Jesse Priest Homestead Farm

The only surviving photo of the Jesse Priest homestead.

JESSE PRIEST'S HOMESTEAD FARM

The Priest Road in Northport, Maine is named after Jesse Priest (1813-1905.) His Homestead Farm, house and barn, stood where 190 Priest Road is today. (see photo) The cellar hole and foundation have been filled in but a small piece of the current cellar may include a part of the original one.

In 1838, Gorham Lenkester (later Lancaster) sold 60 acres of Lot #48 to Jesse Priest for $725.00. This was the basis of his farm, and his fields stretched out in front of and behind his house and barn just as they do today. Jesse married Elizabeth (Betsey) Belden (1810-1892) and they had three children; Mary (born 1839), Elizabeth Ann (Ann) (born 1843), and Jesse T. (born 1846).

In 1895, after Betsey’s death, he married Lilla Ames Drinkwater, the widow of Bradford Drinkwater. Additional information on Lilla at the end of this piece.

Lot #48 seems to have been the main farm for the Priests until the 1860s when they made several significant purchases. In 1863, Jesse purchased 30 acres abutting his land to the west from David Alden for $175.00. This is the land of the Mineral Spring of which there will be more information later. In 1866, David Alden also sold Jesse 17 acres east of his farm for $85.00. In 1868, William Brown sold Jesse 20 acres of land that abutted the farms of Joseph Herrick and William Flanders in the Bog area for $85.00. In 1877, David Drinkwater sold 70 acres to Jesse, west of his farm, for $100.00.

On June 2, 1895, Lilla Drinkwater sold the Homestead Farm of her late husband, Bradford W. Drinkwater to Jesse. It consisted of 4 parcels of land which added up to approximately 20 acres of land but in the 1880 Agricultural Census he is listed as having 52 acres: 12 acres tilled, 10 acres permanent meadows and and 30 acres woodland and forest with a value of $1,200. He had some cows, sheep and poultry. Bradford died on November 2, 1894 of Catarrh of the Bowels at age 74 years and 17 days. On August 21, 1895, Lilla Ames Drinkwater and Jesse Priest were married. He was 76 and she was 54 years. In 1898, Jesse deeded this land back to Lilla.

In 1889, Jesse Priest made a major investment and purchased, with a mortgage, the 100 acre Homestead Farm of William Flanders from his heirs, George C. Flanders and Martha Miller, for $400.00. This land, which included some of the Bog, went from Jesse’s boundaries to those of the Joseph Herrick (David L. Herrick) Homestead Farm. In 1898, he deeded this farm to Lilla as well and she sold it in 1905, to Osgood Wood for $350.00 after Jesse’s death.

The other piece of land that Jesse sold was 14 acres at the southern end of Lot #48 to Thomas Keaton in 1842 for $225.00 I am sure I have missed other transactions for Jesse Priest but these are the major ones. His main working farm was probably about 217 acres. I have listed information at the end of this piece on his farm from the Agricultural Census for 1850-1880.

In 1881, Jesse Priest and his wife, Betsy, deeded, for $10.00, the Homestead Farm to their son, Jesse T. in return for a life lease. Included in the property was the original farm on Lot # 48 from Gorham Lenkester in 1838, 30 acres abutting land from David Alden in 1863, an additional 17 acre piece from David Alden east of the farm and and the 20 acre parcel from William Brown. In exchange for this Jesse had to maintain and support Jesse and Betsy: to supply with good and sufficient food, decent and comfortable clothing, nursing and medical care when sick, furnish rooms of the house where they now live with a fire and fuel as they may require and allow the privilege of going upstairs or down cellar, also to provide horse and carriage for their use when needed and at such times as needed and convenient and to allow the use and benefit of the orchard, etc. If Jesse T. did fulfill these duties the lease was void and of no effect. If he followed it he could take possession of the homestead farm with buildings as well as the other parcels formerly owned by Jesse Priest and occupy and improve the same for his own benefit and support . The lease was witnessed by Jesse T. and Abbie H, wife of Jesse T. This was signed on April 4, 1881. After Betsy died in 1892, it is unclear where Jesse lived. Perhaps he stayed on in the house until he married Lilla in 1895 and perhaps they lived there together. He died in 1905, of heart disease and at that time he and Lilla were living in Camden with her sister. I have not been able to find out where Jesse and Betsey’s daughters lived but presumably they both married and were cared for by their husbands!

Jesse T. and Abbie fulfilled their obligations and received the property. After their deaths, their two daughters, Bertha Priest Drinkwater and Ella Priest Hamilton sold the Homestead Farm and property to Harris and Ruby Smith on February 17, 1941. (I have the deed work up to the present but it does not seem necessary to enumerate it here.)

