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.]

FULLER John Fuller, ancestor of Edward Fuller, and his brother Dr. Samuel Fuller, both of whom came on the "Mayflower," and of Captain Matthew Fuller, who came later to Plymouth, lived in the parish of Redenhll with Harleston, in nearly the center of the hundred of Earsham, county Norfolk, England. Wortwell, an adjacent parish, shares in the parish church, through which the division line passes. He was born probably as early as 1500 and died in 1558-9. There were living in Redenhall in 1482 and 1488 John and William Fuller, one of whom was doubtless father of John Fuller (1), whose will was dated Feb. 4, 1558-9, and proved May 12, 1559, bequeathing to his son John lands in Redenhall and Wortwell; also to son Robert and daughter Alice (Ales); and to Stephen and Frances Sadd. Children; 1. John, mentioned below. 2. Alice. 3. Robert, mentioned below. (II) John (2), son of John (1) Fuller, lived at Redenhall. His will is dated Jan. 29, 1698-99, and proved May 8, 1599, bequeathing to wife Ann; sons Thomas, the younger; Roger, Ralph, Robert, "young William, my sonne." "Thomas Fuller the younger," "ould William, my sonne," then deceased, and his four children. He married Ann ____, who married second Giles Chalker. Children & date of baptism: 1. Elizabeth, bap. Feb. 1, 1559. 2. Ann, bap. Sept. 8, 1560. 3. Garthred, bap. Feb. 30, 1562. 4. Ralph, bap. Nov. 3, 1565. 5. Thomas, bap. Dec. 18, 1565. 6. Roger, bap. Oct. 19, 1572, died 1644; m. Jane Gowen who d. in 1647; children: i. Giles, who came to America, was in Dedham, Mass. in 1638, removed that yr to Hampton, N. H., where he died in 1673; ii. Elizabeth, bap. 1609, m. John Fuller, perhaps brother of Matthew; iii. Susanna m. Thomas Thurston, father of Thomas Thurston, who came to New England in 1677. 7. William, the younger, married Alice Linge, Nov. 25, 1581. Their children were baptized at Redenhall; amog them was: Ralph, bap. Nov. 8, 1584, m. Nov. 3, 1608, Elizabeth Eliot, and had among other children, Thomas Fuller, bap. Jan. 20, 1619, settled at Dedham, Mass. 8. William, the elder, one of the older children, died before his father. 9. Thomas, the younger. Perhaps others. There is no doubt that there were two children, adults at the same time, named William and two also named Thomas. This perplexing custom of having two children of the same name, both living, was not at all uncommon. [trans. note: well, this is the first time I've seen this phenomenon, and I've transcribed vital records, etc., for about nine years!) (II) Robert, son of John (1) Fuller, lived at Redenhall. He was a yeoman. His will was dated May 19, 1614, and proved May 31, 1614, by the widow and June 16, 1614, by son Thomas. He bequeathed to wife Frances a place in Assyes, in Harleston or Redenhall, for the term of her natural life; to son Edward the same tenement after his wife's death; to son Samuel; to daughter Anna; daughter Elizabeth Fuller and daughter Mary Fuller; to son Thomas a tenement "wherein now dwell, held of Tryndelhedge Bastoft Manor in Redenhall or Harleston'" and mentioned grandson John, son of John deceased. He married Frances ____. He was a butcher by trade. Children & date of baptism: 1. Thomas, bap.Dec. 13, 1573. 2. Edward, bap. Sept. 4, 1575, came in the "Mayflower" and signed the compact; died in 1621, left an only son Samuel. * see below, far below.... 3. Ann, bap. April 22, 1577. 4. Ann, bap. Dec. 21, 1578. 5. John, bap. March 15, 1578-79, mentioned below. 6. Samuel, bap. Jan. 20, 1580, the physician of the Plymouth colony, who came in the "Mayflower." 7. Robert, bap. Oct. 22, 1581. 8. Edmund, bap. May 19, 1583. 9. Sarah, bap. Sept. 4, 1586. 10. Christopher, bap. Dec. 15, 1588. Several other children of Robert Fuller may have been of another of the same name. The will of Robert Fuller, butcher, mentions those of the American families, however. (III) John (3), son of Robert Fuller, was baptized at Redenhall, March 15, 1578-79, or March 25, 1582, and died in 1608, before his father. He married Margaret Balls and lived at Redenhall. Children: 1. John, baptized April 25, 1602. 2. Matthew, Oct. 16, 1603, mentioned below. 3. Thomas, June 16, 1605. 4. Thomas, March 1, 1606. 5. William, bap. after his father died, June 30, 1609. (IV) Captain Matthew, son of John (3) Fuller, was baptized in Redenhall, England, Oct. 16, 1603. He came to Plymouth, where his two uncles, Edward and Dr. Samuel, had preceded him, and until recently it was supposed that he was a son of Edward. The first record of him at Plymouth was Oct. 26, 1640, when he sold to Andrew Ring for one cow, a calf, and two goats a piece of land at Plymouth and six acres in the new field, lately bought of John Gregory. In later years he was accounted to be "one of the first born of the colony" and had land assigned to him by virtue of his primogeniture. It was the law that where no children were born to a family in this country, the right of drawing land was given to the eldest son, though he were born in the old country. Nevertheless he was classed among "the first born of the colony." In 1642 he was granted ten acres near the farm of Thurston Clark in Plymouth, and in the same year served as a juryman. He applied for admission as a freeman Sept. 7, 1642, but was not allowed to qualify until June 7, 1653. He was one of the leading military men of the colony. When the first company was organized under command of Captain Miles Standish in 1643, he was appointed sergeant and made lieutenant in Sept., 1652. He was a lieutenant June 20, 1654, under Capt. Standish, in command of fifty men organized for the proposed expedition against the Dutch in New Amsterdam, later called New York. The company was ordered to rendezvous at Sandwich, Plymouth colony, June 29, to embark from Mahanet in the barque "Adventure," owned by Capr. Samuel Mayo, of Barnstable, and