WYMAN, Henry 1790 U.S. Census Winthrop 1-0-4-0-0

In 1791 the town meeting at which residents voted to separate
from Winthrop was held in Henry Wyman's barn. Henry
Wyman was the only one to vote against it. Currently home
of the Rourke family.

Henry Wyman was born March 16, 1742 in Lancaster, MA[i] the son of Mathew and Abigail Willard Wyman. He filed marriage intentions to Lydia Bruce in Lancaster on 14 Aug 1766.[ii] He married second to Sarah Mason in Lancaster on 18 Nov 1767.[iii] With her there were three daughters born in Lancaster: 1) Sarah b.1768. She married Joseph Greeley of Readfield; 2) Mary Ann b.1769 She married Samuel White of Readfield; 3) Rebecca b.1772

Sometime between 1772, when his youngest daughter was born, and 1775 he moved to and became established in Winthrop where he settled lot # 99 in the northern part of town - near Beaver Brook and the east shore of Maranacook Lake. This timeframe is identified because in 1775 the road that went “by the home of Henry Wyman and Mr. Waugh’s to Waugh’s Landing at the Mill Pond (Maranacook) was re-laid. [iv] The same year it was voted by the town to meet half the time for public worship in the southern parish and the other half in the northern parish at the home of Henry Wyman.[v] Thus it is obvious that Wyman and his family were well established early on in Winthrop and Readfield’s history - before 1775.

In 1775 it was voted by the town that this section of
road leading past the homes of Henry Wyman and Robert
Waugh to Waugh's Landing be re-laid. This picture
was taken in March 2013 and is looking west from near
Waugh's Landing.



When the American Revolution arose Wyman served as a private in the Continental Army. Private Wyman was in Capt. John Blunt’s Co., Col. Samuel McCobb’s Regt from June 28 – September 28, 1779 during the Penobscot Expedition. In 1787 the town of Winthrop gave him one pound for going to Bagaduce.[vi]

After several years of discontent and discussion among the residents in Winthrop's northern parish it was decided by town vote that the two parishes should become separate towns. In May of 1790 a town meeting was held at the home of Henry Wyman and oddly enough he was the only man there to vote against the separation. After this we know nothing more of Wyman other than his will was probated 11/24/1807 in the Kennebec County Probate Court. It seems likely that he is buried in one of the unmarked graves in Whittier Cemetery near his home.  

Joseph and Sarah Wyman Greeley carried on the Wyman farm. They parented eleven children between 1787 and 1809. According to the Greeley family history, about 1812 Joseph headed to Bath, Maine to enlist in the War and was never heard from again. None of the children were married at this time and seven were under the age of seventeen. Following Joseph’s disappearance the second child, Henry, carried on the Wyman / Greeley family homestead and raised his family of seven children there. Henry Greeley’s daughter Sarah married to Elias Gove and they carried on this farm after Henry.

Mary Wyman and her husband Samuel White lived nearby. Their daughter Sally married Josiah Whittier and the Whittier homestead was within throwing distance of the Wyman / Greeley home.

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[i] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011),

[ii] ibid

[iii] ibid

[iv] Stackpole's History of Winthrop with Genealogical Notes by Keene and Keene; pub.1994 by Heritage Books Inc; page 67

[v] Ibid page 82

[vi] Ibid page 152

Additional Sources:

1.       Greeley Genealogy, Maine State Library

2.       History of Kennebec County

3.       Readfield, Maine Vital Records

4.       ME Families 1790, ME Genealogical Society, Vols. 5 & 6

5.       Marriage Notices from Maine Farmer 1833-1852 by Young

6.       1790 Maine Census

7.       Interviews C. Willis Brown and Douglas & Helen Greeley of Readfield, ME