The Mineral Spring Lot:

iIn 1890. Jesse and Jesse T. made an interesting sale. They sold, for $200.00, to Warren Reed of Philadelphia, a 5 acre and 2/5 of a rod piece of the 30 acre parcel of land Jesse had bought from David Alden in 1863. This land abutted his original land. The land extended from the main road (now Priest Road) straight in and after a description of the boundaries the deed ends with, “the right of way to lay a pipe or pipes from the Mineral Spring over the land or lands of sd Priests.” This is the first mention of the Mineral Spring and I have taken the deeds back to 1836 and there is no mention of any kind of a Spring in any deed.

The next information is in 1893. On Feb 5, 1893, Warren Reed made an indenture, for $100.00 with Frazier P Bilyen (Philadelphia) for a third share of the Mineral Spring land and right to lay pipes and on Feb 25, 1893, Reed made the exact same indenture for a third share with William H Folwell,(Philadelphia) also for $100.00.

There was a lot included in this indenture; in addition to the land and pipes, they had the rights to all singular improvements including ways, streets, alleys, passages of water and water courses, rights liberties, privileges, hereditaments and appurtenances whatsoever under the granted premises. All the appurtenances, reversions, remainders, issues and profits thereof and all the estates right, title, interest, and property claimed and demand whatsoever the grantor shall use with equity and only for the proper use by the grantor and his heirs.

I admit that I do not understand all the language in this but it appears to me that there was some plan to use this water for some thing but it appears it never came to fruition: was it medicinal or as a source water? Pipes do not seem ever to have been laid. I can find no further reference to Frazier Bilyen at all and even Warren Reed disappears. What we have left, however, becomes rather interesting.

William Folwell continued, apparently as the sole owner of the land and the Spring. He had a daughter, Edith Grace Folwell who married Thomas Charleton Hudson. Edith must have inherited the Spring for when she died she left it to her two sons, Thomas Charleton, Jr and Ben Hall Hudson. Thomas, Jr deeded the 5 acres and 2/5 rods to his brother Ben who owned and cherished it until his fairly recent death. His widow currently owns it and also cherishes it. She and her late husband are from Georgia and she still lives there except for visiting their home in Saturday Cove in the summer.

I do know that in 1947, the year of the severe drought when Maine burned, the people of Islesboro came over and got water from it. Mrs Hudson has promised to make it available again if it is ever needed. It never goes dry because it is fed from an aquifer with water from the Bog.

I have visited the Mineral Spring and it does not look like very inviting water at the moment. It is apparently full of minerals but to my knowledge has not been tested to find out what minerals. It is very cloudy looking. A nearby resident keeps some care of it. I find it quite fascinating and hope to get more information on it.

Jesse Priest’s Parentage:

It has been difficult to track down the parentage of Jesse. I have found the following information:

From Jesse’s Death certificate (from 18 March 1905 when he was 92, 1 month and 18 days) his father is listed as “Unknown” and his mother is listed as Anna Woster and his place birth is “unknown.” He is listed as dying of Heart Disease. In his marriage record to Lilla Ames Drinkwater It states that he was born in Washington, Maine and that’s father’s name was Joseph Priest (a farmer) and his mother’s was Annie Meservey.

Lilla Ames:

Lilla Ames was born in 1841 on North Haven, daughter of Lemuel Ames and Hannah Frye.

She married Bradford W. Drinkwater. I could not find the marriage date but their intentions were read 30 October 1884. Bradford was 64 and Lilla was 43. Bradford was previously married to Mary Jackson but once again I could find no information. His death certificate says he was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Camden but I can find no listing. He died on 2 November 1894.

Lilla inherited at least some of his land and sold it to Jesse Priest. On August 21, 1895, Jesse and Lilla were married. Jesse died 18 March 1905 and on October 16, 1905, her intentions with Seth Condon were read and they were married on October 22 in Rockland. It appears that this marriage must have ended in divorce as on 9 June 1909, Lilla and Samuel B. Wade were married in Camden. Seth Condon did not die until 31 January 1914. The marital history of Samuel Wade and Lilla is confusing also. The 1910 census shows them together but in the 1920 census I do not see Samuel listed—perhaps he had died. Lilla was living in Camden on Ocean Avenue with her sister, the same house she was living in when Jesse Priest died. Lilla appears again for the last time in the 1930 census, living with Fred and Barbara Kimball in Union at the age of 89.