to join the other English forces; but on June 23 news was received that peace was declared between England and Holland and preparations for war ceased. Fuller was elected to the council of war Oct. 2, 1658, and was made chairman in 1671. In that year also he was lieutenant of the colonial forces in the expedition against the Indians of Saconet. Fuller was a physician by profession and had a good standing as shown by his appointment Dec. 17, 1673, as surgeon-general of the Plymouth Colony troops and also of the Mass. Bay troops. He served as captain of the company in King Philip's war and took a distinguishing part. He was deputy to the general court as early as 1653. He lived first at Plymouth, then at Scituate, where he was admitted to the church by letter from Plymouth church, and finally at Barnstable, where he was the first regular physician. His son John and some of his grandsons followed him in his profession, which he doubtless learned of his uncle, Dr. Samuel, and in turn tauht to his son. He and his cousin lived side by side on Scorton Neck, which was bought of the Secunke (Seeconk) Indians by Barnstable and Sandwich. The west end of the Fuller farm formed the town line between Sandwich and Barnstable. A dispute as to this bounday line caused a lawsuit, which was eventually compromised, the Fullers relinquishing their claim to certain lands granted by Barnstable Oct. 3, 1672, and the town of Sandwich conceding to the Fullers certain rights of way with the privilege of cutting fence stuff in Sandwich. Captain Fuller had land granted at Suckennesset, now Falmouth, and in the "Major's Purchase," Middleborough, as "first-born" rights. He was a man of sound judgment, good inderstanding and courage. He was faithful to his trusts, liberal in politics and tolerant in religion. In fact he was too tolerant for his day and too frank in his speech to avoid trouble. He was indignant at the prosecution of the Quakers, and was indicted for saying "the law enacted about minister's maintenance was a wicked and devilish law and that the devil sat at the stone when it was enacted." He admitted that he used the words, and was fined fifty shillings. Yet he held the confidence of the people and received further honors and high office afterward. He died at Barnstable in 1678. He bequeathed in his will, dated July 25, proved Oct. 30, 1678, to his wife Frances, to grandchild Shubael, son of Ralph Jones; to son John, and to Thomas, Jabez, Timothy, Matthias and Samuel, sons of his deceased son Samuel; to Elizabeth, wife of Moses Rowley, and Anne, wife of son Samuel; to Bethiah, wife of son John; to grandchild Sarah Rowley, Jedediah Jones and all the rest. Also to Robert Marshall, "the Scotchman." Children: 1. Mary, married April 17, 1650, Ralph Jones. 2. Elizabeth, married April 22, 1652, Moses Rowley. 3. Samuel, mentioned below. 4. John, married (first) Bethia; (second) Hannah Martin. 5. Ann, married Samuel Fuller Jr., her cousin. (V) Lieutenant Samuel, son of Captain Matthew Fuller, was born in England. He was a prominent citizen and soldier. In 1670 he served on a committee of Plymouth colony to assess damages for injury to cattle of the Indians. He held various town offices. He was lieutenant of the Barnstable company in King Philip's war and was killed in battle at Rehoboth, Mass. Aug. 15, 1675. By a singular coincidence another Samuel Fuller, the son of Robert Fuller, of Salem, was killed at Rehoboth March 25, 1675, but a few months before. He married Mary ____. The following children are mentioned in his will: 1. Thomas. 2. Jabez, mentioned below. 3. Timothy, resided at Haddam, Connecticut; married Sarah Gates. 4. Matthew, died unmarried at Barnstable in 1697; bequeathed half his land at Middleborough to his mother and half to his brother Timothy. 5. Anne, married April 29, 1689, Joseph Smith, of Barnstable, b. Dec. 6, 1667, d. 1746. 6. Abigail. 7. Samuel (posthumous), born 1676, married Elizabeth Thacher. (VI) Jabez, son of Lieut. Samuel Fuller, was born at Plymouth in 1660. He was a farmer at Middleborough and Barnstable. He married Mercy Hallett. Children, born at Barnstable: 1. Samuel, b. Feb. 23, 1687. 2. Jonathan, b. March 10, 1692, mentioned below. 3. Mercy, b. April 1, 1696, married March 17, 1719-20. 4. Lois, b. Sept. 23, 1704, married Nov. 25, 1725, Thomas Foster. 5. Ebenezer, b. Jan. 1, 1729. 6. Mary. 7. Hannah. (VII) Jonathan, son of Jabez Fuller, was born at Plymouth, March 10, 1692. He went with the family to Middleborough, where he was a farmer. He married (first) Feb. 14, 1711-12, Eleanor Bennett, who died Sept. 28, 1721; (second) Dec. 17, 1729, Hannah Harlow, of an old Plymouth family. Children, b. at Middleborough, of first wife: 1. Margaret, b. Nov. 17, 1712. 2. Abigail, b. March 11, 1714-15. 3. Jabez, mentioned below. 4. Jonathan Jr., b. July 13, 1719. 5. Timothy, b. Jan., 1721. 6. Molly, b. Sept. 11, 1725. Child of second wife: 7. Elearnor, b. Feb. 23, 1730-31. (VIII) Jabez (2), son of Jonathan Fuller, was born at Middleborough, July 17, 1717. He married Hannah Pratt. He was a farmer in his native town. Children, b. in Middleborough: Sarah, Peter, Lucy, Zenas, Betsey, John, Amos, Rev. Andrew, mentioned below, Hannah. (IX) Rev. Andrew, son of Jabez (2) Fuller, was born in Middleborough, May 18, 1761. He enlisted in the revolutionary army when he was but sixteen, as stated in the reocrds, and shown by the date March 5, 1777, for three years. He was first assigned to Captain Joseph Tupper's company of Middleborough. He was in Captain Nehemiah Allen's company, Colonel Sprout's Fourth Plymouth Regiment, Feb. 19, 1778; also in Captain Wadsworth's company, Colonel Gamaliel Bradford's regiment, enlisted for three years. He was at Valley Forge in Washington's army in the terrible winter of 1777-78. He was promoted sergeant when but seventeen years of age, in the same regiment, under Captain