to the charge, Capt. Joshua Scottow accused Thomas Cousins of perjury and although Thomas was acquitted, he was found guilty of a different charge, "presumptuous and reproachfull expressions" against Scottow. 

Thomas Cousins & Hannah Goodale
Hannah Cousins & George Jacobs
Priscilla Jacobs & Joshua Bartlett
Lydia Bartlett & Joshua Ripley
Nancy Ripley & Micajah Blake
Galen Blake & Dolly Moody
Charles G. Blake & Isabelle Brown
Harriet May Blake & ?
Clayton Leonard Blake - my grandfather


Sources: 
Norton Mary Beth, In The Devil's Snare
Davis Walter Goodwin, The Ancestry of Lydia Harmon