GRANDUNCLE CLARENCE REMEMBERS PT1

((I first published this and two other posts back in 2008. Today is the 120th
anniversary of Clarence's birth, so I thought I'd repost the series. It's an
interesting look into life in the lumber industry in early 20th century
Maine.))


My granduncle Clarence P(hilip) West was the caretaker of
the Azizcoos Dam in Wilsons Mills, Oxford, Maine for
fifty years. He was born in Cambridge, New Hampshire on
17 March, 1895 to Philip J. West and Clara (Ellingwood)West
and died on 5 June 1983. The SSDI gives his place of
residence as Errol, Coos Co., New Hampshire at the time
of his death.


Clarence married Mabel Jane Ilsley on 25 Jun 1919 and
together they had three children: their son Lee and their
daughters Leita and Ruth.



When Wilsons Mills celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1975
they decided to mark the occasion by publishing a book:
“The History of Wilsons Mills-and- the- Magalloway-
Settlements”. It includes an interview with Clarence about
his memories of his time at the Azizcoos Dam and it makes an
interesting companion to the memories my Aunt Dorothy
sent me about her and my Dad’s time there as children,
which I posted here.

Today is the 120th anniversary of Clarence’s birth, so in
honor of him, here’s part one of the interview from the book:

“Clarence P. West, at eighty still caretaker at Aziscoos
Dam, is an interesting man to talk with. He was here
recently to look at some old pictures that had been brought
into the book committee on the building of the Azizcoos
Dam and we got him talking of the old days. He came here
as caretaker in 1924 and has been here ever since. We first
asked him how he happened to come here. These are some
of his comments.

“When we were first married I went to Pontook to work on
a survey with Walter Sawyer. Mabel and I lived in a tent
that summer. Sawyer would have had a nice dam there if
they had let him. He had one planned that was near four
thousand feet across with penstocks clear to Twitchell’s
for power. From that job I went to Lisbon to work in a
sawmill for West Bros. Later I went to see Mr. Bean about
a job and he told me to send in my application. There were
about a hundred other applications but when they got
narrowed down to five I was still one of them. After
Vashaw died, Lewis Chadwick was transferred to Errol and
I came up here. That was in 1924.


When the new Dam was built the gate house on the old dam
was removed and set up for a blacksmith shop. It still stands
there to-day just in back of the parking area. You know, the
timbers in that old shop were hewed by hand.


One of the big towers to hold the cable was up back of the
house, the other one was almost over to where the road to
Rangeley is now. There was a double track from the end of
the dam to the quarry up back on the hill. The cars worked
from a cable, when one went down, the other came back
up. There was a track with a whole string of cars that they
loaded with a steam shovel. The tops of the cars turned
around to dump. That shovel was on wheels and they had
to keep planks under the wheels all the time. It was set up
in a pit to load dirt for fill on the south side of the cam. The
cars were hauled along the tracks by a big black horse. And
when the whistle blew at quitting time that horse stopped
right in his tracks and there he stood till someone unhitched
him and headed him for the stables.
 
When they were building the dam it was nothing to meet
a string of horses a half mile long from Colebrook to
Azicoos.”

(to be continued)

Source: The Town of Wilsons Mills Maine, “The History of
Wilsons Mills-and- the- Magalloway-Settlements”
(Wilsons Mills, Me. 1975.) pp.94-95

THE ESTATE OF JOHN ELLINGWOOD SR. PT3

It took me longer than I wanted to transcribe the next part of my
ancestor John Ellingwood Sr's Estate file. I find dealing with legal
folderol late at night tends to make me even sleepier than I already am,
no matter how fascinating the Inventory itself is.

The Inventory consists of about one and a third pages. In the legal
form I transcribe the printed part in boldface and the handwritten
in italics. Spelling and grammar is as it appears in the document.
Again, my apologies for not being able to keep the money value column
in a straight line.
 
I'll have some thoughts about this Inventory in the next post:

                            State of Maine

 Oxford, ss- To Barber Bartlett, Timothy Chapman,
 Seth B Newell three suitable disinterested persons, GREETING:

YOU are hereby appointed and empowered to take an Inventory
 of all the Real Estate, goods and chattels, rights and credits, which
are by law to be administered, of which John Ellingwood late of
Bethel in the county of Oxford, aforesaid dec'd seized or possessed
in said county, and according to your best skill and judgment, truly
and justly to APPRAISE the same in dollar and cents, according to
the present value thereof: And when you shall have completed the
said Inventory you are to deliver the same together with this warrant,
to the Exec. of said Deceased's Estate who is to return the same
into the Probate Office of said county, within three months from the
date hereof.

