Tag Archives: Parsonsfield

semiquincentennial

5/15/2026 – Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the founding of our Country

The Semiquicentennial, the 5th of the Series

When I was told by our PPHS Vice-President, Lynda Sudlow, that she had read somewhere that Thomas Parsons had fought in the Revolutionary War, I thought that she must have been mistaken. The History of the First Century of Parsonsfield (1785 – 1885) by Jeremiah Dearborn tells us this about him:

Thomas Parsons was born in Bradford, Massachusetts on September 18, 1735, son of Rev. Joseph Parsons and Frances (Usher) Parsons. On September 7, 1758, when he was 22 years he married Anna Poor of Andover, Massachusetts.

They had 9 children together:

Thomas Parsons (1759–1788)
Stephen Parsons (1760–1764)
Joseph Parsons (1762–1839)
Enoch Parsons (1764–1782)
Stephen Parsons (1766–1836)
Nancy Parsons (1769–)
John Usher Parsons (1771–1825)
Mary Parsons (1773–1856)
Sarah Parsons (1775–

The founding of what came to be called Parsonsfield was set into motion when, according to the The History of the First Century of Parsonsfield, written in 1885,

I’m sure that you can see why I was skeptical about Thomas’ participation in the Revolution.  He was 40 years old, married with 8 living children and was in \the midst of founding a town.  He was a very busy man.  But then I discovered this wonderful resource book which PPHS recently acquired when Ancient Landmarks disbanded and some of their books were added to our research materials.

True to the book’s fourth objective as listed above, his entry gives the following source codes:
CL-2 is a Compiled List from the Index of Maine Men in the Rolls of Honor of the Lineage Books of National Society of the D.A.R., Vol 115, Page 249

MOCA is the Index of Revolutionary Veterans Buried in Maine compiled by the Maine Old Cemetery Association.

But what does PS after his name mean? The book defines it as Patriotic Service rendered in a different way as opposed to active service. Someone obviously needs to keep things going on the homefront.

During the American Revolutionary War, local militias played a crucial role, distinct from the longer-term service of the Continental Army. These units comprised citizen-soldiers who typically responded to immediate, localized threats, often referred to as “alarms.” Their service was usually brief, reflecting the need for community defense rather than extended military campaigns.

At the time of the Revolution, Thomas and family were living in Leavittstown, NH (now Effingham) and he was serving in the militia. Thomas’ service in the New Hampshire Militia in July 1777 exemplifies this pattern. He served for just 12 days, from July 1st to July 12th, a short duration characteristic of militia call-ups. His involvement was in response to an alarm concerning Fort Ticonderoga, a strategic point during the Saratoga Campaign. Such alarms prompted local residents to temporarily leave their farms and trades to join the fighting effort, demonstrating a community-based defense model. This brief period of service contrasts with the Continental Army, which required more sustained enlistments for national campaigns.

The British advance on Fort Ticonderoga in 1777 generated significant apprehension in the northern colonies, leading to calls for local militias to mobilize. Parsons’ record, detailing his entry and discharge dates, highlights how quickly these citizen-soldiers could be called to arms and released once the immediate threat subsided or their specific mission was completed. His participation, though brief, places him within the broader context of the Saratoga Campaign, a pivotal moment in the Revolution. The reliance on such short-term, alarm-based service underscores the decentralized nature of early American military efforts and the direct involvement of local communities in their own defense.

Whether or not, Thomas was again called up with the militia we have not determined. What we do know of the rest of his story is that his wife Anna died on May 24, 1783 at the age of 44. Then after serving as Moderator for the town meeting in Leavittstown, NH in March 1784, he moved to Parsonsfield where in August 1785 he was chosen Moderator and Chairman of the first Board of Selectmen of the newly-incorporated
town.

Also in 1785 Thomas married Lucy Bradbury (b. 1757) of Saco.

They had 10 children together:
Elizabeth Usher Parsons (1787–1857)
Susan Parsons  (1788–1837)
Thomas Bradbury Parsons ( – )
Abigail Parsons (1790–1848)
William Parsons (1791–1876)
Lucy Parsons (1792– 1884)
Lucinda Parsons (1795–1796)
Sylvester Parsons (1796–1860)
Lucinda Parsons (1798–1877)
Samuel B. Parsons (1801–1869)

Thomas Parsons departed this life on August 10, 1811 and his wife Lucy succeeded him by only 3 months, dying November 10, 1811. Their homestead passed to their son-in-law, Capt. Luther Emerson (married to Thomas and Lucy’s daughter Elizabeth Usher Parsons) and became known as Emerson Homestead.

The house was owned by descendants of Thomas Parsons until 1907 when it was destroyed by fire.

