The Snow Family of Danforth

As far as I can tell, the Snow Family came to the Danforth area, from Massachusetts in the early 1800's. In Founders Cemetery, located by the boat landing on Route 169 In Danforth is where Major Reuben Snow is buried. He was the son of Nathaniel Snow and Mary Watts. Major Snow married Ann Guernsey.

Major Snow and Ann gave birth to a son whose name was Frederic Reuben Snow on April 12th 1835. On the 7th of January of 1860 in Danforth, Frederic married Harriet Boober Snow of Springfield, Maine. She was was born May 28th, 1838. 

Harriet Boober Scribner

Reuben Snows name appears on the application to the state of Maine to incorporate Danforth as a Town on July 7th, 1860. Other names that appear on this list are Joseph Butterfield, William Butterfield, George Crabtree, John P. Decker, Joseph Lessley, Cyrus Schillenge, and Seth Stinchfield. I am not sure which Reuben Snow that this is but I am presuming that it is the elder. 

A letter to the state dated November 10th, 1868 is recorded in the State Archives. It is a recommendation for Reuben Snow to be appointed to the office of Trial Justice within Washington County. Signing the recommendation is Joseph Lessley. 

I am actively researching this family at this time and will update this page as more information becomes available. A theory that I am working on is that this family is where the origins of the name for Snow Mountain in Danforth. At the peak of Snow Mountain there is still the Snow Farm Road and the Snow Farm is still an active cattle farm being owned and operated by the Apgar Family. 

Northern Maine. Where nothing ever happens!

Northern Maine. Where nothing ever happens! It is so boring right. Well, I would have to say, that could not be further from the truth. Here are just a few things that have taken place!

Did you know that Danforth, Houlton, Presque Isle, Madawaska and Caribou were almost part of Canada and there was an International Incident in which the State of Maine declared war on Great Britain! This was called the Aroostook War. One of the men who so instrumental in getting the border of Maine and Canada established at their present location, was an American by the name of Daniel Webster. To this day there is still an island between New Brunswick, Canada and Maine that is still technically involved in a boundary dispute as to which country it actually belongs to. This Island is called Machias Seal Island.

From the Treaty of Paris, Article 2

And that all disputes which might arise in future on the subject of the boundaries of the said United States may be prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the following are and shall be their boundaries, from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from the source of St. Croix River to the highlands...

...by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river Saint Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source, and from its source directly north to the aforesaid highlands which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean from those which fall into the river Saint Lawrence; comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia on the one part and East Florida on the other shall, respectively, touch the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean, excepting such islands as now are or heretofore have been within the limits of the said province of Nova Scotia.

A lot of things have taken place, from Champlain wintering on the St. Croix River and his expedition nearly getting wiped out because of disease and starvation. Even a German spy attempting to blow up a railroad in Vanceboro.

There was a POW camp in Houlton, where German soldiers were kept during World War II. This was known as Camp Houlton. It housed 1,100 German Soldiers from October 1944 to May 1946.

Danforth had a prominent visitor stop in on the train. His name was none other than U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.

So when you say that nothing ever happens in Northern Maine, well, that is not true. Northern Maine is full of History.

I would like to add, that some of the best stories of Northern Maine are passed down from generation to generation. If you have a story of Northern Maine that you would like to share, send me and email at mailman9394@gmail.com I would love to hear your story and look into the details to see what I can find.

Famous Relations

So after doing some research, I found that the Hayman Family of Danforth, had an interesting journey to the area. I start seeing them all over Washington County, mostly in the Pembroke and Calais area. The Hayman's moved there from Nova Scotia in the 1800's and they moved to Nova Scotia from New Hampshire in the 1700's. Now I have traced them back to where they married into the Drake Family. What I have found is that in this Drake Family is none other than Captain Francis Drake. That is right. There is in fact pretty famous blood running through the vain's of the people of Danforth Maine. Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) is the Nephew of William Edward Drake (1518-1555) who is the 10th great grandfather of Levanche Hayman Mailman and John Hayman. 