GIVEN under my hand and seal official, at a Court of Probate held
at Paris, Bethel in said county, on the twentieth day of September
in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty-seven.

Job Prince, Judge

Oxford , ss Oct. 9, 1847  

The above named Barbra Bartlett Timothy Chapman  Seth B Newell
personally appeared before me, and made oath that they would
faithfully and impartially perform the service to which they are
appointed by the above warrant.  

William Potter Justice of the Peace

Recorded by Reg K Shaw Register



An Inventory of the estate of John Ellingwood, late of Bethel
County of Oxford deceased taken in pursuance of the annexed
warrant.
                                Real Estate                                         $150.00
1 Lot of wild land with a small pasture on it
1 Pew in the Congregational meeting house                             3.50

                               Personal Estate
1 Cow $15.00 1 heifer 3 years old  $12.00                             27.00
1 yearling stear $7.00  1 calf  $4.00                                        11.00
8 sheep $14.00  2 swine  $8.00                                               22.00
1 old plough $1.00  4 old chains $4.00                                     5.00
1 old loom and weaving aperatus                                              2.00
3 old spinning wheels $1.50  old casks .50                               2.50
1 table and washtub $1.00 Iron ware & pails $3.25                  4.25
3 old chests 2 meat tubs $1.00 1 Baker .33cts                           1.33
2 set andirons $1.00 shovel & tongs $1.50 1 sod iron .25         2.75
9 chairs $3.50  2 cupboards $2.00  1 bellows .25                     5.75
1 set of draws $4.00 1 table & light stand $2.00                       6.00
8 silver spoons $6.00  crockery & glassware $3.00                  9.00
pewter & tin ware $2.00  warming pan & skimmer                   4.00
1 Quilt $4.00 1 Quilt $1.50 1 Quilt1.00 1 calico Quilt $1.00    7.50
8 pair sheets $4.00 4 bed blankets $3.00                                   7.00
6 pair pillowcases .75 7 table sashs (?) $3.00                           3.75
7 towels $1.25 old books $1.00 1 chest .50                               2.75
1 Feather bed & bedding $8.00 1 Feather bed $7.00                15.00
2 bedsteds and cords $1.00                                                         1.00
1 Frock 3 pair striped pants $1.00 underflannel $1.50                2.50
7 cotton shirts $2.00 1 calico gown $1.00                                   3.00
3 pair stockings 1 pair mittings .60  coat & pants $3.50              3.50
1 over coat $3.00 1Spencer .50 gloash & trimming $4.00           7.50
1 pair boots $1.00 1hat .25 2 belts .75                                         2.00
                                                                                                 311.65

Dated at Bethel Oct.9, 1847

Carried over

And the second page:

Amount brought over                                                                 311.65
1 old saddle .50  1 waggon cushing .50                                        1.00
2 bed puffs $1.50  1 iron crane & hooks .75                         2.25
6 tin milk pans $1.25                                                                     1.25
                                                                                                  316.15

Dated at Bethel Oct.9 1847

Barbr Bartlett
Seth B Newell
Timothy Chapman

THE ESTATE OF JOHN ELLINGWOOD SR. PT1

After the photo of the file cover, the first image of the Probate Court
file for John Ellingwood is of an undated will. Judging by the difference
between the handwriting in the body of the document and that of John's
signature, the document was written by someone else. I will post my
transcription first and have some thoughts about the document in my
next post.

In the Name of God, Amen.
I, John Ellingwood of Bethel in the County of Oxford and State of Maine,
do make, ordain and declare this instrument to be my last will and testament,
revoking all others.

In primus. All my debts, of which there are but few, and none of magnitude, are to
be punctually and speedily paid; and the legacies herein after bequeathed, are to
be discharged as soon as circumstances will permit and in the manner hereafter
directed.

Item. To my dearly beloved wife, Zerviah Ellingwood, I give and bequeath the use
and benefit, of, all the household furniture of which I may be lawfully possessed
at the time of my decease, -of one cow and three sheep- and of my pew in the
Congregational meetinghouse in the West Parish of Bethel.

