JOSIAH LITTLEFIELD'S WOES

Aprel the 23 I was taken by foer Indans... ~ From a letter written by Josiah

Josiah's father

Josiah Littlefield (1C11X) was the oldest son of our uncle John Littlefield (10U), a highly respected Wells resident who had been instrumental in protecting the town of Wells during King Philip's War in 1775. Twenty years later Uncle John, unfortunately, fell out of favor with the town when he and his cousin James (1C11X) were caught and convicted of the much abhorred crime of rumselling.

In his History of Wells and Kennebunk Edward Bourne writes about Uncle John:

First of all, they laid hold of the rum-sellers as the authors of much of the public suffering. John Littlefield, James Littlefield, Nathaniel Cloyes,and Jane Littlefield (W1C11X) had been engaged in this nefarious traffic. John was a man of high standing among the inhabitants, and it is not easy to account for his unfortunate aberration in this particular at this juncture of the public affairs.

But a man's position in society or in the public administration did not at that period shield him from the penalties of violated law, neither did it make his offense any the less detrimental to the public weal. While the people needed every dollar for the protection and support of themselves and families, these men and this woman had been taking money from their pockets, unfitting them for the services demanded, and more than all, sending them back into the garrisons in a state of intoxication and they were ready to prosecute both the rum-seller and the rum-drinker

John died in 1697, a few years after the rum debacle. At the time, it had been decided among John's children that Josiah would occupy his father’s homestead and undertake the care of their mother, Patience. When Patience died in 1701, Josiah continued living in the homestead until 1708 when he was captured and taken to Canada.

the beginning of Josiah's woes

Cousin Josiah Littlefield, born in 1662, was a millman and engineer in Wells. In his rather short life, he had more than his fair share of run-ins with Natives. His first encounter was in June of 1696 when he and his wife Lydia "were attacked by Indians on the east side of Cape Neddick between York and Wells.” The Littlefields had been traveling to church with two other couples. Josiah and Lydia were unharmed but "Cole and his wife were shot dead..." Josiah became guardian for the Coles' four children.

Then in 1707, Lydia and her oldest son Josiah, Jr, 19 at the time, were traveling from Boston back to Wells when they were ambushed by Natives. Both were killed in the attack. Josiah was left with six children between the ages of one and twelve years old. Tragically for the family, only one year after Lydia's death, Josiah was captured by Natives and taken to Canada.

more woes

Josiah's experience as a captive was not an uncommon one for an adult. He was taken first to Montreal, then to Quebec where he spent the next two years writing letters in hopes of finally being released. He first wrote a letter to his children shortly after his capture which said in part:

Dear and loving children, my kind love remembered to you all and my kind love to my brother and sister, and my kind love to all my friends att Wells...hoping in God they are in good helth as I am att this present writing, blessed be God for it. Aprel the 23 I was taken by foer Indans...and arrived at Moriel (Montreal) June the 2, and now I have liberty granted to me to rite to my friends and to the governor, and for my redemtion and for Wheelrite's child...I would pray...that we may come home before winter...no more at present but remain yours to command.

Josiah Littlefield

"Wheelrite's child" was Esther Wheelwright who eventually became Mother Superior of the Ursuline Convent in Montreal. We told her story in our Taken To Canada post. Cousin Josiah was not able to help in her release and she spent the rest of her long life, by choice, in Canada.

Josiah then sent a letter to one of his niece's husband, Josiah Winn, asking him "to be very kind, and a father to my dear children while I do come home, and so take the care of them and my estaite to maintain them that they may not sufeare." Little did Josiah know that appointing Winn as the family caretaker would later cause a large upheaval in the family.

Next Josiah wrote to Governor Thomas Dudley of Massachusetts asking that two Native prisoners be exchanged for himself and Esther. It's possible that the governor complied with his request because Josiah was finally released in the autumn of 1709, a year and a half after he was taken.

still more woes

The road back to Maine, however, was still fraught with danger. After traveling 180 miles to Norridgwock, Maine, Josiah was again taken captive.

