ANDREW HENRY MAINE

& the ROBINSON and PARKHURST FAMILIES

BIOGRAPHY

AS RECORDED IN:

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
TOLLAND AND WINDHAM COUNTIES CONNECTICUT.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS AND OF MANY OF THE EARLY SETTLED FAMILIES
PUBLISHER: J.H.BEERS & CO., CHICAGO; 1903 P. 1216 - 1218

ANDREW HENRY MAINE, farmer and cattle dealer of Scotland, Windham county, was born in that town, Feb. 6, 1850.

The Maine family in Windham county descends from an old New London county family. Ancestors of the family now living in Scotland and Windham towns were identified with the colonial interests of Stonington, Conn. (I) Ezekiel Maine, the first of the name who came to Stonington to reside permanently, is not otherwise identified in this country. He settled there in 1670, and in 1672 received a grant of land from the town. He subsequently purchased other lands, and in 1680 received another town grant of land, all probably in North Stonington. His wife's name was Mary and he married probably a short time before he came to Stonington to reside, as Mrs. Ezekiel Maine was a partaker in the ordination of James Noyes, the pastor of the first church in Stonington, in 1674. Ezekiel Maine was admitted to the church, Sept. 3, 1676, and he died June 19, 1714. His children were: Ezekiel, Mary, Jeremiah, Thomas, Phebe and Hannah.

(II) Jeremiah Maine, son of Ezekiel, of Stonington, married Oct. 11, 1699, the widow Ruth Brown, who, with her daughter Ruth, was admitted to the first church of Stonington, and baptized July 16, 1699. Jeremiah Maine was admitted May 18, 1712. He died Nov. 11, 1727.

(III) Jeremiah Maine (2), son of Jeremiah, born April 10. 1708, married (first) in January, 1726-27, Abigail, daughter of Thomas Woodin. She died Nov. 13, 1741, and he married (second) April 26, 1742, Thankful, daughter of James Brown.

(IV) David Maine, born Aug. 26, 1752, married (third) Jan. 8, 1787, Esther, widow of Dr. Asher Palmer, and daughter of Rev. Seth Dean. Children as follows were born to this union: Ira, who died aged two and a half years; Rial, born May 29, 1788; Chandler, born Jan. 28, 1790, deceased Nov. 24, 1831; Fenner, born Oct. 29, 1791, who became the grandfather of Andrew H.; Rhoda, born May 16, 1794, who married Joseph Holmes, and died Feb. 14, 1851; and Saxton, born Aug. 27, 1796. The father of this family died Dec. 27, 1843, aged ninety-one years; and the mother Feb. 24, 1824, aged sixty-eight years.

(V) Fenner Maine, son of David, resided in the southern past of the present town of Windham, in a neighborhood called Jerusalem. By his marriage to Lucretia Maine, he had the following family: Harriet, deceased wife of Samuel Stanton, who lived in Windham, where their son, Robert F., now occupies the home farm, and who was widely known as a spiritualist and clairvoyant; Jonathan W., mentioned below; Avery; Sumner; Laura, who married Peter Meyers, and died in Iowa; Albert, who died young; Hannah, widow of Joseph Porter, who resides in Windham; Ann, who married Benjamin Meyers, and lived in Albany, N.Y., but is now deceased; Elizabeth, who married Dwight Eaton, and lives in Montville, Conn.; and Jane, who died aged ten years.

(VI) Jonathan W. Maine, the father of Andrew H., was born in Windham. He engaged in farming and also conducted a shoe store in Easton, Conn., for a number of years. For many years he was an exhorter and active in church work, and while not a member of any denomination, was a Methodist in belief. In politics he was originally a Whig, later a Republican. Mr. Maine married Lydia C. Robinson, daughter of Andrew and Bethiah (Church) Robinson, and after their marriage they settled upon the Robinson homestead, where the mother was born and spent her entire life. To this worthy couple came three children: (1) A. Walker, born June 11, 1843, a teacher in his younger days, went to Nebraska, and died at Ulysses, that State, aged forty-seven. He and Mr. Hale had carried on a banking business. He married Lois Palmer, daughter of Alfred Palmer, and had three daughters, Flora, Beulah and Ida. (2) Augustus died, aged seventeen. (3) Andrew Henry is mentioned below.