John Fuller, and afterward was sergeant of Captain Zebulon King's company, Lieut. Colonel John Brook's regiment (the Seventh Plymouth). He was court-martialed on the charge of disobeying orders and using insolent language, and was sentenced to be reduced, but he must have been restored to his rank as sergeant almost immediately. He was certainly sergeant in 1781-82, in Captain King's company, Lieut, John Brooks' regiment. He was court-martialed the second time for overstaying his furlough ten hours, but he proved his tardiness was due to lameness and unavoidable, and was acquitted. The records give his age in 1781-82 as twenty years, also as twenty-one; his height as six feet; complexion dark (also given as brown); his occupation, farmer; his birthplace and residence, Middleborugh. He was again court-martialed March 1, 1782, on the charge of overstaying his leave for three days, but was again acquitted. He was discharged June 13, 1783, his term of enlistment having expired, by General Washington himself, as stated in the Mass. archives. He was living in Warren (now Maine) in 1801, and was declared entitled according to the resolves of March 14, 1801, and June 19, 1801, to gratuities, etc., from the state. He had a record of long and hard service from the time he could enter the army until the close of the war. He removed, after the revolution, to Maine, and studied for the ministry in the Baptist denomination. He was ordained an evangelist at Nobleborough, Maine, in 1788; was pastor on Muscongus Island unil 1798; preached at Hope, Maine, from 1799 to 1803, when he was settled as pastor of the Baptist church at Warren and continued in that pastorate the remainder of his life, a period of twenty years. He was a sturdy Christian minister, suffering cheefully the hardships of a pioneer life, of sterling character and a vital influence for a generation in that section. He died Jan. 21, 1820. He married Hannah Richards, of Bristol, Maine, who died March 13, 1845, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. Children: 1. Captain William Oliver; in command of the sloop "Peggy" he was captured by a privateer in the war of 1812 and died in the British prison at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Nov. 21, 1813; married Mary McIntyre. 2. Andrew, born 1787. 3. Sarah, b. 1788, married James Chaples. 4. Peter, mentioned below. 5. Priscilla, died young. (X) Peter, son of Rev. Andrew Fuller, was born at Warren, Maine, April 30, 1791, died there March 20, 1866. He was a well-to-do farmer and influential citizen in his native town, where he filled the usual town offices, and for twenty-five years was sheriff of Lincoln county. He married Phoebe Dunbar, in 1811. Children, b. at Warren: 1. Andrew, b. March 26, 1812, died aged five days. 2. Belinda W., Aug. 4, 1813, married Oct. 25, 1846, Samuel Braley; died Jan. 22, 1896. 3. William Oliver, b. Feb. 11, 1816, died Oct. 14, 1908, mentioned below. 4. Daniel Dunbar, b. April 5, 1818, married Mary White, of Boston, died at Rockland Nov. 6, 1876. 5. Andrew, b. May 3, 1820, married, 1841, Sarah Braley and, Oct. 17, 1855, Elizabeth Gay, and died at Albany, New York. 6. Mary W., b. May 16, 1822, married Deacon Calvin Bickford. 7. Phoebe A., b. Aug. 21, 1826, died young. 8. Eliza A. Barker (adopted), Aug. 1, 1831. (XI) William Oliver, son of Peter Fuller, was born in Warren, Feb. 11, 1816. He attenede the public schools of his native town and after completing his education taught in schools in that vicinity. In 1836 he started in business as a storekeeper and manufacturer of lime and was in that business for a number of years there and in St. George. In 1844 he removed to East Thomaston (now Rockland), Maine, and laid the foudnations of the dry goods business now carried on by the Fuller-Cobb Company, with which he was identified to the time of his death, Oct. 14, 1908, at the advanced age of ninety-two years eight months. To the end his faculties remained and he took enjoyment in the progress of events. His life was well-ordered, and while not conspicuous, furnished an excellent example of the success that follows in the train of the old-fashioned New England attributes of honesty and thrift. The sermon preached at his funeral had for its theme, "Character," illustrated by references to the career and achievements of the deceased. He married Aug. 12, 1841, Bethiah C. Snow, of Thomaston, Maine, b. April 22, 1823, daughter of Robert Snow, of Thomaston. She is a descendant of Stephen Hopkins, who came in the "Mayflower." Mrs. Fuller at eighty-six continues in excellent health. Only a short time before Mr. Fuller's death the couple celebrated the sixty-seventh anniversay of thei marriage. Children: 1. Adela Snow, born Aug. 11, 1842, married Cyrus C. Hills, of Bostn, Dec. 12, 1867, now resides in Rockland. 2. Martha Cobb, b. Sept. 19, 1844, married John Reed, of Damariscotta, Maine, Feb. 15, 1881. 3. Ambrose S., b. June 20, 1846, drowned at sea, Sept., 1861. 4. Mary, b. Nov. 21, 1852, married Edward L. Veazie Oct. 20, 1880, resides in Rockland. 5. William Oliver Jr., b. Feb. 3, 1856, mentioned below. 