Jesse T. Priest (1846-1931), son of Jesse and Betsey Priest, and his wife, Abbie Lear (1845-1931).

They appear mainly as the inheritors of the farm but they lived separately from the parents as well.

There are records of them making two significant sales.

In 1972, David Alden deeded 34 acres and 85 rods to Jesse T. for $300.00 It was south east of his father’s farm and did not abut it. . This land had previously been owned by David Drinkwater and in 1877, Jesse T. sold it back to him for $100.00 (Drinkwater had originally sold it to Alden for $400.00 in 1852!) It is possible that Jesse T. and Abbie had been living there before moving to the Homestead Farm.

In 1873, Jesse T. purchased from Ebeneezer Page another 4 1/2 acre parcel for $50.00 abutting his father’s land. It is not clear what this land was used for.

In 1880, Abbie was deeded an 80 acre parcel by Lucy Wood that had been in the Lear family since 1801. She sold it for $475.00 in 1883 to William Lear. A great deal of acreage in the area was owned by members of the Lear family in that area as attested to by the Lear Road but I have not researched it nor have I been able to find any cellar holes on the discontinued Lear Road.

Priest Farm Agricultural Census: The Priest Farm began as a not very affluent endeavor. Over time it became more prosperous. In addition, the census itself became more complex so we know more about it.

The 1850 Agricultural Census shows 15 acres Improved land and 70 Unimproved. The cash value was $500.00. They had 2 Milch cows and 3 other cows. No horses or oxen. The value of the livestock was $32. They grew 6 bushels of wheat, 14 of Indian corn, 35 of oats and 10 tons of hay. That is not much. However, this census does not itemize poultry and eggs or butter, orchards or other things.

In 1860, there were 25 acres of improved land and 25 of unimproved and the cash value remained at $500.00. The value of faming implements was $30.00. They now had 1 horse, 2, Milch cows, 2 working oxen, 4 other cattle, 7 sheep, no swine with the value of the livestock being $215.00. From the sheep they got 35 lbs of wool. They grew 5 bushels of Indian corn, 4 of dried beans and peas, and the value of the produce on the market was $16.00. The churned 200 lbs of butter and grew 7 tons of hay. The value of homemade manufacturing was $25.00 and $16.00 was the value of animals slaughtered.

1n 1870, he had 72 improved acres, 10 woodlands and 50 unimproved. The value of the farm was $1,000.00 with the value of farm implements and machinery being $145.00. There were $200.00 wages paid to farm workers. They had 2 horses, 2 Milch Cows, 2 working oxen, 3 other cattle, 7 sheep and 1 swine. The value of all livestock was $500.00. They grew 5 bushels of winter wheat, 5 of Indian corn, 17 bushels of dried peas and beans, 325 lbs of potatoes, 35 lbs of wool and 215 lbs of butter. The value of farm produce was $125.00 and the value of slaughtered animals was $65.00. The estimated value of all farm products was $725.00

In 1880, there were 35 acres of tilled fields, 10 acres of permanent meadows, 45 acres of woodland. The value of the farm and buildings was $1,500.00, farm implements and machinery was $200.00, and livestock was $300.00. The cost of building and repairs was $20 as was the cost for fertilizers. The wages for farmworkers, including board was $100.00 and hired labor excluding housework was $52.00. The value of all farm products was $400.00. Of the meadows, there were 23 acres mowed and 2 not mowed producing 20 tons of hay. They had 2 horses, 2 Milch cows, 5 other cows, 2 calves dropped, 2 sold living and they produced 300 lbs of butter. They had 3 sheep who dropped 4 lambs producing 4 fleeces weighing 16 lbs. They had 2 swine and 25 barnyard poultry producing 135 dozen eggs. There was 1/2 acre planted to Indian corn producing 15 bushels, 2 acres planted to wheat producing 30 bushels, 1 acre planted to Irish potatoes producing 140 bushels. They produced two bushels each of dried beans and peas. There was a one acre apple orchard with 50 bearing trees producing 25 bushels of apples with a value $12.00. They cut 40 cords wood with a value of forest products of $10.00. This was pretty successful farming.

Search for the School House

On the 1859, map of Northport a schoolhouse is shown just down the road (toward the current RT 1) . I have tried to find information on it—who gave the land, which school was it, when was it started, etc and so far I have-not been able to find any information. If anyone has information on it I would very much appreciate it if you would share it with me.

Also, any information on the Mineral Spring would be greatly appreciated.

Corelyn Senn

December, 2018

Lincolnville, Maine55

catspjs@tidewater.net

207-789-5139