Item. Upon the death of my wife, it is my will and desire, that my son, George V.
Ellingwood, should have all the personal estate above bequeathed to my wife,
and I do hereby give and bequeath the same to all.

Item. To my said son, George V. Ellingwood, I do further give, bequeath and devise,
all real estate of which I may be secured or possessed at the time of my decease,
wherever situated, and all the personal property to me belonging, other than that
above mentioned to my wife, wherever to be found-not meaning to destroy, or
invalidate any life lease, to me & my wife, of any real estate, from our son Daniel
G. Ellingwood, heretofore given.

Item. I hereby declare that I consider that I have heretofore given to my children
Sarah S. Libby, Daniel G. Ellingwood and Ebenezer Ellingwood, who are at this time
all living, and to  my deceased children Jacob Ellingwood and John Ellingwood Jr.,
all that I am able to give them or their children.

Item. It is my will & desire and I do hereby appoint my son, George V, Ellingwood,
the sole Executor of this my last will and testament.
John Ellingwood.

Signed, sealed and declared, by the abovenamed John Ellingwood, to be his last
will and testament, in presence of us, who, in the presence of the testator and of each
other, have hereunto susbscribed our names as witnesses,
Wm.Frye
Simeon Twitchell
Franklin Cross

To be continued.

JONATHAN PHELPS AMES (1781-1863) OF OXFORD COUNTY, MAINE.

My 4x great grandfather  Jonathan Phelps  Ames was born on 20Apr 1781 in
Groton Ma., the second of the five children of John Ames and Lydia Phelps.
The family moved to Oxford County, Maine  between 1790 and 1810, where
John made his living as a farmer and blacksmith in several towns. It was inone
of those towns, Hartford, Maine, that Jonathan met and married his first wife,
my 4x great grandmother Mary "Polly" Griffith on 6Sep 1807. They were married
twenty seven years and produced ten children, seven boys and three girls.Polly
died in 1834. Three years later Jonathan married Polly's sister Sarah Griffith and
the couple had two more daughters. Jonathan died on 16Dec 1863 at Canton,
Oxford, Maine, at age 82.

I've been lucky with many of my New England lines; they lived in towns that have
had books written about their history and those books have provided me with a lot of information  and stories. But with a few like the Ames and Coburn lines the information
dries up after the families moved north to MaIne, so I piece together what I can with
whatever records and documents I can find online. Recently I found  the 1860 U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Agriculture Schedule for Canton Maine and Jonathan's farm was
one of those enumerated. It gave me a little insight into what his life was like as it was
drawing to a close. Here's a transcript:

Acres of land: Developed-75 acres
Undeveloped-25 acres
Cash value of Farm- 1500 (dollars)
Value of farming Implements and Machinery- 53 (dollars)
Livestock:
Horses-1
Mules and Asses-0
Milch Cows-3
Working Oxen-2
Other cattle-3
Sheep-15
Swine-0
Value of Livestock-280 (dollars)
Wheat, bushels of -0
Rye, bushels of- 5
Indian Corn, bushels of -5
Oats, bushels of-4
Rice, lbs of-0
Tobacco, lbs of-0
Ginned Cotton, bales of 400lbs ea-0
Wool,lbs of-65
Peas and Beans, bushels of-4
Irish Potatoes, bushels of-75
Sweet Potatoes, bushels of-0
Barley, bushels of-0
Buckwheat, bushels of-3
Value of Orchard Products, in dolls.-0
Butter, lbs. of-150
Cheese, lbs of-50
Hay, tons of-20
Clover Seed, bushels of-0
Grass seeds, bushels of-0
Hops, lbs. of-0
Hemp:
Dew Rotted, tons of-0
Water Rotted, tons of-0
Other prepared Hemp-0ItalicFlax, lbs of-0
Flaxseed, bush. of-0
Silk Cocoons, lbs, of-0
Maple Sugar, lbs of-0
Cane Sugar,hhds of 1000 lbs,-0
Molasses, gallons of and from what made-0
Beeswax, lbs. of-0
Honey, lbs.of-0
Value of Homemade Manufacture-0 (dollars)
Value of Slaughtered Animals-58 (dollars)