(1) Wells, Maine (2) Norridgewock, Maine (3) Quebec City, Canada

In another letter written to Governor Dudley, Josiah describes exactly what happened to him:

January 29, 1710.

I thought it convenient to give to his Excellency an account where I am, and how the case stands with me. I was coming home in the fal, and was taken by a canady Indian which told me that I must go back to Canady again, and I told him I thought I could not by reason of sickness in my journey, and he told me that he would kill me...

As it turned out, Josiah wasn’t killed. He pleaded with the Native both for his life and to remain in Norridgwock which was only 120 miles from Wells as opposed to the 300 miles from Quebec. His letter continues:

...and with much persuading he sold me to a Indian belonging to Norrigway, which has nursed me and have recovered me, and have promised him payment for the love he bare to me in that respect, for he has been like a father to me, and now he is very willing that I should come home, if your Excellency would give leave that a sloop may come to Sacaty Hock, (Sagadahoc, ME)...And after the arrival of this letter, the sloop to Sacaty Hock in fifteen days.

In additon to the sloop, Josiah asked for "two hogsiss of meat and one hogsiss of corn, ten yards of broadcloth of a sad color, and for a great variety of articles" as ransom for the Native who "had been like a father" to him. You have to admire Josiah's hutzpah. The governor, however, though he did "always pity a prisoner in Indian hands, especially when their masters are indigent...” still would not alter his "resolution never to buy a prisoner of an Indian..."

Things were surely looking bad for poor Cousin Josiah. But the loving relationship he had developed with the Native he called his "master“ finally paid off. After four months, it was decided that Josiah would be set free and hopefuly some bounty would later come to his Native friend. In early summer of 1710, Josiah joyfully returned to his home.

Josiah's final woe

Reunited with his children, Josiah provided a new mother for them only months after his return with his marriage to Elizabeth Hilton. Josiah and Elizabeth had one daughter born to them. The joy in the Littlefield family, however, was short lived. As Edward Bourne writes in his History of Wells and Kennebunk: "On the 18th of April, 1712, while teaming with others, he (Josiah) was shot down by the Indians, who still lurked about in the forest. Thus his earthly experiences were ended, to the great sorrow of many hearts." Josiah was fifty years old at the time of his death.

legal woes

You'll remember that while Josiah was away from his family, he had put his children, his sawmill and all of his estate in the care of his niece’s husband, Josiah Winn. Cousin Josiah found it convenient to have Winn continue running the sawmill even after his return from captivity. It appears that everyone was happy with that arrangement except for Josiah’s new wife, Elizabeth. After Cousin Josiah's death, all hell broke loose.

Edward Bourne has some pretty scathing criticism of Elizabeth:

Littlefield's wife was of a very different temperment from that of her husband, she not having much of that meek, quiet, and peaceable spirit which becomes the female sex...We have good reason for the belief that the government of the househjold was one of unrestrained gynecocracy; that she rueled the family without any deference to the teachings of the Bible. She didn't like the care of her children and property being in the hands of Winn.

Elizabeth, however, was named administrix of her husband's estate. Winn evidently saw that there could be no peaceful settlement with Elizabeth. He retreated from management of the mill. But Josiah's brother, Eliab (1C11X), also unhappy with Elizabeth, took the waterwheel, crank and other materials he had supplied for the running of the mill. That wasn't the end for him, though, because Eliab happened to be part owner of the operation.

Bourne maintains that with Eliab taking some of the main workings of the mill, "The widow's pugnacity was now aroused, and a war began between all the parties interested in the estate, which, we think, is without a parallel in the history of New England."

Eliab asked for possession of the mill. Elizabeth refused. Eliab sued. Judgement rendered against Elizabeth. She appealed. At this juncture of the game, "the widow now put on the harness, and was determined to 'fight it out on this line.'"

