Marriage intention of Sewall N. Pierce and Miss Lucinda A. Vosmus of New Gloucester, handwritten in 1851 by Elisha H. Moseley, Town Clerk of New Gloucester, Maine.
This certifies that the intentions of marriage between Mr. Sewall N. Pierce and Miss Lucinda A. Vosmus both of this town have been entered in the town clerk's office and published in the town of New Gloucester according to law.
Dated at New Gloucester this nineteenth day of April A.D. 1851.
E. H. Moseley, Town Clerk.
This is one of several New Gloucester marriage intentions written by Elisha Moseley, thankfully in a very legible hand, that I'll be featuring. They include intentions between:
Reverse of the document shown above:
From brief online research, hopefully correct: [corrections and additions welcome]
Sewall Nelson Pierce was born August 11, 1824 at New Gloucester, Maine, son of George and Mehitable (Rowe) Pierce. At some point after April 19, 1851, the date of their intention, Sewall and Lucinda Atwood married. Lucinda was the daughter of John and Abigail (possibly Lane) Vosmus.
According to Edward Wiggin's
History of Aroostook, Sewall and Lucinda and family moved to Mars Hill in 1859, to a place on the Fort Fairfield Road, about four miles from Blaine Corner. The family appears in the 1860 Census of Mars Hill: Sewall and Lucinda and children Anisetta (?), Charles, George and Fred.
There are birth records for Anizetta Atwood Pierce, Charles Sumner Pierce, George Dexter Pierce and Fred Baker Pierce showing them as having been born in Mars Hill in the 1850s. However, in the 1870 Census, Anizetta, the only child of Sewall's first marriage to have survived to that date, is shown as having been born at New Gloucester, Maine.
I'm not sure whether the birth records are in error or the date the family moved to Aroostook County is wrong in the online excerpt of Wiggin's History of Aroostook. However, I'm leaning toward the fact that the birth records were compiled at a later date, with erroneous information about at least Anizetta's birthplace, and perhaps the birthplaces of the boys as well.
Incidentally, Charles, George and Fred all died within a few days of each other in 1863. Lucinda may have died in this same epidemic or other tragedy, as Sewall Nelson Pierce married Rachel Mower of Greene on June 22, 1864.
Rachel Mower was born October 27, 1833, at Greene, Maine, the daughter of Jonathan and Rebecca Mower. The 1870 Census of Mars Hill shows Sewall and Rachel, Lucinda and Sewall's daughter Anisetta, and new children Charles, George and Fred, apparently named in honor of the children who had died. Sewall and Rachel would have two more children, William and Jonathan Leigh.
Sewall Nelson Pierce was a postmaster and town official at Mars Hill, as well as a farmer.
As for the town clerk, Elisha H. Moseley, who was also a postmaster at New Gloucester, he was born about 1813 in Maine, possibly the son of Rev. Elisha and Nancy (Lobdell) Moseley, but I haven't found proof of that.
Elisha H. Moseley married Sophia or Sophronia A. L. Sampson on May 15, 1847 at New Gloucester. They had at least three children, I believe. Elisha died November 11, 1862.
Elisha's possible father, Rev. Elisha Moseley, ministered at New Gloucester, Maine, from 1802 to 1826. He married Nancy Lobdell, daughter of Isaac and Polly (Stetson) Lobdell, on October 27, 1811 at Minot, Maine. Again, I haven't yet found a record linking the two Elishas; perhaps a reader will step in.
If you have any corrections or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly. I'd especially like to know more about Lucinda Atwood Vosmus' mother Abigail and whatever it was that befell the Pierce family in 1863 at Mars Hill.
New Gloucester, Maine, and Mars Hill, Maine
The people mentioned above were presumably:
