Genealogical and Family History
of the
STATE OF MAINE

Compiled under the editorial supervision of George Thomas Little, A. M., Litt. D.

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York
1909.

[Please see Index page for full citation.]

[Transcribed by Coralynn Brown]

[Many families included in these genealogical records had their beginnings in Massachusetts.]

CUSHMAN It is not every family that can boast of a Mayflower ancestry, but in Robert Cushman those of that name and lineage may rightfully set up Puritanic descent. [trans note: the people who came over on the Mayflower were not Puritans, they were separatists]. The name is supposed to have originated from Cush, a geographical locality. Then we have the man of Cush, i.e., who lived at Cush, and in the process of evolution we have Cushman. (I) Robert Cushman, the head of the race in this country, was born in England between the years 1580 and 1585. In religion he was a Puritan, and was one of that band of Pilgrims who left their native shores for opinion's sake. The Pilgrim Fathers of New England developed chiefly in the north of England, in the farming districts in the counties of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Two churches of Puritans were formed int he northeastern part of England. Of one of these churches in Scrooby, Rev. Richard Clifton was pastor. To this church belonged Rev. John Robinson, Elder Brewster, Governor Carver, Governor Bradford, Isaac Allerton and Robert Cushman. The men who comprised this church were principally persons of good education and of superior minds, and Robert Cushman was a very prominent man among them. They were the true founders of our republic. Driven by persecution at home, they fled to Holland, there to seek a haven of rest. Remaining in Holland eight years, they began to look toward the wilderness of America as their permanent home. To this end they sent Robert Cushman and Deacon John Carver to England to open negotiations with King James. This was in the year 1617. After repeated attempts and failures, the plan finally matured, and on Saturday, Aug. 5, 1620, they set sail from Southampton on the "Mayflower" and "Speedwell," Robert Cushman and family being among the number. (II) Thomas (1), son of Robert Cushman, was born in England in Feb.,1608. He was on the "Mayflower" with his father, returned with him to London on the "Speedwell," coming to New England again on the "Fortune" in 1621. In 1635 he served as a juryman. That year he married Mary Allerton, probably a daughter of Isaac Allerton. The exact locality of the house in which he lived is pointed out in the present town of Kingston, and the spring that stood near it is named after him. It is often visited by antiquarians. In 1649 he was made ruling elder of the church, which was a very important position in those days. He was one of the witnesses to Governor Bradford's will. He died Dec. 11, 1694. The gravestone erected to his memory at Plymouth is still in a good state of preservation (1908). Children: Thomas, Sarah, Lydia, Isaac, Elkanah, Feare, Eleazer and Mary. (III) Thomas (2), eldest child and son of Thomas (1) and Mary (Allerton) Cushman, was born Sept. 16, 1637, and married Ruth, daughter of John Howland, Nov. 17, 1664. He married (second) Abigail Fuller of Rehoboth, Oct. 16, 1679. He lived on the west side of the highway that leads from Plympton meeting-house to the north part of the town, "Colchester brook" running through his farm. He died Aug. 23, 1726, aged eighty-nine, and was interred in the Center burying-ground at Plympton. Children: Robert, Job, Bartholomew, Samuel, Benjamin. (IV) Benjamin, youngest son of Thomas (2) and Abigail (Fuller) Cushman, was born in 1691, and married Sarah Eaton, Jan. 8, 1712. He married (second) Widow Sarah Bell, March 14, 1738. He lived on that part of his father's farm on the south side of and near Colchester brook. His descendants were: Jabez, Caleb, Solomon, Jerusha, Benjamin, Sarah, Abigail, Thomas and Huldah. (V) Thomas (3), eighth child of Benjamin and Sarah (Eaton) Cushman, was born in Plympton, Mass., Oct. 11, 1730, and married Annie, daughter of Jacob Cushman, of Halifax. He represented his town in the legislature; he was a pious, respectable man, a useful member of the community in which he lived. In 1777 he was one of a committee appointed to visit church members and endeavor to bring to repentant sinners who had been guilty of open scandal. He died of smallpox while attending the general court in Boston, Oct. 30, 1777. His wife and four of his children died of the same disease Jan. 4, 1778. Children: Job, Jerusha, Samuel, Thomas, Zachariah, Elizabeth, Zebedee, Clara, Lydia, Chipman, Polly and Bartholomew. (VI) Thomas (4), fourth son and third child of Thomas (3) and Annie (Chipman) Cushman, was born Jan. 30, 1758, in Plympton, Mass., and removed to Oxford, Oxford county, Maine. He married Ruth Ring in 1783. He became associated with the Shakers at New Gloucester, Maine, and afterward at Alfred, Maine, where he died Oct., 1816. Children: Ara and Israel. (VII) Ara (1), first child of Thomas (4) and Ruth (Ring) Cushman, was born Jan. 10, 1784, in Oxford, Maine, adn was connected with the Shakers till 1814. He married Esther Merrill, Jan. 12, 1817, and lived in Minot, Maine. Children: Mary Susan, Rebecca Ring, Thomas, Martha Ann and Ara. (VIII) Ara (2), youngest child and third son of Ara (1) and Esther (Merrill) Cushman, was born Apr. 20, 1829. He passed his younger days on the farm. He was educated in the district schools and at Lewiston and Gorham academies. He taught school some years. He began shoe manufacturing in the town of Minot on a small scale. The business outgrew the place, and it was removed to Auburn, Maine. It finally grew to be one of the largest establishments of its kind in New England. They produced a fine grade of goods. Besides managing this concern, which went under the name of Ara Cushman Shoe Company, he was president of the J. M. Arnold Shoe Company, of Bangor, a director in A. H. Berry Shoe Company, of Portland, and the Auburn Land Company, the Auburn Trust Company, and was president of the Auburn Board of Trade, and the Old Ladies Home. He was one of the organizers of the Shoe and Leather Bank, and served as its president many years. He assisted in building the Elm Street Universalist Church, in Auburn, he being of that faith. He was four years president of the Universalist State Convention, and was an owner of the demoninational paper. He was a very strong temperance man, working in sympathy with those who would suppress the traffic by stringent laws and the rigid enforcement thereof. He was not of those who believed in resubmission. A Republican in politics, he had been a delgate to many conventions. In 1873-74 he represented his adopted city in the lower house. He believed in applying the principlews of equity and justice in dealing with his employees, and he was the first in New England to adopt the profit-sharing plan among workmen. He had written and published much on the relation between capital and labor, and was a very good authority on the subject, having given the subject much study and attention, together with hs practical experience in hiring and treating with labor. He was a very forceful speaker. Mr. Cushman married, June 21, 1853, W. Morse, of Gray, Maine, born Dec. [trans note: part of pg not photocopied] ___, 1830, daughter of Thomas and Sally [trans. note: part of page not photocopied) ______ Morse. Children: 1. Charles [trans note: this part not photocopied) _____, born in Minot, May 26, 1856, married ___ [not photocopied] 20, 1878, Lena Farrington. 2, Ara, born [part not photocopied[ _____ Auburn, May 26, 1872, married, June 5, 1894, Elizabeth (Osgood) Cornish. 3. Juila, born March 13, 1875, died Aug., 1876. Mr. Cushman died Feb. 15, 1904.