Next Josiah Winn, deciding that he wanted his share of the pie for taking care of the mill and the Littlefield children, put his gloves back in the ring. He sued Elizabeth. Here began a series of defeats for Elizabeth that must have cost her. The first judgement favored Winn. Elizabeth appealed. Then she sued Winn for £5 he owed her. Judgment against her. Elizabeth appealed and upped the ante with another suit for property she said Winn had taken from the mill. The jury determined that the property was his. She filed another suit for Winn taking iron. Verdict against her and her subsequent appeal.

Finally, Elizabeth went after her brother-in-law Eliab Littlefield for cutting trees on the property and won! According to Bourne, she was "inspired with new vigor for the strife." Just about that time, a man named Malachi Edwards got into the act. He was a witness for Elizabeth in one of her myriad lawsuits. It appears he had an ulterior motive in coming to her aid. The two were wed in 1716.

Edward Bourne posits that "...it is difficult to account for the union..." that Edwards "must have been captivated by some facial expression, or by some amenities in her deportment which do not appear upon the record. Her deportment certainly could not have enticed any considerate man into such an important connection."

After the marriage, Elizabeth's luck began to change. Possibly the juries saw her in a new light with a man by her side. Eliab sued for possession of the house that had belonged to his father. Elizabeth had in her possession the agreement that stipulated that Josiah could live in the house for the lifetime of his mother but Patience had died fifteen year prior. Elizabeth, however, wouldn't allow anyone to see the document. She and her new husband won that round and Elizabeth stayed in the Littlefield home.

Josiah Winn, however, wasn't done yet. He went after Elizabeth's new husband, suing him for trespass. Edwards won. Winn appealed and upped the ante by suing both Elizabeth and Edwards for trespass. According to Bourne, "the results of this [suit] seem to have slipped through the pages of time." Edwards sued Winn for £100 and lost but, naturally, he appealed. Then the two of them seesawed back and forth with a suit by Winn which was successful, an appeal by Edwards and finally an unsuccessful suit by Edwards.

As if this wasn't complicated and ridiculous enough, Josiah's six kids (none of them Elizabeth's) decided it was time for them to get their share of the booty. Things started to get rough. Jacob Perkins, the husband of one of Josiah's daughters, cursed and swore, probably at Elizabeth and her husband for which he was criminally prosecuted. Then, husband Edwards had to pay a fine of £10 for "laying hold" of one of the justices in a "contemtuous manner." Finally, Josiah Winn was brought into court and fined for his "indecent words and actions in the presence of the court while in a state of intoxication."

Note: Jacob Perkins must have been a rather violent man. In an unrelated case, he was prosecuted for striking a negro on the head with an axe.

Enter onto the scene Henry Gorges. It turns out that it was Gorges who actually owned the land and was only leasing it to the Littlefields! Henry brought suit against the entire clan and was able to recover his rightful property.

The loss of the property still wasn't the end of it. According to Bourne, "...the principal cause of the quarrel was removed...But strife continued." In all, between forty and fifty suits and ciminal prosecutions went on between "the immediate parties, their families and their friends...father against sons...mother-in-law against daughter-in-law...they of their own household." In the end, all the heirs decided to unite against Elizabeth and Edwards in a suit for £120. They won. Elizabeth and Edwards refused to pay. The heirs appealed. Bourne describes the violence that ensued:

The passions of the opponents of Edwards were aroused to such a degree that they were ready to take his life. On the 18th of July Jacob Perkins and others dragged him to a pond and forced him below the water. While one held him down, Jacob Perkins ran for his pitchfork to thrust him through. Edward's son ran to is rescue. The curses and imprecations showered upon Edwards are too shocking for insertion upon the historic page. The parties must have been wrought up to the highest frenzy. If ever a case occurred where the modern doctrine of "momentary insanity" could be admitted, this would be it.

Amen. After all his travails, Josiah was probably be happy to be out of the fracas. R.I.P. Cousin Josiah.