Maine Ancestors

We drove through Maine today, stopping in Orono and Dexter to see "pictures from the past" of Nancy's Marsh relatives.

The Marsh family had immigrated from England in 1633 when John Marsh, the first (as there was a John Marsh in most of the generations) came to Salem, Mass. The members of each generation gradually moved farther and farther away from Salem. John, the fourth, took advantage of an offer of 100 free acres in Sidney given to anyone who would settle on what was then the frontier of Massachusetts, and what later became the state of Maine. When his son, John, the fifth, was grown, he decided to move farther into the wilderness. While there, he met Orono, the son of a French trapper and Tarratine Indian. Orono and John 5 became best friends, and Orono taught John 5 the ways of the Tarratine and the language. The Tarratines trusted John and he became an interpreter for their dealings with white men. John 5 became so much like the Tarratine, except for his blue eyes, that the US government used him as a spy during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The Tarratines later gave John 5 a 5,000 acre island between the Penobscot and Stillwater Rivers. John lived there until his death when the island was sold. Now the town of Orono, named for John's friend, is on the island, as well as the University of Maine.

John 5's son, Jeremiah Marsh, became a Methodist minister and was the pastor at several churches in the area of Dexter, Maine (30 miles from Orono). Jeremiah's son James had a farm in Dexter which was taken over by his son, John 8. Another of James's sons was my great-grandfather Samuel, the "book learner" of the family. Samuel went to college and became a principal in Spencer, NY! He married there, and my grandmother, Minerva, was his daughter. Samuel later was the principal in Candor.

Minerva, too, decided to become a teacher. She attended Syracuse University for a while, and then became a one-room schoolteacher. She became engaged to Ken Ward, my grandfather, but since Ken was dragging his feet about getting married, Minerva moved to Dexter to live with her Uncle John 8 and taught school there. Ken soon saw the light and went to Dexter to marry Minerva. They were married on her Uncle John's farm.

Click here to see more pictures