6. Frank Washburn, b. Aug. 24, 1860, married Harriet O. Watts; (second) Grace Cobb Andrews. (XI) William Oliver, son of William Oliver Fuller, was born in Rockland, Feb. 3, 1856. He was educated in the public schools of Rockland and at the Kent's Hill Seminary. A natural aptitude for writing led him into newspaper work. In 1874 he founded the Rockland Courier and conducted it successfully for eight years, when, in 1882, it was consolidated with the Rockland Gazette, under the name of The Courier-Gazette. This printing and publishing business was incorporated in 1892 under the name of the Rockland Publishing Company, of which he is treasurer and Arnold H. Jones is president. Mr. Fuller continues editor and manager of the newspaper. He has a distinguishing sense of humor and is an entertaining editorial writer. The Courier-Gazette has been a wholesome influence in the community. Mr. Fuller is known as a witty after-dinner speaker and public lecturer, and has some reputation as a writer of humorous books and newspaper sketches. He is a prominent Republican. From 1880 to 1885 he was city clerk of Rockland, and represented the third ward in the common council, of which he was president in 1892. He was appointed to his present office of postmaster in Rockland by President Roosevelt in 1902. He is connected with Masonry as a member of Aurora Lodge, No. 50; of King Solomon Temple Chapter, Nov. 8, Royal Arch Masons; and of King Hiram Council, No. 6, Royal and Select Masons. He is a member of the Maine Historical Society, of the Maine Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and of the 12mo Club. He has traveled extensively, recently visiting the ancient home of his Fuller ancestors in England. His home, "Pickwick Place," with its unique literary treasures, notably in Dickensiana, has been visited by many literary person. He is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. Fuller married (first), Oct. 25, 1882, Elizabeth N. Jones, born July 4, 1861, died June 8, 1890, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Woodcock) Jones. He married (second) March 29, 1892, Kathleen M. Stephens, born Jan. 30, 1869, daughter of Richard and Sophia Stephens, of Baldwin, Kansas (both native of Cornwall, England.) Mrs. Fuller is descended from the famous Glanville family of England. Children of 1st wife: 1. Douglas Wardwell, born Sept. 9, 1884, graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1906, promoted to ensign in 1908. 2. Donald Hills, b. Aug. 4, 1886. 3. Elizabeth Jones, b. June 23, 1887. Child of 2d wife: 4. Richard Stearns, b. May 22, 1894. *(III) Edward Fuller, son of Robert Fuller (2), was baptized Sept. 4, 1575, at Redenhall, county Norfolk, England; came in the "Mayflower" to Plymouth with the Pilgrims in 1620, with his famous brother, Dr. Samuel Fuller, and was one of the signers of the compact on board the ship before landing. He probably joined the "Mayflower" company at Southampton, England. Both he and his wife died early in 1621, leaving a son Samuel, mentioned below. (IV) Samuel, son of Edward Fuller, came in the "Mayflower" to New England with his parents, who died and left him an orphan. He went to live with his uncle, Dr. Samuel Fuller, who was the first physician in the country. he had three shares in the division of land in 1624, out of respect to his father and mother. He was the executor of his uncle's will in 1633. He was admitted a freeman in 1634. He removed from Plymouth to Scituate where he married, April 8, 1635, Jane Lothrop, daughter of Rev. John Lothrop. He joined the church at Scituate by letter from Plymouth, Nov. 7, 1636, and built in the same year the fifteenth house in Scituate, on Greenfield street, the first lot abutting on Kent street. He owned twenty acres in the east part of Bell House Neck. He was a resident of Barnstable as early as 1641, according to the church records. He was certainly an inhabitant there Jan. 1, 1644, and his cousin Matthew came later. The town of Barnstable bought of the Secunk Indians land called Scorton or Sandy Neck, set off the arable land, and reserved the rest for common land, and afterward divided it. The Fuller cousins lived on this land. Samuel Fuller also bought a meadow of his cousin Matthew, which had previously been owned by Major John Freeman, and meadowland of Samuel House. He resided in the northwest angle of Barnstable, in a secluded spot, where travellers seldom passed. He was seldom in public life. He was constable of Scituate in 1641, and sometimes juror. He was sometimes appointed to settle difficulties with the Indians. Unlike his cousin, he was retired and very pious. Matthew was a Puritan, but ambitious and energetic. Samuel Fuller died in Barnstable, Oct. 31, 1683, and was the only settler of that town who came over in the "Mayflower." In 1679 he was one of twelve survivors of that famous voyage. His will was dated Oct. 29, 1683. He married April 8, 1635, Jane Lothrop. The ceremny took place at Mr. Cudworth's and was performed by Captain Miles Standish. Children, b. at Scituate: 1. Hannah, married Jan. 1, 1658-59, Nicholas Bonhaur. 2. Samuel, baptized Feb. 11, 1637-38, mentioned below. 3. Elizabeth, married ____ Taylor. 4. Sarah, baptized at Barnstable Aug. 1, 1641, died young. 5. Mary, baptized June 16, 1644, married Nov. 18, 1674, Joseph Williams, son of John Williams, of Haverhill. 6. Thomas, born May 18, 1650, probably died young. 7. Sarah, born Dec. 14, 1654, married ____ Crow. 8. John, "Little" John to his son Matthew. 9. Child, born Feb. 8, 1658, died aged fifteen days. (V) Samuel (2), son of Samuel (1) Fuller, was baptized Feb. 11, 1637-38, at Scituate. He married Anna Fuller, daughter of his uncle, Captain Matthew Fuller. Her father was born in England, and came in the "Mayflower" to New England, but on the death of her parents returned to England; later he came back and applied for admission as a freeman Sept. 7, 1642, qualifying June 7, 1653. Matthew Fuller was one of the leading men of the colony; was first sergeant, then lieutenant in Captain Miles Standish's company. The company intended to march against the Dutch in New York, but peace between England and Holland was concluded before they had started. Matthew Fuller was a prominent Indian fighter and served in King Philip's war; he was deputy to the general court in 1653. [trans note: if this all sounds familiar, it should, as it appears in detail, see above, way up above]. The inventory of Samuel Fuller's estate was filed Dec. 29, 1691, and his widow was not living at that time. The estate was settled by agreement Dec. 30, 1691, all the heirs signing the agreement by mark. Children, b. at Barnstable: 1. Matthew, married Feb. 25, 1692-93, Patience Young. 