Joseph Leavitt
Encyclopedia
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, who moved to what was then the frontier of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
after serving three months in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, and then declaring that he was unable to bear arms in conflict. The conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
declared that he would move to Maine and survey lands for grants to former soldiers. On account of his pacifist
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
sentiments, 'Quaker Joe,' as he became known for the rest of his life, was awarded with a house lot next to the new Turner
Turner, Maine
Turner is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,972 at the 2000 census. Turner includes the villages of Turner Center and North Turner...
meetinghouse
Colonial meeting house
In colonial New England, there was little distinction between faith and community. Each community built a meeting house, usually but not always through taxation, and these were used for both religious worship and town business. They were the central focus of the community, and were an important...
when it was eventually built.
Early life in Massachusetts
Joseph Leavitt was born in 1757 in PembrokePembroke, Massachusetts
Pembroke is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,927 at the 2000 census.The southwestern section of Pembroke is also known as Bryantville...
, Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...
, the son of Jacob Leavitt and his wife Sylvia (Bonney) Leavitt. The family originated at Hingham
Hingham, Massachusetts
Hingham is a town in northern Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and suburb in Greater Boston. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561...
, some 17 miles away, in the seventeenth century when English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
settler deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
John Leavitt
John Leavitt
Deacon John Leavitt was a tailor, public officeholder, and founding deacon of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meeting house in America and the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States...
removed there from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Joseph Leavitt, great-great-grandson of patriarch John, was the son of a modest farmer in Pembroke.
At the outbreak of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
in 1775, Joseph Leavitt enlisted as Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
for an initial three-month period of service. Leavitt was involved in some of the earliest skirmishes of the War, when he helped fight British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
forces during the Siege of Boston
Siege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
in 1775. At the conclusion of his service in the earliest phase of the Revolutionary War, Leavitt declared himself unable to fight any longer. "Some must stay at home and raise bread," Leavitt was recorded as saying. While others did the fighting, Leavitt said he would instead "raise bread for them."
A new life in the woods
Shortly afterwards, Leavitt decamped for the new township of Sylvester in what was still the state of Massachusetts. He accompanied the surveyors paid by the government to lay out new townships along the Androscoggin RiverAndroscoggin River
The Androscoggin River is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is long and joins the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine before its water empties into the Gulf of Maine on the Atlantic Ocean. Its drainage basin is in area...
. As an assistant to the surveyors, Leavitt noted the topography, and told the surveyors that after returning to his Massachusetts home, he would be back to settle permanently at the place that later became the new township of Turner. The surveyors, noting Leavitt's pacifist tendencies, told him half-jokingly, "Well, Joe, you will like to go to meeting, so we will give you a lot next to the meeting-house lot."
The next year, the young surveyors' assistant Leavitt returned alone from Massachusetts to the place he had chosen. Leavitt carried his scant provisions with him on his back. The closest non-Native inhabitant was 20 miles distant. Leavitt's relations with the native Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
tribe were apparently warm. That spring and summer Leavitt wielded an axe to cut a clearing, on which he built a blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
, the first house in the new township of Turner.
In the fall Leavitt returned to Pembroke, the home of most settlers of Turner. The following year, and after the heavy Maine winter, Leavitt returned to his blockhouse in the wilderness and planted a crop. Shortly afterwards he journeyed by foot to New Gloucester, Maine
New Gloucester, Maine
New Gloucester is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, in the United States. It is home to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, the last active Shaker Village in the U.S...
, where he purchased 19 apple tree seedlings. Carrying them on his shoulders, Leavitt returned to his outpost in the Maine woods, where he planted his orchard.
Later that same year Leavitt left his meager belongings in the care of Algonquins and returned again to Pembroke, where he married Anna Stevens. On the return trip to his new lands, Leavitt's new wife Anna rode behind him on his horse, with her belongings and portmanteaux stuffed into saddlebag
Saddlebag
Saddlebags are bags that are attached to saddles.-Horse riding:In horse riding, saddlebags sit in various positions, on the back, side, or front of the saddle. Most attach to the saddle by straps and ties. They can be made from various materials. Although leather was the traditional material, it is...
s on accompanying pack horses, a journey that took several weeks through the Province of Massachusetts, as Maine was then known.
Later years and Maine legacy
Leavitt and his wife continued to live in Turner, as the new town became known. Eventually the former soldier and pacifist opened a public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, and he was chosen to represent the town in local and state councils. Leavitt's first wife Anna (Stevens) bore eight children, the oldest of whom was the first male child born in the new township of Turner. Leavitt subsequently married twice; to Hannah Chandler, with whom he had another two children; and as his third wife Elsea Caswell, with whom he had no children.
Ultimately Joseph Leavitt's father Jacob departed Pembroke, Massachusetts, and joined his son at his new Maine lodgings. Father Jacob died in 1814 at age 82; his wife Sylvia (Bonney) Leavitt died in 1810. Frontiersman and former pacifist Joseph Leavitt, known by the cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
'Quaker Joe' for the rest of his life, died at age 83 in 1839. He is buried in Turner's Upper Street Cemetery, near his original house lot. Noted on his gravestone is his service, albeit brief, as a private in the American Revolutionary cause. Lying nearby is his father Jacob, whose own service as a Minuteman in the Continental Army is noted on his tombstone.
See also
- John LeavittJohn LeavittDeacon John Leavitt was a tailor, public officeholder, and founding deacon of Old Ship Church in Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the only remaining 17th-century Puritan meeting house in America and the oldest church in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States...
- Elisha LeavittElisha LeavittElisha Leavitt was a Hingham, Massachusetts, Loyalist landowner who owned several islands in Boston Harbor. During the Siege of Boston in 1775, Leavitt encouraged British forces to use one of his islands to gather hay for their horses, triggering a waterborne raid by Continental militiamen and...
- L. Brooks LeavittL. Brooks LeavittL. Brooks Leavitt was an investment banker and antiquarian book collector who served as an overseer of Bowdoin College, to whose library he donated part of his collection of rare books and manuscripts...
- Pembroke, MassachusettsPembroke, MassachusettsPembroke is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,927 at the 2000 census.The southwestern section of Pembroke is also known as Bryantville...
- Wilton, Maine
- Turner, MaineTurner, MaineTurner is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,972 at the 2000 census. Turner includes the villages of Turner Center and North Turner...