Baskahagen Families I
by F.E. McConvey
Published 14 April 1988
Just recentluy I acquired a new volume for my fast-growing genealogical reference collection. Entitled Baskahagen Families, A Genealogical Dictionary of Bancroft, Danforth, Orient and Weston, Maine, this manuscript, complied by Marion L. Dunn and editing by Basil E. Kinney, was prepared for the sesquicentennial of Weston, ME (1835-1985).
Knowing that a good number of people listed on the pages of this owrk had, at one time, lived in Charlotte County, I was immediately intrigued by the similarity of the names Baskahagen and Piskahagen.
In repsonse to my question, Basil Kinney offered the following:
The Penobscot River some sixty miles north of Bangor has a tributary, the Mattawanekaeg on which, about 25 miles northeat, another tributary joins from the south (a stream or river that turns down). i.e. Baskahagan, an Indian word that expresses that fact.
The large body of water, some 20 south, that feeds this stream also carried the name Baskahagan. Baskahagen Lake, a rather large body of water at a high elevation in Jackson Brook, ME, is often subject to high winds. Locally the yard is spun that an Indian tried to cross the lake with a canoe laden with baskets. He became the victim of a sudden high wind, lost his cargo and lamented, "Basket He Gone!"
It is possible that Piskahagen is a corruption of Baskahagen or vice versa.
Searching through Piskahagen Pioneer Days, a series of articles by the Rev. Charles M. Smith that appeared in the Courier in 1974/5, I could locate no reference to the meaning of the name, Piskahagen. The only statement to be discovered suggested the name had Indian origins.
In his astonishing book, America B.C., Barry Fell presents convincing theories that the white man made his appearance in America long before Columbus. He proposes that names ending in hagen are Nordic, rather than Indian.
Are there any readers who can supply additional information on this subject?
Baskahagen Families contains genealogical date on a total of 164 families. Broken down there are 37 from Bancroft; 68, Danforth; 20, Orient and 39, Weston.
The sketches below are only samplings of the data to be gleaned from these pages.
JOHN AMES was born in NH between 1799 and 1803. Lived in St. James Parish, NB. Married (1) SARAH?. Married (2) MARY ?, born in 1816. He died between 1862 and 1981. Four sons and one daughter were known to have gone to Bancroft. This information is followed by the children of the second and third generations.
A check into the 1851 census of St. James Parish shows that JAMES AMES was, indeed of American birth and at hat time, his wife was MARY.
CHARLES COX, son of GEORGE and MARY (McDOWELL) COX of St. George, NB was born at St. George on 19 August 1860. Died at Bancroft, ME, on 29 Jan. 1935, age 74 years, 6 months and 10 days. Married at Bancroft to ALICE A. LEE daughtre of ISREAL and SARAH A.(THOMAS) LEE, born at St. George, NB on 27 April, 1865; died at Bancroft on 02 January, 1937. Information of 12 children is given.
Once, again the family of GEORGE and MARY ANN COX is located in the 1851 census for St. George Parish. Naturally Charles not appear at that early date.
In this censu, there is also an ISRAEL LEE, son of JOSEPH and HANNAN, age 16, to be found in St. George, and a SARAH THOMAS, age 13 in St. Andrews. It is possible that these were the parents of ALICE A. LEE.
Through searches that have been done, it has been discovered that in many instances the names McDOWELL is a corruption of McDOUALL. Therefore, someof the people in Charlotte County bearing this name are descendants of ALEXANDER McDOUALL who is buried in the cemetery at Greenock Kirk in St. Andrews.
In connection with the FARADAY family who were from Sackville, NB, there is a marriage of MARTIN, son of ROBERT and ELLEN(KINNEY) FARADAY. to EDITH PINKERTON, daughter of WILLIAM and MARGARET (LINDSAY) PINKERTON of St. James Parish.
In 1851, Parish St. James, the census reveals a PINKERTON family with the son of WILLIAM aged 10, also a MARGARET LINDSAY of the same age.
Of interest to the ORR family is a listing of the children and grandchildren of BARNEY FITZGERALD and MARY J. ORR. born in 1835 in NB. This MARY J. ORR could very possibly be the MARY J. aged 15, listed in 1851 (St. Patricks) in the family of THOMAS and AGNESS ORR; or MARY, also aged 15, daughter of JAMES and MARAGARET ORR.
JOHN HAMLITON, son of JAMES and CATHERINE (STAMP) HAMLITON, was born in 1830 at St. George, NB. He died at Danforth, ME on 08 February, 1894, aged 64 years, 4 months, 7 days. In 1836 he married a daughter of DAVID and ANN (PATTERSON) CORNING. (DAVID was born in Nova Scotia and ANN, in Ireland.)
There would appear to be some details missing there, but both of these families are to be located in St. George Parish at the time of 1851 census.
The first LEE family to go to Bancroft, ME, was that of ISRAEL LEE, born at St. George, NB., on 13 June 1835, probably the son of JOSEPH and HANNAH LEE. There were many other Lee families in Bancroft, but as far as it can be determine they all came from St. George, NB, or that vicinity. This is followed by 3 1/2 pages of names and dates pertaining to this family.
Information is also given on FRANK LISHERNESS, son of WILLIAM and GEORGIANNA (McKAY) LISHERNESS of St. George. This family is tied by marriage to the LEES. Both a WILLIAM H. and a GEORGIANNA are to be found under their proper families in St. George Parish- census 1851.
From the account given to the POMEROY family, some of the descendants of the Loyalist POMEROYS did not remain on this side of the border. There are approximately four pages of genealogy devoted to this family. It would also appear from the reference given that a publication, entitled Pomeroy, Mina E. Genealogy of the Pomeroys of ME and NB, Press of RI, Maybell Stat Co, St. Paul, may be available to show more detail on this family.
QUERIES:
33. NOBEL PYE, c1800 - 16 Oct 1890. m ANN HENRY of City Sligo and Saint John in 1854. CH: ALICE m ? WRIGHT of Salem, MA; ANNIE JANE m WILLIAM BRYANT of Bartlett's Mills, NB and ROBERT of Boston, MA. Family story states taht this was the second marriage of NOBEL PYE. Two daughters from the first marriage were supposed to have married a MARKEY and a PELTON. Can find nothing to prove this is true. Seek any info these families.
Note: In-Laws, Outlaws and Kinfolk articles have been published on this site with the permission of the St. Croix Courier. Special thanks goes to the Courier for allowing me to reprint my mother's articles.