2. Barnabas, mentioned below. 3. Joseph, married Thankful Blossom. 4. Benjamin. 5. Desire. 6. Sarah. (VI) Barnabas, son of Samuel (2) Fuller, resided at Barnstable. He married, Feb. 25, 1680-81, Elizabeth Young. Children, b. at Barnstable: 1. Samuel, b. Nov., 1681. 2. Isaac, b. August, 1684, mentioned below. 3. Hannah, b. Sept., 1688. 4. Ebenezer, married Martha Jones. 5. Josiah, married Ann Rowley. (VII) Isaac, son of Barnabas Fuller, was born in August, 1684, in Barnstable, and resided there. He married, July 9, 1719, Jerusha Lovell. Children, b. in Barnstable: 1. Eli, b. April 11, 1720, married 1746, Mercy Rogers, of Harwich. 2. Mehitable, b. March 10, 1722-23, married, Oct. 30, 1740, Thomas Ames. 3. Jerusha, b. Jan. 19, 1725-26, married John Green, of Falmouth. 4. Zaccheus, b. Oct. 16, 1727, married Feb. 22, 1752, Sarah Jones. 5. Charity, b. Dec. 11, 1729, married Aug. 7, 1760, Silas Lovell. 6. Isaac, b. Sept., 1731, married Susan Wadsworth. 7. Seth, b. May 29, 1734, mentioned below. 8. Hannah, b. April 9, 1736. (VIII) Seth, son of Isaac Fuller, was born in Barnstable May 29, 1734. He was one of the brothers who came from Barnstable about the close of the revolution, of whom two settled in Kennebec county. Chief Justice Fuller is a descendant of one of them. Seth Fuller settled in Fairfield, Somerset county, Maine, and built one of the first frame houses in the town, and in his house was held the first town meeting. He was a leading citizen of the town. He married _____. Children, b. at Barnstable or at Fairfield, Maine; 1. Benjamin, mentioned below. 2. Seth Jr. 3. Thankful, married Nathaniel Blackwell and theirs was the first marriage in Fairfield; Mr. Blackwell was a representative to the general court of Mass., and for twelve years used to drive to Boston to attend the sessions of the legislature there. 4. Abigail. 5. Mercy. 6. Hannah. (IX) Benjamin, son of Seth Fuller, was born in Fairfield, Maine, about 1775-80. He was educated in Fairfield and followed farming there all his active life. He married Deliverance Jones, daughter of Ephraim and Patience Jones, who came also from Barnstable, descended from one of the oldest and best known families of that town. Benjamin Fuller died in 1815 in Fairfield and his wife several years later. Children, b. in Fairfield: 1. Edward, b. 1804. 2. John Jones, b. July 22, 1806, mentioned below. 3. Abigail Nye, married Franklin Blackwell, of Winslow, Maine. 4. Warren, who was a farmer at Fairfield. (X) John Jones, son of Benjamin Fuller, was born in Fairfield, July 22, 1806. He was reared on his father's farm and received a rather meagre schooling, but through his own efforts became well educated, acquiring a broad knowledge of the world and of literature. His father died when he was only nine years old, and from that time he did his share of the toil and drudgery on the farm. When he was twenty years old he engaged in trading in farm produce, finding a market in Bangor. Later he engaged in the hotel business and was for a time proprietor of the old Fairfield House, and in partnership with Colonel Eben Lawrence, under the firm name of Lawrence, Pratt & Company, general merchants. After many years of prosperous business in Fairfield he removed, in 1842, to Augusta, where he opened a retail grocery store with continued success, and continued a popular and prosperous merchant during his active life. In 1864 he disposed of the business to his son, James E., and retired. He was associated in the lumber business for a number of years with his father-in-law, James Rogers. In politics he was a Democrat; in religion a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He died in 1886. He married, Dec. 24, 1840, Deborah Rogers, born in Peru, Clinton county, New York, Sept. 8, 1815, daughter of James Jr. and Sarah (Keese) Rogers, and granddaughter of James Rogers, who went from Marshfield, Mass. to New York, descendant of John Rogers, the Pilgrim ancestor. Children: 1. Abbie, born Nov. 10, 1841, married Rev. Perry Chandler, now a resident of Oregon; children: Perry F. and Webster A. Chandler. 2. James Edward, born Dec. 17, 1844, mentioned below. 3. John Martin, b. Dec. 11, 1846, died aged eighteen years. 5. [their numbering, not mine] Samuel Rogers, born 1853, engaged for some years in the book business in Augusta, Maine; now living in the south; married Frances Chick; children: Harry, Emma (twin), Grace (twin), Thaddeus C., James E. (XI) James Edward, son of John Jones Fuller, was born Dec. 17, 1844, at Augusta, Maine. He was educated in the common schools of Augusta, and then entered upon his business career as clerk in his father's store. In 1864 he succeeded his father as proprietor of the grocery store and he conducted it successfully to 1902, when he devoted his attention exclusively to the wholesale business in partnership with his son John. At first the firm name was the Fuller Wholesale Grocery and Grain Company, later the Fuller, Halloway Grocery Company, and a very large and flourishing business has been established. Mr. Fuller stands high in the business world and has the respect and confidence of all who know him. Few business men in Augusta have been in business there for a longer time, thirty-eight years, and few are better known or more enterprising and successful. Mr. Fuller is a Democrat in politics and has served his party and city in various positions of trust and honor. He was city treasurer in 1903 and has been a member of the common council. He is an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has been chairman of its board of trustees for a number of years. He married, March 21, 1867, Emily Howard, born in Sidney, Maine, daughter of Columbus and Lucy (Hammond) Howard, granddaughter of Major Ruel Howard, who was a native of Bridgewater, Mass. Children: 1. Florence, born July 21, 1868, married April 27, 1895, Thomas C. Ingraham; children: James Fuller, Deborah, Horace and Howard Ingraham. 