Today is the last day of the month of June 2022, and I would be remise if I did not offer this opportunity to remember these five people who resided in the part of Portland we now call East Deering. They are five individuals whose names, out of 47, have survived out of the nearly 200 people we know to be buried at the Presumpscot/Grand Trunk Cemetery. Their deaths, begining with Anthony Sawyer. Sr. in 1804, span a period of 71 years, ending with his grandson, Joseph Merrill Sawyer,Sr. in 1875.
During this time span, the name of the place where they lived changed from Back Cove in the town of Falmouth to East Westbrook in the town of Westbrook , to East Deering in the town of Deering. The name changes reflected many historical events that certainly impacted their lives.
Since I have already written about each of these people in previous posts and offered threads of their individual stories , today I write to take an opportunity to memorialize them on the anniversary of their deaths in the month of June.
JUNE 1ST, 1840
Francis Smith was born in 1791, to Joseph (1757 - 1831) and Abigail Clark Smith (1759 -1819) in Newmarket, New Hampshire. Sometime before 1814, he married Martha Mitchell from Kittery. Between 1814 and 1825, four sons and two daughters were born to the couple who lived in the area around Ocean Avenue.
Most of what we know about Francis Smith comes from the biographical information about his well known and respected citizen, his son Joseph Smith who died in Lebanon, Missouri. The notices published in the local papers by his wife Martha Smith regarding the disposition of his property at the time of his death, indicate he was a cordwainer, a maker of fine shoes. We also learned, according to a city directory from 1835, that he served as a Toll Taker on Tukey's bridge, not an enviable position at that time and not often respected by the locals.
Francis Smith was also a Veteran of the War of 1812. He died at the age of 49. What remains of his slate monument is at the rear of the cemetery next to that of Simon Davis, a Revolutionary War Veteran.
The partial stone on the right belongs to Francis Smith.
JUNE 1ST, 1875
Joseph Merrill Sawyer , son of William (1763 -1825) and Tabitha Graves Sawyer (1768 -1857), was born in August of 1745. Joseph was the second oldest of four children, three died as young children , all in 1800. Joseph's brother , Crispus Sawyer was his only sibling to survive into adulthood.
Joseph, at the age of 17, would serve along with his father William and his uncles, John Sawyer, Andrew Graves and Joseph Merrill in the militia to defend the Port of Portland during the War of 1812.
I have come to realize that Jospeh carries the Merrill name for his maternal grandparents: his grandmother Tabitha Graves Sawyer's mother was Susannah Merrill, married to Leut. Crispus Graves. Joseph Merrill Sawyer passed on the Merrill name to his on son, Joseph Merrill Sawyer, Jr. who tragically, died just before his 3rd birthday.
Recently, I found evidence of a close relationship to Joseph Merril (1754 - 1823), where Joseph Merrill Sawyer was in fact the appointed executor of his will when he died in April of 1823.
Joseph was married sometime before 1832 to Dorcus Whitten (1801 - 1856). Three other children: David N. (1836 - 1862), Sarah J. (1838 - 1904), and Elizabeth J. (1839 - 1888) were born to the couple.
After his wife Dorcus death in 1856, Joseph continued farming and seem to maintain a close relationship with his brother Crispus Sawyer. Joseph Merrill Sawyer died at the age of 79 years. There once was a memorial stone, probably erected by his children, which has long ago vanished, but the inscription was recorded and preserved:
JUNE 1853
William Blake, born March 6th, 1774, the youngest son of John (1725 - 1815) and Dorothy Merrill Blake (1735 - 1780), died sometime in June of 1853 in the hospital of the Porland Almshouse, at the age of 79 declared by the courts non co pus mentis. His estate was taken care of by a court appointed guardian, an attorney, until his death and the dissolution of his will.
William Blake was a Veteran of the War of 1812, and a stone to honor his service as a citizen soldier and patriot was erected in his memory on October 2, 2016.
In 1805, William purchased property from his father John, probably in anticipation of his marriage to Lucy Hodsdon/Hodgton,(1769 - 1807). The couple were married only two years when Lucy died.
In 1810, according to the Rev. Caleb Bradley's journal, William married Sarah Eaton (1776 - 1843). It is unclear whether the couple had children but early census records seem to indicate that a male and female child lived with them.
Now a mystery persists, in that some believe that William's wife Sarah Eaton is really Sarah Starboard whose family lived in Stroudwater Village, and who was also married to a William Blake. It does seem that there were two William Blakes, but one came from somewhere in Massachusetts, and our William. Unfortuately, I haven't been able to find good information other than Rev. Bradley's journal of recorded marriages.
William and Sarah were married for 33 years until her death on June 18th, 1843 at the age of 67. Perhaps it was her death that percipitated William's
decline into insanity. and his own death ten years later.
Memorial Stone erected on October 2, 2016.
JUNE 21ST, 1804
Anthony Sawyer was born on January 21st, 1735, one of ten children born to Isaac Sawyer, Jr. (1707 - 1748) and Sarah Brackett Sawyer (1709 - 1784). Anthony Sawyer is the one ancester that the Sawyer family members that I have met identify with as contributor to their lineage.
When this project to recover the Presumpscot Cemetery began, a prime resource was Theodore 'Ted' Sawyer's manuscript, "Back Cove to Quaker Lane" which provided well researched historical insight into the early settlement and the people who lived and died there, including the first Sawyer, Isaac Sawyer, Sr. who was came from Cape Ann in 1725 and is Anthony Sawyer's grandfather.
Anthony Sawyer married Susannah Marston (1738 - 1819) at the 1st Church of Falmouth on November 7, 1755. Anthony and Sarah brought 12 children into the world during the 49 years of their marriage.
There is a record of Anthony Sawyer, his older brother Zachariah, and his younger brother Thomas serving in the militia during the French and Indian Wars. Over the course of many years of political, social and economic changes and conflict, Anthony, a loyal subject of the Crown, would ultimately adopt America as his homeland.
Three years ago, June 21st, 2019, on the 215th anniversary of Anthony Sawyer's death, the Friends of the Grand Trunk Cemetery, held a ceremony of Remembrance and the Unveiling of the Interpretive Sign to honor those known and unknown souls interred at this small, but historically significant sacred burial site. The date was intentionally chosen to honor Anthony Sawyer and all the Sawyers , the largest family group interred here as well as the other families, known and unknown.
Members of the Portland Girl Scouts who continue to carry on the legacy of care of Samantha Allshouse and Kayla Theriault spread rose petals on the graves to honor the dead.
PRACTICAL NOTES
Some of you who may wish to visit the Grand Trunk Cemetery this summer need to be aware of the on-going school construction project and the need to park on the street in front of the school, or on a Sunday at the Department of Motor Vehicles lot. The Project Manager has errected a sign so that visitors know to where to access the walking path. The school expansion project will not be completed until
February 2023.
You will also notice that there is another project going in to land adjacent to the cemetery. At some point, it may be necessary to put up a rail fence on that side of the cemetery. I have been in touch with the Cemeteries Director and we will keep abreast of what is happening.
I want to thank Ron Romano for providing information, along with his friend from the National Parks Service about the fading lettering on our Veterans' stones. Apparently, the black lettering is bound to fade over a short time, but re-painting is expensive and will not last. It is better to allow the lettering to go back to white.
Finally, a sincere "Thanks" to Ron for his generous donation which will be used well for a future project to beautify the Cemetery.
I wish all who continue to follow this blog a Happy 4th of July!