(I) Isaac Robinson, born about 1610, is the first of the family to which Mrs. Lydia C. Maine belonged, in this country. He came to New England in 1631, and settled in Plymouth. He was the son of Rev. John Robinson, who was born in 1575, probably in Lincolnshire, England; was graduated from Cambridge in 1599, and began to preach at Norfolk. In 1608 he went to Amsterdam, Holland, and to Leyden in 1609, and was there pastor of the Pilgrim Church. He died Feb. 9, 1629. His wife was Bridget White. His son (II) Isaac went from Plymouth to Scituate in 1636, in 1639 to Barnstable, in 1663 to Falmouth, and in 1673, was at Tisbury, Martha’s Vinyard. In 1701 he returned to Barnstable, and he died probably in 1704.

(III) Peter Robinson, son of Isaac, the emigrant settler, born after 1653, married Experience, daughter of John Manton, of Tisbury, and was of that town until 1706, but is called of Chilmark. In 1710 he resided in Norwich (or Preston), Conn. He purchased land in Windham (Scotland, then called Preston), in 1721. He died in 1739 or 1740, and his wife died in 1727.

(IV) Peter Robinson (2), son of Peter, born in 1697, married June 30, 1725, Ruth, daughter of Samuel Fuller, of Mansfield, Conn. Mr. Robinson died March 22, 1785, and Ruth, his wife, died Jan. 9, 1795.

(V) Experience Robinson, son of Peter (2), born April 22, 1728, married Feb. 14, 1748-49, Zeruriah Palmer, daughter of Elizur Palmer. She died June 9, 1806, and he Sept. 10, 1807.

(VI) Andrew Robinson, son of Experience, born Aug. 1, 1762, married Bethiah Church, and they were the parents of Mrs. Jonathan W. Maine. In 1800 they built the house where Andrew Maine now lives.

(VII) Andrew Henry Maine, the subject of this sketch, was born Feb. 6, 1850, in Scotland, where he grew to maturity, attending the district schools and working upon the farm until he was nineteen, from which time he devoted his attention entirely to his several occupations. For a short time he was successfully engaged in the manufacture of brick, in partnership with a brother, at the old Maine brickyard in the town of Windham. The old homestead is in his possession and there he has always lived. It is a fine piece of property, well cultivated, improved, and contains excellent buildings. Mr. Maine owns some 500 acres of good farming land in the towns of Scotland, Windham and Franklin, and in addition to carrying on general farming, he acts as agent for the sale of farm implements and buys and sells cattle quite extensively, meeting with unqualified success in all his undertakings. In politics he is a staunch Republican and has served as selectman for several years.

On May 14, 1874, he was married in Scotland to Nancy Estella Parkhurst, and two children have been born to them: Clarence, born Nov. 27, 1879; and Eva P., born March 14, 1883.

The ancestry of Mrs. Maine is very interesting and according to the records, the family dates back to (I) George Parkhurst, born in England, who first married Rebecca, and second, Susan Simpson, of Watertown. The children were all by the first marriage: George B., born in 1618, married to Sarah Brown and second to Mary Phyla; Joseph, ancestor, married to Rebecca Reed; Benjamin; Philu, married to Thomas Arnold; Deborah, married to John Smith; Elizabeth, first married to Emanuel Hilliard and second to Joseph Murry; Mary, who married Rev. Thomas Carter, and resided in Watertown, Massachusetts.

(II) Joseph Parkhurst married Rebecca Reed, June 6, 165-, and she died in 1709. Their children were: Mary, who married Thomas Blodgett, born Aug. 10, 1657; Rebecca, born Aug. 14, 1659; Joseph, Jr., ancestor, born Jan. 12, 1661; Abigail, born March 14, 1664, who married Nathaniel Comming; Ebenezer, born Dec. 2, 1671.

