HUNTOON, Peter, Sr. 1790 U.S. Census Winthrop 2-4-4-0-0 (Revised 10/31/21)

This cemetery was deeded to the town of
Readfield by Peter's son Peter Huntoon II
in 1835 (deed bk 94 pg 161). Deed states land 
on farm formerly of Jesse Dutton (neighbor to
Huntoon) and where Dutton is buried. 
Huntoon died the following year and likely
buried here but  his stone not there now.

Peter Huntoon was born January 4, 1748 in Kingston, New Hampshire, the son of Samuel and Hannah (Ladd) Huntoon. He married twice: first to Rachel Goss who is said to have died in 1777 in Wiscasset Perhaps she died at childbirth as son Joseph was born that year. Peter's second marriage was to ____Findley, both marriages occurred in Wiscasset. 

Peter's brother Jonathan b.1759 received a land grant in Wiscasset and also moved there, where he remained for the rest of his life. Both Jonathan and Peter were Revolutionary War Veterans as were their brothers Samuel b.1750, Thomas b.1753, and Charles b.1755.

At this time it is not known when Peter moved to Maine but it is known that he was residing in Wiscasset on May 31, 1776 when, according to Stackpole’s History of Winthrop, Huntoon was ordered by warrant to depart with his family immediately. The warrant went on to say “as we object against their becoming chargeable to the town.” This warrant was delivered to another family as well just before the town meeting to vote on independence. Stackpole tells us these orders were not unusual in colonial New England and sometimes political rather than driving out the poor. Since Peter Huntoon is listed for Revolutionary War Patriotic Service in Wiscasset and also in Winthrop as a Revolutionary War Veteran it seems he was not banned from Wiscasset because he was a British Loyalist. If Stackpole is correct in his deductions then Huntoon and his family must have been banned because they were in financial straits. With this info we know he moved to Readfield from Wiscasset about 1786. Rachel Goss was his first wife, she of Wiscasset (per Stackpole) and believed to have died there. Documentation of her death has not been found.

Huntoon moved to Readfield five years before it split off from Winthrop. He settled in close vicinity to where Saunders Manufacturing is today (Nickerson Hill Road). Huntoon fenced in and homesteaded on 22 acres, on the southern part of a 100 acre lot. In 1806 he paid $750 for the entire 100 acre lot, which included his house and improvements. The seller was Rev. Comfort Carpenter Smith, an itinerant Methodist preacher who resided in Readfield at the time. He had owned the land that Huntoon lived on for 7 years by 1806, having purchased it from an Augusta physician who was known to grab land being sold by town governments at auction in their attempt to recoup unpaid taxes. Perhaps the Dr. had done so with the land Huntoon was living on before 1799 (would need to confirm by searching Lincoln County deeds) and allowed Huntoon to continue living there. Huntoon had made significant improvements on this land as indicated by his financial gain when 28 months later (10/11/1809) he sold his homestead for $1,300. The deeds for his 1806 purchase and 1809 sale of same were not recorded until March 14, 1810 on the SAME day. Perhaps he died in 1810 and the deeds were recorded as part of his estate settlement. I do  not find him on any censuses other than the 1790 so perhaps he was living with someone in 1800 - or was not counted. In searching the censuses 1800 and 1810 I do not find him living with his children.

Children:  

1) Abigail born 1765 in Kingston, NH and married Obadiah Albee in 1785.  

2) Peter born 1769 in Kingston, NH and in 1799 he married a Winthrop neighbor Betsey Turner, daughter of Capt. Christopher Turner. 

3) David was born 1773 and also married a daughter of Christopher Turner – Catherine, or as she was called, “Caty”. 

4) Rachel born 3-12-1773 who married Ensign Thomas Craig, the son of the prominent early Winthrop settler and miller, James Craig. 

5) Joseph born 1777. This may be the same Joseph Huntoon who lived in Sidney, then in Waterville where he died of consumption in 1850.  

Peter Huntoon II       

1800 U.S. Census Mt. Vernon 1-1-1-0-0  

1810 – 1830 U.S. Census Readfield

 Peter II was born June 1769 in Kingston, New Hampshire and came to Readfield with his family about 1776.  Marriage intentions were filed in Winthrop on 10-2-1799 between Peter and Betsey Turner, a daughter of neighbor Christopher Turner.  Peter and Betsey lived in Mt. Vernon for a short time after they were married but by 1810 had returned to live in Readfield. Betsey’s father, Christopher Turner, died in 1803 and soon after they were deeded 100 acres and property, as the deed read, “…where Huntoon now lives.” At the Kennebec Registry of Deeds there are many land transactions recorded under the name of Peter Huntoon. It is difficult to ascertain if the transactions were conducted by the elder or younger Peter. Either way, it is obvious the Huntoon men were doing well in the early 1800’s in order to procure the amount of land they did. They were, without doubt, an ambitious and industrious family!

 

Mrs. Peter II (Betsey) was born 8-20-1783 and died on 2-17-1849 at age 64 in Readfield. Peter II died 5-6 1836 at Readfield. It is believed by many town and family historians that Peter is buried in Huntoon cemetery though there is no gravestone. Their 9 children were: 1) Catherine born 1800 married Howard Stevens 2) Rosanna born 1802 married Dudley Haines who was born 9-27-1797 and the son of neighbor Dudley Haines & wife Alice (Ford) of Nickerson Hill Road, Readfield. Their children were Dudley and Polly. Dudley Haines sister Eliza married a cousin, Lewis Huntoon of East Livermore. 3) Mary Ann born 1806 married David s/o Joseph Williams 4) George Washington born 1809 married Emily daughter of William Fuller & granddaughter of Francis Fuller. They loved on Sturtevant Hill Road. 5) Wellington born 1813 6) Napolean born 1816 7) Layfayette born 1821 married Lucinda Brown g-grandaughter of Unight Brown. 8) Louis B. born 1824 Almyra Joy granddaughter of Francis Hunt 9) Elizabeth born 1827 died at age 5yrs. She is buried nearby in the Huntoon Cemetery.

---

Bibliography:

History of Winthrop by Everett Stackpole with Geneological Notes by Young & Young; pub. 1994; pg.760
To Those Who Led the Way: Readfield VR's 1769-1913 self-published by Dale Potter-Clark
Cemetery records Readfield, Maine
Readfield Historical Society resource materials
Kennebec County Registry of Deeds
Soldiers, Sailors and Patriots of Maine in Revolutionary War by Fisher

The Paupers and the Poor Farms: Support and care of the poor in Readfield, ME 1791-2018 by Dale Potter-Clark; self-pub.2018; pgs. 7-11 and pg. 16