Below is a brief excerpt from
in which readers learn about the Sanborn's influence on industry and their community
as well as the rise and fall of East Readfield village.
______________________________________________________________________
On Christmas Eve in 1781 Peter Sanborn was born in Kingston, NH. He was the fourth son of John and Elizabeth (Hook) Sanborn. Peter was the only one of the eight Sanborn siblings who moved to and settled in Readfield. It is said he had great business talents, high energy, a great mind and bodily strength. His military record gives his physical description as 5'10", blue eyes, light hair and complexion.[i] It is not known what enticed Peter Sanborn to move away from his family home in Kingston but more than likely he followed his wife’s uncle Ebenezer Fifield to Readfield. “Uncle Fifield” and his wife Mary Sanborn Fifield (a cousin to Peter Sanborn) moved here from Kingston about 1805. There were other settlers who migrated here from Kingston and the immediate area as well, and some of them fall in the Sanborn family tree – names such as Sherburne, Sleeper, Hoyt, Taylor and Fifield. Those families had settled in proximity to where Peter Sanborn set up housekeeping and his business. Perhaps they got word to him that East Readfield needed a tanner. Peter likely had the skills because both his father and Uncle Moses Sanborn were tanners in Kingston.[ii]
There is some
confusion as to exactly when Peter Sanborn came here to stay. His first
property acquisition in Readfield was in 1813 when he was granted a deed by
Levi Johnson.[iii]
However, he is probably the same Peter Sanborn who enlisted in the U.S. Army 9th
MA Infantry in South Hampton, NH in 1814.[iv] He does not appear on the 1820 US Census in
Readfield but in Kingston, NH. So, his whereabouts 1813-1820 is a matter of
speculation. According to Kingsbury, a 19th century Kennebec County historian,
Sanborn assumed operations of Levi Johnson’s tannery after Johnson’s death in
1818. Maybe he remained in Kingston to sharpen the skills of his trade before taking
over the tannery in East Readfield from Levi Johnson?
Peter Sanborn and Sarah Fifield m. 15 Sept
1808 in Kingston, Rockingham, NH. She b. 14 Jul 1784 in
Kingston d/o Peter and Sarah (French) Fifield.
He d. 17 Nov 1824 Readfield,
ME. She d. 11 Apr 1862
Readfield. Both are buried on the Sanborn lot, East Readfield Cemetery.
Children
of Peter and Sarah (Fifield) Sanborn:
i.
Peter
Fifield b.12-22-1810 (see more below)
ii.
Joseph
Appleton b.3-7-1814 (see more below)
iii.
Ruhamah
Stevens b.7-20-1818 m. 30 Jan 1850 Charles C. Vosmus. No children
Peter
Fifield Sanborn b. 22 Dec 1810 in Kingston, NH s/o of Joseph and Sarah
(Fifield) Sanborn. m1. Desdemona, d/o Francis and Nancy (Merrill) Hunt of
Readfield. She d.18 Nov 1864 in Readfield He m2. Sarah Little d/o Samuel and
Hannah (Little) Pickard. She b.4 May 1833. Peter F. Sanborn d. 14 May 1884
Hallowell. Sarah P. Sanborn d. 23 Feb 1926 Pasadena, CA. Peter and both wives
are buried in East Readfield Cemetery.
Children of Peter
F. and Desdemona (Hunt) Sanborn:
i.
Sarah Frances b. 23 Feb 1843 unmarried d.17 Feb 1927
Pasadena, CA bur. East Readfield on Sanborn lot
ii.
Elizabeth b. 15 Jan 1849 unmarried d. 8 Jan 1925
Pasadena, CA bur. East Readfield on the Sanborn lot
iii.
George W. b. Dec. 12, 1850 d. 9 Feb 1856 bur. East
Readfield on Sanborn lot
iv.
Joseph Appleton b. Jan. 2, 1853 d. 17 Mar 1862 bur.
East Readfield on the Sanborn lot
v.
Rosa Ellen R. b. May 5, 1857 m. Jan. 27, 1885, Alfred,
s/o James Fuller of Newton, MA. Children b. Brookline, MA: i. Elizabeth
Sanborn Fuller ii. Francis Sanborn Fuller.
Children of
Peter and Sarah (Little) Sanborn:
vi.
Samuel Pickard b. 18 Aug 1868 d. 15 Jan 1952 Pasadena,
CA
vii.
Joseph Appleton b. 24 Dec 1870 d. 12 Aug 1871 in
Hallowell, ME
viii.
Stanley Hale b. 15 Mar 1873 d. 28 June 1874 in
Hallowell, ME
Joseph Appleton Sanborn b. 07 Mar 1814 in
Readfield, ME s/o Peter and Sarah (Fifield) Sanborn. m. 17 Feb 1840 Lucy Upham
d/o Abijah and Ruth (Hawes) Upham of Readfield. She b. 06 Jul 1821
Lincolnville, ME. Both died in Hallowell. She d. 17 Mar 1888 He d. 15 Jul 1877.
Both are buried on the Sanborn lot, East Readfield Cemetery.
Children
of Joseph A. and Lucy (Upham) Sanborn:
i.
Emery
Appleton Sanborn b. 28 Apr 1842 Readfield d. 28 May 1894 Hallowell. Bur.
Hallowell Village Cemetery m. 01 Dec 1868 Anna Lithgow. 2 children
ii.
Gustavus
Adolphus Sanborn b. 07 Jan 1845 Readfield d. 17 Mar 1879 Hallowell m. 17 Mar
1868 at Jesse Lee Church, Readfield to Helen Minerva Thomas in a double
ceremony with her sister. Both buried in the Sanborn lot, East Readfield 2
children
iii.
Julia
A. Sanborn b. 21 Jul 1849 Readfield d. 20 May 1859 buried on the Sanborn lot,
East Readfield Cemetery.
iv.
Ruhannah
Alice Sanborn b. 28 Jul 1855 Readfield m. 28 Sep 1885 Daniel Gilmore in Boston
d. 27 Apr 1890 Hollister, CA. Daniel died in 1918 influenza epidemic in LA, CA.
she buried on the Sanborn lot, East Readfield Cemetery. 2 daughters
v.
Mary
Sanborn b. 11 May 1860 Readfield d. 13 May 1860 buried on the Sanborn lot, East
Readfield Cemetery.
[i] U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 (Provo,
UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007); http://www.Ancestry.com. Accessed
8/21/2013
[ii]
Genealogy of the family of Samborne or Sanborn in England and America,
1194-1898, by V. C. Sanborn, 1899, pages 380-381
[iii]
Kennebec County Registry of Deeds 8/16/1813 Book 21 Page 560
[iv] U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 (Provo,
UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007); http://www.Ancestry.com. Accessed
8/21/2013
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