2. John H., born Dec. 10, 1869, member of father's firm; married Frances Elliott, of Elmira, New York. 3. Edith M., born Jan. 18, 1879, married Henry T. Elmore, of Elmira, New York. 4. James Martin, born July 26, 1882, died May 15, 1905. FULLER [this line connects up, see above.] Melville Weston Fuller, Chief Justice of the United States, traces his descent in unbroken line from two of the most important families of the Plymouth Colony, and numbers among his forbears lawyers and jurists of marked ability. (The ancestry down to Matthew (VI) is contained above.) (VI) Matthew, son of Samuel and Ann (Fuller) Fuller, was born in Barnstable, Mass., in 1659, and died in Colchester, Connecticut before 1744. He settled in Colchester in 1713, and was baptized at the First Church there Dec. 12, 1734. He married, Feb. 25, 1602, Patience Young, born about 1670, died June 2, 1746, daughter of George and Hannah (Pinson) Young, of Scituate. Children: 1. Anna, born Nov., 1693. 2. Jonathan, b. Octo., 1696. 3. Content, b. Feb., 1698. 4. Jean, b. 1704, died 1708. 5. David, b. 1706, died young. 6. Young, born 1708 (see below). 7. Cornelius, born 1710. 8. Hannah, born 1712. (VII) Young, son of Matthew and Patience (Young) Fuller, was born in Barnstable, Mass., in 1708. He was about five years old when his parents removed to that part of Windsor, Connecticut, which is now Ellington, and after 1767 he made his home with the family of his son Joshua, in Ludlow, where he died in 1796. The house in which his corpse was laid took fire, his body being removed to a neighbor's. He married, April 23, 1730, Jerusha, daughter of Jonathan and Bridget (Brockway) Beebe, of East Haddam, Connecticut. Children: 1. John, born Sept. 9, 1731. 2. David, born 1733. 3. Caleb, born 1735. 4. Jerusha, born July 30, 1737. 5. Lydia, bap. Dec. 13, 1741. 6. Anne, bap. March 15, 1747. (VIII) Caleb, son of Young and Jerusha (Beebe) Fuller, was born in Colchester, Connecticut in 1735. He removed to Ellington in 1747. He graduated from Yale College in 1758, and received the degree of A. M. in 1762. He is called Deacon in some records, and Reverend in others. He married, Oct. 28, 1672, Hannah Weld, daughter of Rev. Habijah Weld, the famous minister who preached at Attleboro, Mass., for fifty-five years. Rev. Habijah WELD was son of Rev. Thomas Weld, the first minister of Dunstable, and great-grandson of Rev. Thomas Weld, the first minister of Roxbury, Mass. Caleb Fuller removed in 1771 to Middletown, Connecticut, and in 1790 to Hanover, New Hampshire, where he died Aug. 20, 1815. (IX) Captain Henry Weld Fuller, son of Caleb and Hannah (Weld) Fuller, was born in Middletown, Connecticut, Jan. 1, 1783, and died Jan. 29, 1841. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1801, studied for the legal profession, and in 1803 settled for practice in Augusta, Maine. He was county attorney in 1826, and judeg of probate for Kennebec county from 1828 until the time of his death (very suddenly) in Boston, Jan. 29, 1841. He married Jan. 7, 1806, Esther Gould, daughter of Capt. Benjamin Gould, of Newburyport, Mass. Captain Gould led a company of thirty minute-men from Topsfield to Lexington, on the alarm of April 19, 1775, and in that battle received a wound which left upon his cheek a scar for life; he was commissioned captain in the Continental army, and after the battle of Bunker Hill was the last man to cross Charlestown Neck on the retreat; and he was present at the battles of White Plains, Bennington and Stillwater, and commanded the main guard at West Point, when Arnold fled after the capture of Major Andre. Among Captain Gould's children was Benjamin Apthorp, a distinguished educator, who was head master of the Boston Latin School (1814-28) and made it the most famous preparatory school in the United States, and was author of Latin textbooks and classic translatins from that language. A daughter of Captain Gould, Hannah Flagg Gould, was a poetess of note in her day. Her volume, "Hymns and Poems for Children," is yet prized in many homes. (X) Frederick Augustus, son of Captain Henry Weld and Esther (Gould) Fuller, was born Oct. 5, 1806. He read law under his father, was admitted to the bar, and practiced at Augusta and Orono, Maine. He was chairman of the board of county commisisoners of Penobscot county. He died Jan. 29, 1841. He married May 17, 1830, Catherine Martin, daughter of Nathan and Pauline (Bass) Cony. Her father was the second Chief Justice of Maine, and her maternal grandfather, Daniel Cony, was also a jurist of note. (XI) Chief Justice Melville Weston Fuller, son of Frederick Augustus and Catherine (Weston) Fuller, was born in Augusta, Maine, Feb. 11, 1833. He was afforded excellent educational advantages. He was prepared for college at Augusta and went to Bowdoin College in 1849, and from which he was graduated in 1853, afterward entering the Dane Law School at Harvard University, and receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1855. He entered upon practice in Augusta, and while enduring the wait for clients which marks the beginning of every lawyer, employed his spare time in newspaper work - a circumstance to which is doubtless due somewhat of the literary facility which has formed a marked feature in his career. In this connection it is pleasing to reproduce some excellent verses written by Mr. Fuller years afterward, on the occasion of the death of General Grant, which show at once a loyal feeling of gratitude for the services of the great soldier, and a true poetic thought and diction - a power of composition rare in the learned, practiced and successful lawyer. Let the drum to trumpet speak - The trumpet to the cannoneer without - The cannon to the heavens from each