Although the cellar hole was still there in 1960 there is no sign of the former buildings now.

It is completely overgrown with trees.

The Emerson-Parsons Cemetery remains in good condition on the opposite side of the road.

Thomas’ simple stone reads:

In memory of Thomas Parsons, who departed this life August 10, 1811, aged 76 years.

“Behold fond man, see here thy pictured life,

Thy flowery spring, thy summer’s ardent strength;
The sober autumn fading into age,
And pale concluding winter comes at last,

And shuts the scene.”

A Heartfelt Thank You to Thomas Parsons
for his Service in the Founding of Our Country
AND the Founding of the town of Parsonsfield

Uncategorized

1/15/2026 – Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of our Country, its Semiquincentennial

1st in a series

At the time of the American Revolution this area in the Maine hinterland was, for the most part, considered too remote and inaccessible to be settled. So our hill-towns cannot boast of any native sons who fought in that conflict. That all changed with the end of the war when many of those discharged from the Continental Army decided to leave the more populated areas near the coastlines to acquire generous tracts of land
and settle down to raise families.

Among them was Corporal John Fenderson who had enlisted from Pepperellborough, what is now Saco. According to “A History of the First Century of the Town of Parsonsfield, Maine, 1785 – 1885”, he was born in Scarborough on July 15, 1757, though other records indicate that his birth year was 1756. He served five years in the Revolutionary War in various capacities and, at one time, Aide de camp to General Lafayette,

Above is shown his personal testimonial when applying for a war pension in 1818.

And below shows a record obtained from the Pension Department.

After his discharge, he married Sarah Kenny of Saco on November 15, 1781. She bore him six children, Polly, Nathan, Nathaniel, John, Edward, and Sally. They moved to Parsonsfield, according to the aforementioned “History of Parsonsfield” in 1795, though other records indicate an earlier date of 1792, and settled on what is now known as Cramm Road where he first built a log cabin.

His first wife, Sarah, died in March 1798 and he married 2nd Mary Milliken on March 27, 1798. Corporal John, as everyone called him, was a farmer and leading citizen. He started a sawmill and did quite a business sawing up lumber and taking it by ox team to the market in Portland, forty miles away.

He later built a small frame building where the house on the left is located. The house on the right was built by his son, Edward, in 1843/44 who later sold it to his brother Nathan’s son, Ivory, before moving away. A short time later another building was moved here and attached in the back as an ell. When Ivory’s son, Nathan W. Fenderson, married about 1869 he moved the small building John had built and erected the house on the left. The new kitchen was placed over the small cellar hole
that existed under the old building.

Six generations of the Fenderson family called this farm home before it finally passed out of the family when the last remaining direct family member, Jose W. Fenderson, died unmarried in 2013 at the age of 98.

The current owners of the house found this lovely earlier picture of the house.

As related in a newspaper article of unknown date prior to 1949 by an unknown author, “the story goes that one day in 1820 as Corporal John stood in his doorway, gazing at Mt. Randall over beyond the little red schoolhouse (located nearby), a stranger rode up to his gate, dismounted and inquired if he had the good fortune to address Mr. John Fenderson, late of the army. Corporal John went out to inspect his questioner and recognized in him his old tent-mate of the old days at Valley Forge.
Overjoyed to see each other, explanations were soon in order as to how the stranger had ever succeeded in finding his old comrade. It seemed that he lived near Philadelphia, had come to Portland by sloop on a matter of business and, having attended to it, had resolved to hunt up his old comrade. He had hired a saddle horse and found his way to Parsonsfield and to the very home of his old friend. He stayed a day or two during which he and Corporal John rehearsed every incident of their life together in those perilous days of the war; they even got out the old salt dish and pepper shake that John had carried in his knapsack all through the Revolution and recalled how their use in those dreary days of scarce and poor food had brought to their simple camp meals a flavor of home. The two friends, so unexpectedly united, parted with sadness for they realized that in all probability they would never see each other again.” The article includes the following:

Frank D. Fenderson (1878 – 1949) was the father of Jose W. Fenderson (1914 – 2013), the last Fenderson to live at the farm. The whereabouts of these family treasures is unknown.

Corporal John died at Parsonsfield on January 24, 1852 at the age of 95. His wife, Mary, preceded him in death a few months before on
August 29, 1851 at the age of 97. In an interview with Jose Fenderson, Jose stated that family members were buried along a stone wall on the north side of the house – Corporal John along with his two wives. According to Jose when his father, Frank D. Fenderson, married his mother, Laura A. Jose in July 1905, Laura thought that burying the family in the back yard was “heathen” and the Corporal John Burial was moved.