Looking at this, the first thought that struck me was the livestock. We tend to think
of a farmer using a horse to draw his wagon or plow, but nearly all the records I've
seen of ancestors from this period shows them owning at least two pair of oxen. I
think given the rocky New England terrain and the winter snows oxen did most of the
heavy farm work until modern machinery came along. The horse was probably more
for transportation than work. Also, the number of cows is lower than what we think of
when we think of New England farms, but remember, back then there was no milk
pasteurization yet, no refrigeration to transport large amounts of milk to city dwellers.
"Milch cows" were more valuable for the amount of cheese and butter that could be
made from their milk. So while Jonathan had a total of six cows, he had over twice that
amount, fifteen, in sheep. I checked the rest of the entries for Canton and there were
over 1200 sheep on the farms in town. In 1860 the New England textile mills were in
their heyday and wool would have been in demand to make into clothing.

Then I looked at the crops grown on Jonathan's farm and how much he harvested. For a
farm of its size the amounts are low. Jonathan's son -in-law, my 3x great grandfather
John Cutter West farmed fewer acres than Jonathan, forty acres, and had a harvest of
500 bushels of potatoes compared  to the 75 on Jonathan's farm. In every crop planted
on both farms, the yield at Jonathan's farm was smaller.

I don't think it was because Jonathan was a poor farmer. I think the answer is simply that
he was old, nearly 80! All his sons were gone from the farm: Jonathan Jr. had moved to
Illinois, Ezekiel was in Massachusetts. Generous, Hezekiah and Atwood were running
their own farms, and two sons, Ephraim and Americus, had already died. The regular
1860 Census shows Jonathan and Sarah living on the farm with a Henry and Emily Potter.
I believe Emily is their daughter, although I haven't found a record of her marriage yet.

So for the moment that's all I know about Jonathan Phelp Ames, my 4x great grandfather,
but I'm still hoping to find more!

ANOTHER "TEA REBELLION"

Here's another regional New England poem from the early 20th century.
This is from "Pine Tree Ballads" by Holman Day:

ANOTHER " TEA REBELLION "

When Mis' Augusty Nichols joined the Tufts
Minerva Club,
She polished up on manners and she then com-
menced to rub
At the hide of Mister Nichols who, while not
exactly rude,
Was hardly calculated for a howling sort of
dude.
Now when Augusty Nichols got to see how
style was run,
You bet she went for Nichols and she dressed
him down like fun;
And the thing in all his actions that she couldn't
bear to see
Was to have him fill his saucer and go whoof-
ling up his tea.

After more'n a month of stewing;—making
mis'able his life,
She taught him not to shovel all his vittles
with his knife.
And after more'n a volume of pretty spicy talk
She got him in the hang of eating pie with
just his fork.
She trained him so's he didn't slop the vittles
round his plate,
She plagued him till he wouldn't sit in shirt-
sleeves when he ate,
And then she tried her Waterloo, with faith in
high degree
That she could revolutionize his way of drink-
ing tea.

He drank it as his father always quaffed the
cheering cup,
He poured it in his saucer, raised the brimming
puddle up
And gathered in the liquid with a loud re-
sounding " Swoof "
That now at last inspired Mrs. Nichols' fierce
reproof.
But here was where the victim—ah, here was
where the worm
Arose and fairly scared her by the vigor of his
squirm,

—Sat down his steaming saucer and with a
dangerous light
A-gleaming in his visage, he upbore a Yan-
kee's right.
From the days of Boston's party up to now I
think you'll see
That a Yankee's independent when you bother
with his tea.

" Consarn your schoolmarm notions," thun-
dered Mrs. Nichols' spouse,
" You've kept a'dingin' at me till I'm meechin
round the house.
I've swallered that and t'other for I didn't like
to row
But ye ain't a-going to boss me in the thing
ye've tackled now.
I'm durned if I'll be scalded all the time I'm
being stung
So I'll cool my tea, Mis' Nichols, while ye jab
me with your tongue."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * *
There are rights ye cannot smother, tyrants,
whoso'er ye be,
And the good, New England Yankee 's mighty
touchy, sir, on tea.

Day, Holman Pine Tree Ballads : Rhymed Stories of Unplaned Human Natur'
Up In Maine (Boston, Ma., Small , Maynard & Co 1902) pp225-227

THE SIXTEEN STATES OF MAINE SONG

One of my weekly web surfing stops is Roxanne Moore
Saucier's "Family Ties" column at the Bangor Daily News
website. Roxanne is an experienced genealogist and I
enjoy reading her articles about different aspects of
both genealogy and life in Maine.