redoubt, Each lowly valley and each lofty peak, As to his rest the Great Commander goes Into the pleasant land of earned repose. Not in the battles won, Though long the well-fought fields may keep their name, But in the wide world's sense of duty done, The gallant soldier finds the meed of fame; His life no struggle for ambition's prize, Simply the duty done that next him lies. Earth to its kindred earth; The spirit to the fellowship of souls! As, slowly, Time the mighty scroll unrolls Of waiting ages yet to have their birth, Fame, faithful to the faithful, writes on high His name as one that was not born to die. An interesting incident connected with his journalistic experience may be mentioned the fact that while Mr. Fuller was acting as reporter for the Augusta Age (for which his uncle, B.A.C. Fuller, and himself were publishers) in the Maine House of Representatives, James G. Blaine was engaged in a similar capacity in the Senate for the Kennebec Journal. Though political opponents, then and in after life, the two men were always personal friends, and at last, by a curious coincidence, found themselves together in Washington - the one as Chief Justice of the United States and the other as Secretary of State. Mr. Fuller, while practicing in Augusta, was elected city attorney at the age of twenty-three, and also president of the common council. In 1856 he visited Chicago, where he happened to meet Mr. S. K. Dow, from York county, Maine, a practicing lawyer. A partner of Mr. Dow was just retiring from the firm, and Mr. Dow offered Mr. Fuller a place in his office, either as partner or as a clerk at a salary of fifty dollars per month. he chose the latter, and worked on those terms for five months, living within his income. Before a year had passed he enjoyed a considerable and remunerative business, and in which he continued until he left the bar for the Supreme Court. His legal career was strongly marked with industry, persistency and brilliant success. During his thirty years practice he was engaged in as many as three thousand cases at the Chicago bar. He affected no specialty in his profession, conducting a general practice, practically excluding divorce law and criminal alw, in which class of cases his name scarecely appears. Amont his most important cases may be mentioned: Field vs. Lieter; the Chicago Lake Front case; Storey vs. Storey; Storey vs. Storey Estate; Hyde Park vs. Chicago; Carter vs. Carter, etc., and the noted ecclesiastical trial of Bishop Cheney on the charge of heresy. He was engaged in many cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, and his first is reported in 11 Wallace, 108, and his last in 131 U.S., 371. Mr. Fuller's partnership with Mr. Dow continued until 1860. From 1862 to 1864 his firm was Fuller & Ham, then Fuller, Ham & Shepard for two years, and for two years thereafter Fuller & Shepard. In 1869 he received as partner his cousin, Joseph E. Smith, son of Governor Smith of Maine. This was terminated in 1877, after which he was alone. His business was only such as he cared to accept, and his professional income during his later practicingb years has been estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 per annum. Mr. Fuller took an early interest in politics, a staunch Democrat, he became, by sympathy and personal regard an earnest adherent of Senator Stephen A. Douglas, and on the death of the great statesman, June 3, 1861, he was made a member of the committee having charge of the funeral ceremonies. In autumn of the same year Mr. Fuller was elected a member of the Illinois Constitutional Convention which assembled in 1862. He reported to that body the resolutions in memory of Senator Douglas, and made on of the opening addresses of appreciation on that occasion. In 1864 he was elected to the lower house of the Illinois legislature, and as a Unionist (not a Republican or anti-slaveryite) gave to the support of the national government the same strenuous effort that was afforded by the supporters of Senator Douglas generally. He was a delegate to the Democratic national conventions of 1864, 1872, 1876 and 1880, always taking an active interest. Immediately after the election of Mr. Cleveland as president for his term, Mr. Fuller called upon him in Albany, and Mr. Cleveland at once conceived for him a high appreciation. On the death of Chief Justice Waite, it seemed desirable that his successor should be taken from the West, and Mr. Fuller's liberal education, high legislative ability, lofty professional standard, marked industry and command of language - all these, combined with his devotion to the principles of the party for which President Cleveland was the chosen exponent for the nation, made him a logical choice for the position, which was accordingly offered him. Mr. Fuller, highly appreciating the high and unexpected honor, hesitated. He was not ambitious of distinction, and his large family necessitated his most careful consideration as to whether he could afford a position which would reward him less liberally than did his profession. He, however, consented, and on April 30, 1888, President Cleveland nominated him for Chief Justice of the United States, and he was confirmed by the Senate on July 20, and took the oath of office Oct. 8, 1888. Mr. Fuller received the degree of LL.D. from the Northwestern University and from Bowdoin College in 1888; from Harvard in 1890; and from Yale and Dartmouth in 1901. He is chancellor of the Smithsonian Instutute; chairman of the board of trustees of the Peabody Education Fund; vice-president of the John F. Slater fund; member of the board of trustees of Bowdoin College; was one of the arbitrators to settle the bounday line between Venezuela and British Guinea, Paris, 1899; was a member of the arbital tribunal in the matter of the Muscat Downs, The Hague, 1905; is a member of the permanent Court of