Who was the father of Harpswell by Gary Anderson
There is a quote in the book Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth Maine by William Hutchinson Rowe; New England History Press; Somersworth, NH 03878, “All our hopes for the future depend on a sound understanding of the past.” From the Meaning of History by Frederic Harrison, George Washington was the father of our country and William King, from Bath, the father of our state without a doubt.
Who then fathered the Town of Harpswell? His name, we will show, was Ammi Ruhamah Cutter. Before we reveal the career of this fellow with the astonishing name, we must briefly review the steps taken in becoming the Town of Harpswell.
North Yarmouth was so named in deference to the Yarmouth in Massachusetts inasmuch as that Commonwealth was once part of Maine. The line went across Harpswell Neck to Phippsburg in colonial days. Citizens of the future Harpswell and selectmen of Brunswick petitioned to draw off from North Yarmouth and be annexed to Brunswick for, among other considerations, a nearer church to attend. You will remember that sections were called “parishes,” and one was obligated to support one’s local parish. North Yarmouth objected, but the sloop bearing the papers stating those objections was slow in getting to Boston and four days too late to stop annexation.
The town then appointed a commission headed by Ammi R. Cutter to ask for a rehearing. The bill was heard again, and the annexation set aside with the provision the citizens of the Neck, upon giving their names to the town clerk of Brunswick, might enjoy the privileges of attending church in that town. No one was happy with this arrangement, and each town then petitioned for the Neck and unclaimed lands between Brunswick and North Yarmouth to be annexed to Brunswick. This didn’t fly either and eight years later, after a town meeting in 1756 in North Yarmouth, the inhabitants of Merriconeag Neck, Sebascodegan Island and other islands petitioned for and in 1758 gained the distinction of becoming a separate district without representation. The town was named for a town in Lincolnshire, England. Ammi R. Cutter’s efforts bore fruit at long last, not as initially attempted but more in line with the peoples’ wishes.
Mr. Cutter was born in Cambridge and baptized May 6, 1703. He was educated at Harvard and became a Minister of the Gospel and a physician. He arrived at North Yarmouth at 24 years of age, of “imposing physique, commanding height, with piercing, black eyes. His graceful chirography was highly appreciated and often employed in writing deeds and other instruments,” to quote Mr. Rowe.
Accordingly, we can assume he also wrote our charter and established town lines inasmuch as he was a surveyor and had corrected and squared North Yarmouth’s boundaries in 1735.
In 1741 he was agent for the town at the General Court. In 1742 he was appointed “truck master” for the local Indians. This consisted of running a trading post as stipulated in the peace treaty with them. He promptly composed a dictionary of the language differences between the Pegwacket and Ossipee tribes so that all parties might understand each other in transactions.
He captained a company in the expedition against Louisburg, the Gibraltar of North America, and stayed on after the surrender to serve as surgeon in 1745. He succumbed the following March to the ravages of dysentery and was brought home for burial in North Yarmouth. His remarkable and active life had lasted but 43 years!
Harpswell, on the other hand, now two hundred and fifty!!