Recently she wrote about how she learned the names of all
sixteen counties in Maine by being taught a song set to the
tune of "Yankee Doodle":

The 16 counties in our state

Are Cumberland and Franklin,

Piscataquis and Kennebec,

Oxford and Androscoggin.

Waldo, Washington and York,

Lincoln, Knox and Hancock.

Sagadahoc and Somerset,

Aroostook and Penobscot!"

Great, right? She also gives another variation of the song
the lyrics to the "State of Maine Song". Check out this column here.

You can also search some of her past "Family Ties"
writing by clicking on the "Lifestyle" drop menu. Trust me, you'll enjoy it.

AUNT DOT'S MEMORIES3

This is the third in a series of posts that are word for word
transcriptions of 13 hand written pages given to me by my
Dad's sister Dorothy. They are her memories of their childhood
growing up in the Depression era in Oxford County, Maine.


This section deals mostly with Pop...my grandfather Floyd E.
West, Sr. and what jobs he worked at.







"Pop was always afraid of the water-afraid of drowning or of
some of us lost to it.

He had a tiny hut at Beaver Brook- across the lake from where
we were living. He tended traps there all winter crossing the
lake on snowshoes and carrying a pick-pole. When ice started
breaking up in the spring it was pretty scary watching him
leave with his heavy pack sack strapped to his back. He would
step onto a large chunk of ice and shove with his pick-pole until
he got to another chunk big enough to hold him-then step onto
it-or push the chunk out of the way and stay on the one he was
floating on. I always wondered if and when he would come back.
He was gone several days and I used to be afraid the ice would
be all gone when he was ready to return.



When Flossie was born Mother went to Bethel and stayed for
two weeks. She had made new dresses for Hazel and me and I
can still rember those dresses hanging up high on the wall. They
were orange with white daisies with bright blue centers.



While Mother was gone Pop took us out to the dam every day.
Bud & Hazel were allowed to go to the house to play with
cousins Lee and Leita but since Aunt Mabel had a girl (Ruth),
younger than me, he thought she shouldn’t have to watch two
little ones. He always took me to the longshop where he was
building a motorboat for Clarence. I took my naps in the boat
he was working on. The finished boat was named the Kiko.
The last time I saw the Kiko was about 1959/60. It was no
longer the beauty it had been.



Pop had a 9 passenger green buick, convertible, touring car.
The only time I remember riding in it was when we went to
Bethel to get mother. in the late 1930’s Pop cut that car in half
and made a farm tractor out of it. The jitter-bug was all the
rage at that time. There wasn’t money for tractors and many
people were converting old cars to use in the fields. The back
tires were big truck tires.


Among other jobs -Pop was a guide for the fishermen who
came from the big city’s and didn’t know where to catch
anything. Most of the men in town were guides. Besides
knowing where to fish - the guides did the cooking and
entertaining of these guests. Story telling was a great asset.
These men could string out some pretty outlandish yarns.


We moved into the Will Hart place when Flossie was a year
old- 1931. There was a big old barn in the field close by. The
owner had a fishing lodge where he floated his 2 cows to
every summer. In winter we kept the cows in his barn- so had
milk & butter from June to Labor Day. Bud & I loved to climb
in the loft and pitch hay onto the barn floor then jump down
into it."

AUNT DOT'S MEMORIES2

This is the second segment of my transcription of the 13 page
handwritten memories of my Aunt Dot on her and my Dad's
childhood.



"Pop" is my grandfather Floyd Earl West Sr. and "Mother"
is my grandmother Cora Berthella Barker. Hazel was my
Dad's older sister, and Flossie the youungest. "Uncle
Clarence" and "Aunt Mable" were my grand uncle Clarence
West and his wife. Uncle Clarence was the caretaker for over
fifty years at the Aziscoos Dam.


I'd heard the story about the geese from Dad when I was a kid
but I never knew the story of how he came to be called Bud nor
that he had been called "Pudge" in high school.



And I am quite certain he'd never have told us about setting the
bed on fire!



"My brother, Floyd Earl West, Jr. was probably never called by
his sir name. Hazel was taught to call him brother and it came
out budda- hence the nickname Bud. In high school at Gould
Academy, he was known as Pudge and when his class mates
ask about him to this day- -he is still Pudge!


