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Archiver > LEWIS > 1999-07 > 0931221264


From: Rob Lewis <>
Subject: Re: [LEWIS-L] Who Owned Maine?
Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 20:34:24 -0400


Bryan and Billie may both be correct to some extent. The following is
a scanned portion of page 108 of the Eighth Edition of The Handybook for
Genealogists. While the this book is not considered the final word in
any historical sense, there were apparently settlements in the Maine
area before 1620 even if they were not of a permanent nature. Each of
us can read and study and decide for himself.

- - - - -

108 Eighth Edition of the Handy Book
for Genealogists

(Portion of page that pertains to the state of Louisiana removed)

MAINE

CAPITAL - AUGUSTA - STATE 1820
(23rd)

State Map on Page
M-18

Vikings and other explorers may have sighted the coast of
Maine as early as 1000 AD. The first explorers known to have definitely
explored this coast were John and Sebastian Cabot in 1498. Over the
next century, English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish expeditions
visited the area. Attempts at settlement were made between 1607 and
1625, but all proved unsuccessful. In 1625, the first permanent
settlement was made at Permaquid by the English. Other settlements
followed rapidly including York, Saco, Biddeford, Cape Elizabeth,
Falmouth (present-day Portland), and Scarboro. Two members of the
Plymouth Colony, Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason, were
granted the land between the Merrimack and Kennebec rivers in 1622. In
1629, they divided their lands, with Gorges taking the present state of
Maine and Mason, New Hampshire. France likewise claimed the area.
Indians sided with the French, which resulted in the French and Indian
Wars from about 1632 until 1759.
Massachusetts purchased the province of Maine from Gorges'
heirs in 1677 and set up a government in the area. After the death of
King Charles in 1685, Massachusetts lost all of its legal standings,
forcing landholders to resecure their land at high fees. These land
titles were recorded in Boston, but Maine also kept a special land
office at York. The area was called the Province of Maine of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony until 1779, when it became the District of
Maine. Following the Revolution, in which Maine suffered more damage
than any other New England area, settlement increased rapidly. The
biggest deterrent to settlement was the difficulty of travel in the
area, as roads were extremely poor. During the War of 1812, several
Maine cities were captured by the British and the eastern part of Maine
came under British control. Desires for separation from Massachusetts
intensified, resulting in statehood in 1820 as part of the Missouri
Compromise.

(Remainder of the page is omitted)

- - - - -

Hope this helps a little.

Rob

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