BOYNTON, Amos

Amos Boynton was born 1744 in Newbury, MA[i] a son of David and Mary (Stickney) Boynton. His first marriage was to Mary (Polly) Libby[ii] in Newbury in 1767. Two Winthrop historians - Thurston and Kingsbury – relate that Amos Boynton was an early settler living on Lot #29[iii] in 1768.[iv] This lot is located in East Readfield in the vicinity of Benjamin Monk’s hill and Case Cemetery.[v]  Lot #29 was later owned by Job Swift, Benjamin Carr and Isaac Case. [vi]  From what I can gather Amos and Polly did not stay in Readfield for long - if at all. He appears on the early Maine census in Machias in 1767.[vii] I do not find his name among the records of land transfers in Readfield or Winthrop.

I find it intriguing that Polly did not give birth to their first child (in Machias) until 1774 – five years after their marriage. Could it be that she was staying with family while Amos came to the backwoods of Maine to claim land and prepare a home for them in Winthrop? Surely these large wooded lots of 200 acres that were available in Winthrop would have been appealing. In Newbury - where he was born - trees had been overcut and could only be harvested with special permission and a waiting period. Here he could have the freedom of choice in that regard and in other ways too no doubt!

But there were restrictions here too. Five years was the amount of time (defined in the Kennebec Purchase grant agreements) that settlers were given to build a cabin and to clear a minimum of 5 acres. But they (or their designee) also had to live on that land for seven consecutive years in order to receive the grant. Amos was the only Boynton in Winthrop at that time – unlike most others who came with brothers, fathers and sons. Perhaps Amos thought after five years he could leave his homestead unattended and quickly sneak away to fetch his bride and bring her home. Perhaps he was wrong?

Here is another perspective. It was common during this time period – when the Kennebec Proprietors were offering 200 acre plots in exchange for clearing and settling the property – for some to interpret that as the opportunity for free or cheap access to ample land in the wilderness. In doing so, they came in and hastily erected a crude log cabin known as a “possession camp”. Then they ran a “possession fence” around the lot by felling small trees and laying them end to end. After this was done they felt they were entitled to the land.[viii]  But few original possessors stayed long enough to develop the potential that land held. They were (in the Kennebec Proprietors eyes) squatters.  In fact, this trend was referred to as “the squatter invasion”. [ix] So they didn’t see eye to eye. Proprietors demanded payment for the land the homesteaders had moved in on. These men had no money – but they had determination and strong backs. That was not enough, however, when they came up against those gentlemen who were rich with resources and enough political connections to secure large land grants like the Kennebec Purchase. If the Proprietors did not have the "squatters”  evicted they just moved away on their own accord to look for other opportunities.[x]

Then there were others who had settled their lots in compliance with the land grant directives, but when the Revolutionary War began, and they left their premises to serve in the militia, they returned to find someone else living there. It might have been sold out from under them by the Proprietors, or claimed by another settler.  Sometimes that someone else was a fellow veteran who had been promised free land by the government in exchange for their service. What a homecoming!  Amos, however, was already living in Machias at the time of the Revolution so that was probably not his situation.

Bottom line – we may never know what Amos' situation was but we do know he laid claim to land in Readfield (Winthrop) for a short time.

Amos served in the American Revolution[xi] 1775-1779. He initially enlisted September 15, 1775 and was stationed in Machias for 3 months 23 days as a clerk in Capt. Stephen Smith’s Co. Subsequent to that he served as a lieutenant in Capt. Smith’s Co., Col. Benjamin Foster’s Regiment 7/16/1777-10/10/1777. He served at Machias when the British ships laid waiting in the harbor. Colonel Foster was the commander on the privateer packet Falmouth.[xii]  He was the most experienced and admired military man in Machias at the time of the first naval battle of the Revolution.[xiii]  Amos must have felt honored to serve under Col. Foster a second time - for 15 days 12/4/1778-1/4/1779.

After the War the Boynton family continued to live in Machias. Amos and Polly had six children  1774 - 1784. Amos must have been a trusted community member as evidenced in a 1784 Lincoln County court record when he was appointed to inventory an estate in someone’s will.[xiv] I am sure there are many other tidbits one could find about Amos if one only had the time. Polly died in 1785 and their daughter Sally died the same year. He married a second time to Lucy Loring in 1786 and there were three more children born. All the Boynton progeny were born in Machias and of the nine there were only two sons. Perhaps they bore descendants? I do not know.

In 1790[xv] Amos and Lucy Boynton were still living in Machias, with two sons and five daughters. In 1800[xvi] he was living alone. Their babies had grown and left the nest. Lucy had died in 1797.

On a spring day in April of 1805 Amos Boynton died. He was 61 years old. His place of burial is not known.

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[i] Fisher, Carleton and Sue Soldiers, Sailors and Patriots of Revolutionary War Maine; pub.1982 by American Association of Sons of American Revolution; pages 73-74

[ii] Porter, Joseph W.; Notes about Machias with some account of its first settlers; The Maine Historical Magazine, Volume 8, pub. 1894

[iii] Thurston, David Rev.; A Brief History of Winthrop; pub. 1855; page 17

[iv] Kingsbury; Winthrop, ME chapter of History of Kennebec County; pub. 1892; page 827

[v] 1791 map of Readfield; Readfield Historical Society archival materials re Amos Boynton

[vi] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds 3/29/1793 Book 7 Page 350

[vii] Maine, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1800-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999 www.ancestry.com accessed 9/17/2013

[viii] Taylor, Alan; Liberty Men and the Kennebec Proprietors: the Revolutionary Settlement on the Maine Frontier 1760-1820; pub. Univ. North Carolina, Chapel Hill and London 1990; page 28

[ix] Ibid Taylor page 15

[x] Ibid Taylor page 4

[xi] Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary Wat Volume II; www.ancestry.com accessed 9/17/2013

[xii] Ibid Fisher page 267

[xiii] http://www.kellscraft.com/StoriesOfMaine/StoriesOfMaineCh15.html accessed 9/17/2013

[xiv] The Probate Records of Lincoln County, Maine 1760-1800; Picton Press Camden ME 1991; Page 140

[xv] 1790 US Census, Machias, ME

[xvi] 1800 US Census Machias, ME