Arbritation, The Hague; and recieved the thanks of congress Dec. 20, 1889. As Chief Justice he has administered the official oath of Presidents Harrison, Cleveland, McKinely and Taft. Mr. Fuller married (first) in 1858, Calista O., daughter of Eri Reynolds, and (second) May 30, 1866, Mary E., daughter of William F. Coolbaugh, a leading citizen of Chicago. She died April 17, 1904, when the Chief Justice practically retired from society. FULLER [more] The name of Fuller is derived from the trade so called, meeaning to mill or scour woolen cloth. In all probability this surname originated in the county of Suffolk, formerly the chief seat of the woolen manufacturing industry in England, and it became a prominent one in the southeastern counties. John Fuller, supposed to have come over with Governor Winthrop, settled at Cambridge Village (now Newton) in 1644. Thomas Fuller, who arrived from the mother country in 1638, located first in Woburn and later in Middleton. John Fuller, of Ipswich, and another John Fuller, who settled in Saugus or Lynn, were both early immigrants and have often bveen mistaken for one and the same person. Another Thomas Fuller appears in the records of Dedham, Mass. as a resident there in 1653, and his grandson John resided in Roxbury in 1733. (I) Ebenezer Fuller, a revolutionary soldier, was born in Roxbury, Jan. 16, 1760, and resided in Bostpn. it is more than probable that he was a descendant of the Dedham settler previously referred to, but his line of descent could not be found in any of the records consulted. His death occurred in 1809. He was married May 5, 1793, to Lydia Goddrd, born Nov. 25, 1772, died Aug. 11, 1828, presumably in Boston. Their children were: Henrietta, Nabby G., Abigail, Thomas Jefferson, and John. (II) John, youngest child of Ebenezer and Lydia (Goddard) Fuller, was born in Roxbury, Dec. 18 or 28, 1806. Having adoped the occupation of cloth-finisher, he followed it in Lancaster, Mass., for some time, and for twenty years thereafter je was in the comb-finishing business. John Fuller died 1881. In his later years he supported the Republican party. He was a member of the Unitarian church. In 1827 he married Sophronia O.W. Adams, born in Ashburnham, Mass. March 31, 1806, daughter of Samuel Adams, also born in Ashburnham, both born in the same house. Her death occurred May 3, 1887. She became the mother of nine children, but four of whom - Sophronia, Eben, Sidney T. and Edward - are now living; the others were: John, Henrietta, Abbie, Lydia and Eleanor. (III) Sidney Thomas, third son and fourth child of John and Sophronia O.W. (Adams) Fuller, was born in Shirley, Mass. Feb. 2, 1836. From the Lancaster public schools he entered the Wilbraham (Mass) Academy, and after completing the regular course at that well-known institution, pursued a scientific course at Cambridge, giving his special attention to civil engineering. Turning his attention to railway construction, he was employed in the building of the Burlington and Missouri River line, and subsequently entering the service of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company, was for seventeen years in charge of the maintainance of way. Mr. Fuller was assistant engineer of contruction of the first long bridge over the Susquehanna river at Havre de Grace, Maryland; built the first railway running into Mexico and was chief engineer and general superintendent of the Mexican railroad. As a recognized expert in the laying out and contruction of railways and bridges he was secured by the railroad commissions of Massachusetts to examine and report the exact condition of railroads in that commonwealth, and in 18779-80 he was similarly employed in the Russian Empire. In 1886 Mr. Fuller settled in Kennebunk and is still residing there. As secreatry and treasurer of the local Loan and Building Association, he has labored diligently and effectively in its behalf for the past seventeen years, and he is otherwise concerned in the financial interests of the town, having been for nine years a director of the Ocean National Bank. He has served as a selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor; represented his district in the lower branch of the state legislature for the years 1899-1903; and in politics is a Republican. He attends the Unitarian church. He is a Master Mason, belonging to Havre de Grace Lodge, and also affiliates with the Independent Order of Good Templars. On Oct. 14, 1865, Mr. Fuller was united in marriage with Annette E., daughter of Dr. Orren and Elizabeth (Holden) Ross, of Kennebunk. Her grandparents were Simon and Mary (Perkins) Ross, of Kennebunk, and their eldest son, Orren, born Sept. 14, 1812, acquainted his early education in the district schools and at North Brighton Academy. At the age of fourteen years he entered the employ of Dixey Stone, a grocery merchant at Bridgton Centre, and prior to his majority he engaged in mercantile business for himself in Sweden, Oxford county, Maine. Selling his business in 1834, he turned his attention to teaching penmanship and later to the study of medicine. While a medical student at Bowdoin College he was for a period of three months an interne at the McLean Hospital in Boston, and receiving his degree with the class of 1839, he began the practice of his profession in Lyman. He subsequently removed to Kennebunk, residing there for the remainder of his life. Dr. Ross married Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Walker) Holden, of Sweden. She bore him seven children: Annette E., Isabel M., Orren S., Frank M., Florence H., and two who died in infancy. Annette E. is the wife of Sidney T. Fuller, as previously stated. Florence H. married James K. Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Fulelr have had two children: Florabel Sophronia Elizabeth, neither of whom are now living. Mrs. Fuller died Jan. 7, 1908.