18th Century Document Group, Maine, Soldiers, Patriots, Politicians Signed Deeds
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:54869705 |
This is an, original document group, dating from 1732-1746, four land transfers, several men of fame have signed...including Joseph (Handkerchief) Moody, Jeremiah Moulton, Samuel Milliken, Joseph Sayer, John Storer, Middlecott Cooke and several others.Documents are 8x12, separations, paper loss, all in poor condition. Joseph Moody was born in 1700 in York, Maine, graduated Harvard in 1718 and died in 1753.Joseph Moody had not always worn the black crepe veil knotted above his... forehead hanging down below his chin. For fourteen years after his graduation at Harvard, he was quite content with and competent in successive positions as Clerk of the Town of York, Registrar of Deeds for the county, and Judge of the County Court. However, his father thought he ought to preach, and he thought his father knew best. Chiefly through his father's influence, a second parish was incorporated in 1730. In 1732, Joseph hesitantly accepted the charge and was ordained its pastor. For six years he got along tolerably well with the saving of souls, while his wife took charge of temporal things. But when she died, the care of two worlds proved too much for him, and he fell into a state of deep melancholy. In this clouded condition, his once brilliant mind developed a pronounced phobia: no one must see his face. And so he presented himself to his congregation with his features masked in a black silk handkerchief. For weeks, wonder, speculation, and rumor churned with whirlwind intensity through the village. Was he demented? His sermons were too logical for that. Had he been scarred by an accident? If so, no chirurgeon knew of it. Had his eyes been weakened by working far into the night on his sermons? With no other plausible explanation, his parishioners convinced themselves that this was the true one. While he was as often besought for funerals as he had previously been, the veiled parson's services became less in demand for weddings, christenings, and socials. The timid people turned out of their way to avoid him; the bolder were often flippant or impertinent on the road. So Joseph Moody curtailed his daytime walks, limiting his strolls to the protecting anonymity of night. Then, without the fear of embarrassing encounters, he prowled peacefully through the seclusion of the churchyard or wandered unchallenged along the deserted shore. Little by little he abandoned his public labors, refusing to officiate at public gatherings except in cases of unusual urgency. More and more often he sought the sheltering safety of his own chamber. Only on rare occasions, when bounden duty demanded it, did he leave his sanctuary and partake of a meal with others. He was soon relieved of even this obligation. For nothing cast a quicker and more efficient pall over the gayest of village affairs than the sight of a black-clad figure, crouched alone at a small side table with its face turned to the wall.Jeremiah Moulton (b. York, Massachusetts (now in York, Maine), 1688, d. York, 20 July 1765) was a New England militia officer and member of the Massachusetts Council.As a boy, during King William's War, Moulton's parents were killed and he was taken captive in the Raid on York (1692). He was eventually released and served in Father Rale's War at Fort Richmond (Maine). Between 1721 and 1724 there were four attempts to capture the missionary Father Sebastian Rale; Captain Jeremiah Moulton played a prominent role in at least two of these, including the last, which succeeded, which is known as Battle of Norridgewock.After this attack, Captain Moulton continued to take part in scouting expeditions. When the war was over, he remained a militia officer, but resumed his civil career. He became a judge, sheriff of York County, member of the Massachusetts Council, and holder of various other offices. He also developed farms and mills, and helped to found the town which later became Sanford, Maine.During King George's War, Moulton, now a colonel and one of New England’s most experienced soldiers, once more saw active service; he commanded one of the three Massachusetts regiments in the Siege of Louisbourg (1745). In April of that year he landed with the New England troops at Canso and went from there, leading a detached force of New Hampshire men, to capture and destroy Port-Toulouse in early May. He sat regularly with the council of war at Louisbourg and stayed on after the fall of the town to help with its occupation. He did not return to Maine until December 1745; shortly thereafter he was appointed judge of probate for York County.He remained an active and respected citizen of York until his death in 1765. He is buried in the Old York Cemetery, York Village, York County, Maine.John Storer (1694-1768), from Wells, Maine was the son of Joseph Storer (1648-1730) and Hannah Hill (1664-1748). John was known as the "chief Indian fighter of the region, the owner of the local sawmills, and a pillar of the church." He was a captain, later a colonel, with a company of men (Third Company, First Regiment of Massachusetts Troops) during the Louisbourg Expedition. He married Elizabeth Hill (m.1722) and they had a number of children including: Colonel Joseph Storer (1725-1777, Harvard AB 1745); and Captain John Storer (1727-1764, Harvard AB 1745) a shipbuilder and trader, who held a captaincy in the local militia and was married to Mary Langdon. Neither sons John nor Joseph accompanied their father on the Louisbourg Expedition, rather they remained home in Wells. [Source: Clifford K. Shipton. Sibley's Harvard Graduates. Volume XI, 1741-1745. Massachusetts Historical Society: Boston, 1960, pp 580-582]. Middlecott Cooke (1705-1771) was the son of Jane Middlecott Cooke and Elisha Cooke, Jr., one of the wealthiest men in Massachusetts. Although his father strongly challenged British authority in the province, including the right to the royal timberlands, and was active in Boston politics, Middlecott was not. After receiving his masters degree from Harvard in 1726, he helped his father manage the family lands in what is now the state of Maine. He also worked as a merchant in the firm of Goldthwaite and Cooke and served as a clerk in the Suffolk County Court.Please view the other historical and Civil War related documents I'll be listing this week.SEE SCAN.I now accept PAYPAL but PREFER other forms of traditional paper payment. Buyer pays shipping(usually FREE within the US and $16 for International), payment must be received within 5 days.
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