SMITH, Elisha (revised 10/15/2013)

Elisha Smith was born March 20, 1750 in Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard. He was the son of Dea. Ransford Sr. and Elizabeth (Lambert) Smith. On December 1, 1768 Elisha married Susannah Wing in Harwich, Barnstable, MA.  She was several years older than Elisha – born 1734 in Harwich. She was a daughter of Elnathan and Hannah (Allen) Wing.

Soon after their marriage Elisha and Susannah moved to Winthrop, Maine. They did not come alone. Other family members who also moved to Maine were Elisha’s uncle Mathias Smith; his aunt Dorcas Smith Baker; and his brother Ransford Smith, Jr. Adding to the circle was Susannah’s brother Samuel Wing, who also moved to Readfield.[i]  Elisha’s sister Abigail and husband Perkins Allen[ii] soon followed, but they settled in Phillips, ME in the Sandy River Valley.[iii]

Elisha Smith settled on lot #134 in the section of Winthrop that later became Readfield.[iv] His land was located on the east shore of Chandler's Pond (Lake Maranacook) and abutted that of his brother Ransford to the north. The hill / ridge where Elisha and Ransford Smith settled - on South Road - was called "Smith Hill" for many years. In fact, Stackpole refers to this as Smith Hill (History of Winthrop page 535 pub. in 1925).

Elisha was on the men who signed the petition for incorporation of Winthrop in December 1770.[v] Beaver Dam Road was built on the range way between their lots in 1772.[vi] Nineteen men from Winthrop volunteered for the militia soon after word arrived in Winthrop about the battle at Lexington and Concord between the British and American Colonists. Elisha Smith was one of them.[vii]

After the Revolutionary War Elisha moved his family to Livermore. The exact year is not known at this time.[viii] His wife died there in 1820 and he died August 10, 1841.

Children of Elisha and Susannah (Wing) Smith born in Winthrop, Maine:[ix]

1)      Beulah b. 9/19/1769 m. 1789 John Winter of Livermore.

2)      Abigail b. 12/8/1771 m. Shubael Luce son of Shubael and Mary (Attsett) Luce of Readfield.

3)      Susannah b. 7/17/1775 m. Attsett Luce son of Shubael and Mary (Attsett) Luce of Readfield. She died 1825 in Livermore.

4)      Hannah b. 9/13/1777 d. 1799 Livermore m. 1792 Reuben Wing a son of Samuel and Hannah (Sears) Wing. They were first cousins.

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[i] Stackpole, Everett; History of Winthrop, Maine with Genealogical Notes by Keene and Young; pub 1925. Reprint by Heritage Books, Inc. Bowie, MD 1993. Page 832

[ii] Perkins Allen was a seaman before he came to Maine from Martha's Vineyard. Perkins was short in stature, had broad shoulders, a large head, deep eyes and spoke with a "broad brogue".  While living a life at sea he served under the flags of Britain, Spain, France and Portugal. When he came to Maine Perkins Allen settled in various places up and down the Kennebec and Sandy River Valleys over the course of several years. According to Vincent York, a Sandy River historian, Allen was the first to settle in the town of Avon, Maine but is not given credit for it. He finally settled in "# 3" before 1791. Later, he was the person to attach a name other than "# 3" to this settlement and called it "Curvo". He named it that because he thought the area resembled a port in the Azores he had set anchor in as a seaman. The name of Curvo / # 3 was later changed to Phillips. Perkins died in Phillips and was buried near his home on private land.

[iii] York, Vincent; The Sandy River & Its Valley; Knowlton & McLeary Co., 1976; pages 38, 74 and 78

[iv] History of Wayne, ME; pub. 1998 for the Wayne, Maine Bicentennial; page 32; map from Maine State Archives, Plate #8, Jedediah Prescott’s drawing of the 1790 map based on John McKechnie’s 1766 lot plan of Pondtown.

[v] Stackpole, Everett; History of Winthrop, Maine with Genealogical Notes by Keene and Young; pub 1925. Reprint by Heritage Books, Inc. Bowie, MD 1993. Page 19

[vi] Ibid page 61

[vii] Ibid page 124

[viii] U.S. Census Livermore, Maine 1800, 1810, 1820, 1830

[ix] Thurston, David; A Brief History of Winthrop; pub. 1855 Brown Thurston, Steam Printer; Portland, ME; pg 196