Bud always took good care of me---



When we lived on the lake shore Hazel was in grade school and
had walk out to the dam to get on the bus. Mother often went
to meet the bus and walk Hazel home. If she got to talking with
Aunt Mable it was sometimes awhile before they returned. Bud
was left in charge and most of the time we would be taking a
nap when she left. One time we got to playing with a box of
matches on Pop’s bed and set it on fire. When mother got home
the wall and bed were pretty well in flames. Bud and I were in
the doorway. He was buttoning my coat.(We were in the
neighborhood of being 3 & 5 years old as Flossie hadn’t been
born yet.) She got water from the lake and put the fire out. We
had a constant reminder as there was a large wood clock on a
shelf above the bed and one end of the clock was charred.



We always had lots of snow and loved to pile it up and make
tunnels and snow houses. One winter Hazel, Bud, & I made a
snow cave and Bud crawled inside and was cleaning it out
when the whole thing caved in on him. We were frantic trying
to uncover him. Yelled for Mother and she came down the hill
and dug him out. Was I scared!!



One of our favorite things to do was to battle with Uncle
Clarence’s geese. That goose and gander came up the lake
every day and always got out of the water at our place. We
were told to stay up the steps where they couldn’t reach us but
we just knew we could get the best of them. We made plans to
stand back to back-one of us had a broom and the other a
clothes stick to beat these geese back to the lake. They went
back all right-each carrying a screaming kid by the seat of our
pants. Mother always rescued us before they got in the water.
Our back “cheeks” had an awful lot of big black spots but we
were already planning how we would get the upper hand and
win tomorrow. "

AUNT DOT'S MEMORIES

This the first in a series of posts which are my transcriptions
of 13 handwritten pages. They were written by my Aunt Dot
 (Dorothy West Bargar) and given to me yesterday when we attended
my nephew Paul's wedding.

Some explanations of the names mentioned: Phillip was
Phllip Jonathan West, Dot's grandfather and my great
grandfather. Hazel was her older sister and Flossie(Florence)
the youngest.

"Dingle" is a new term to me and sounds like a shed.


"Our family lived on Back Street in Upton from about 1830 to
1927. I have a picture of Bud and Hazel, taken Aug., 1926 that
was given me by Pop’s cousin Louie West (his dad was great
uncle Paul -Philip’s brother). This was the first I heard that I
ever lived in Upton. My birthday was in April of that year.


From conversations, I think I remember we probably moved
to Magalloway for a short time, then to Wilsons Mills. Phillip
stayed in Magalloway.


The first place I remember living was in a little square cabin on
the shore of Azichoos lake back a trail from the dam house.
There was a wagon trail past an old stone quarry and a foot
path along the lake shore. The quarry was home of the bear
that we always looked out for. The cabin was partitioned off in
one corner-a room big enough for a white iron double bed and a
built in double bed with a bunk (half size) up under the eaves.
There was a path between the beds wide enough for a dresser.
The remainder of the cabin was one L shaped room (except the
L was upside down & backwards) (end p.1)


The back door opened to a covered walk that led to a dingle
where we kept outdoor tools and dry wood for the fire. The
space from the door to the dingle was about the width of a
standard sidewalk. I have always remembered the dingle
because that is where the bag of toys that Santa brought was
kept. I only remember one Christmas that we received presents
and must have been when I was three because Flossie was not
yet in the family.


Don’t remember what Hazel& Mother got. Pop got a necktie,
Bud got pocket knife. (he would have been 5 years old) and I got
a pull toy -it was a green platform with red wheels & a red pull
string and had a white celluloid lamb on the platform. We also
got a tiddle wink game, which at my age was a great failure at,
but liked it anyway. That was probably 1929.


In years later we always decorated the house and had fun
making our decorations from newspapers and magazines. For
many years we had carefully saved the few fold out paper
Christmas bells and a few pieces of red & green rope that had
come with the family before any time that I recall."(end p 2)

MAN DIGS HOLE ON HIS LAND, DISCOVERS BURIED HISTORY

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/070128graves.html

A story that illustrates one of the tragedies of time: cemetaries
that have been lost over time due to abandonment or that have
been reclaimed by nature.

I have Kimballs in my West ancestry but I could find no link
with this branch.