(III) Joseph (2) married Eunice Spaulding, born July 12, 1661; she died Jan. 19, 1743, and he died Dec. 11, 1720. Their children were: Timothy, ancestor, born Jan. 14, 1689, deceased March 3, 1770, who married Elizabeth Cady; John, born 1690, who died Jan. 10, 1777; Eunice, born June 4, 1692, who married Thomas Marsh; Joseph, born Aug. 5, 1695, who married first, Sarah Lawrence and second, Judith Johnson; Hannah, born July 24, 1697; Hannah, Aug. 25, 1698; Samuel, born April 25, 1701, deceased May 22, 1778, who married first Esther Spaulding and second Mary Hutchins; Mary, born Nov. 18, 1702, married to Thomas Pierce. The head of this generation moved from Chelmsford, Mass., to Plainfield, Connecticut.

(IV) Timothy was married Jan. 15, 1717, and he and his wife had the following family: Eunice, born Oct. 10, 1717, who married Gideon Lawrence, and died July 23, 1804; Johanna, born Dec. 19, 1720, who died Nov. 20, 1801, unmarried; Mary, born March 4, 1723, who died Nov. 20, 1801, unmarried; Jonathan, born July 25, 1725, who died Aug. 22, 1787, married Judith Wilson; David, born Oct. 29, 1727, who married Phebe Kingsbury; Timothy, born Feb. 8, 1730-1, deceased Nov. 20, 1815, who married a Miss Cady; Elizabeth, born July 7, 1734, married to Col. Dyer Spaulding; Isaac, ancestor, born April 22, 1738, who died Sept. 3, 17--; married to Mary Cady; Patience, born June 11, 1740; all lived at Plainfield, Connecticut.

(V) Isaac Parkhurst, born April 22, 1738, died Sept. 3, 17--; he married Nov. 19, 1762, Mary Cady, and had the following family: Oliver, born March 3, 1763, whose wife was named Mary; Elias, born May 30, 1764; Isaac, Sept. 7, 1766; Betty, Sept. 26, 1767, who died single Sept. 17, 1840; Lucy, Oct. 10, 1768, who died Sept. 10, 1818, married to James Fairman; Dinah, Oct. 22, 1769, who died Jan. 22, 1852.

(VI) Elias Parkhurst married Freelove Stranahan, and their family was as follows: Anthony, ancestor, born Feb. 16, 1798, deceased Sept. 13, 1837, who married Mahetable Harrington; Hiram, born Sept. 23, 1800, who died May 5, 1857, married to Nancy Kenyon; Elias, born Feb. 27, 1803, married Hannah B. Perry; Herbert, born Oct. 19, 1806, deceased in 1884, who married (first) Emeline T. Masely and (second) Caroline Craine.

(VII) Anthony Parkhurst married Mahetable Harrington and their children were: Freelove E., born May 20, 1821; Abby E., April 10, 1823; Anthony W., father of Mrs. Maine, July 27, 1824.

(VIII) Anthony W. Parkhurst married Nancy C. Palmer Dec. 2, 1850; she was born Jan. 2, 1827, and died Jan. 15, 1896. Their children were: Susan Lunette, born Oct. 1, 1851, who died June 5, 1854; Nancy Estella, March 12, 1853, who married May 14, 1874, Andrew H. Maine, the subject of this sketch; Eva Thankful, Sept. 24, 1855, married March 20, 1878, to Dr. Casper Barstow, who died February, 1889. She died Oct. 22, 1900, having had the following children: Edith Lunetta, born Aug. 5, 1880, who died Dec. 23, 1880; Edgar, born July 30, 1882; Edna Estella, born Sept. 12, 1885; and Miriam, born Sept. 12, 1887.

The grandfather, Anthony Parkhurst, married in Plainfield and in 1823 came to Scotland, where he purchased property soon afterward. The farm where his son now lives he purchased in 1829, and lived there engaged in farming until his death, the result of an accident. In politics he was a Whig and later a Republican. His son, Anthony W. Parkhurst, has spent his life in Scotland and conducted the home farm. Like his father, he is a Republican, and has held various town offices, was selectman for three years, and represented the town in the Legislature in 1881. In religious matters, he is a member of the Christian Church, and he, as well as all of his family, are very highly respected throughout the community.

Reproduced by:

Linda D. Pingel

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