The Mailman Family of Danforth Maine

So I thought that I would start by posting about my family first just as a launching point. I have to begin somewhere, why not where I am the most familiar. So just some background, I started working on my family tree when I was in college in 2004 because of an assignment in Anthropology class. I was supposed to go back four generations but ended up going back much further than that. What I did find was very interesting.

The Mailman's of Danforth can trace their way back to Canada to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Mostly Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. The name Mailman morphed from the German name Mehlman. I am not sure why, I have read some speculation, but I do not want to publish that until I can get some more factual information. The Mehlman's hailed from an area in Germany known as the Palatinate. They left for Nova Scotia at the bidding of the English Government in order to escape the religious persecution that they face for being protestants.

Archie Mailman married a lady in Danforth, Maine, by the name of Zella Spinney. We can trace the Spinney's back to the Golding's and if you follow this line you meet some interesting people. Like Rebecca Nurse (B. Feb 21, 1621 - D. Jul 19, 1692) being my 14th Great Grandmother. Who is Rebecca Nurse? Well she was executed in Salem Mass, for being a witch after she was falsely accused by two young girls.  Her house still stands today as a museum. The 1996 film "The Crucible", staring Elizabeth Lawrence, is based on her.

Not to mention the Golding's go back to Stephen Golding of Gagetown, New Brunswick. He is known for being a loyalist during the Revolutionary War and helping the British at the Battle of Ticonderoga. There is in fact a display dedicated to him at a museum there in Gagetown.

This line of Goldings track back via parentage of Joseph, Thomas, Ephraim, Percival Jr, Percival Sr, Arthur and a long line of Goldings extending to approximately 1360. This line can be traced by back, thru marriage, to William the Conqueror. When I first traced this back I was pretty excited. That is until I read an article that said that about 25% of people of English decent can trace their lineage back to William the Conqueror. So really, not that uncommon. 

I will update this more at a later date, with more in depth and specific information.

Any questions, thoughts, information that you may have can be commented on here or emailed to me directly at mailman9394@gmail.com Thank you!

Union Hall - Danforth, Maine

A beautiful landmark that is in the center of downtown Danforth is Union Hall also known as the Town Hall. A beautiful building that was built in 1888 with a towering clock tower that has a commanding presence in the town. You can hear that clock bell ring out for miles around. 

It was added to the National List of Historic Places in 1987.

Union Hall 1920 

National Registry of Historic Places in Washington County

Here is a link to the application to the NRHP http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/NRHP/Text/87000938.pdf

This link contains a lot of information on the building, architect and the history of the building.

This building is full of memories and history. A good many people have their names signed on one of the walls behind the stage. It is kind of an unwritten rule that if you were part of play in Union Hall you had to sign your name. 

Union Hall served many purposes. The Veterans Memorial is located in front of Union Hall. In the basement there are a couple of jail cells. The upper floors were used by the Masonic Lodge and the Odd Fellows. Town meetings were held here, concerts, plays, dances and just about anything else that you can imagine. Even Santa Clause comes here to visit the kids once a year!

These two beautiful ladies (anyone want to try and guess who) are standing in front of what is now Toby Mailman's house. Rail road station to the right and the clock of Union hall is visible in the back ground. It seems, that there is hardly a picture of down town Danforth without Union Hall! 

This landmark is an important part of our town and I am look forward to seeing it for many more years to come. Maybe even check out my name in the back of the building. 

Purpose of this page and for future postings

In my first posting, I thought that I would explain the purpose of this Blog. 

It is mostly to put a lot of the old stories and histories of the families in this region of the State of Maine. To shed some light on what has happened, the difficulties that the great men and women of the area over came as well as the stories of great success. But it is also to track the families that settled in this area, explore where they came from and also to examine where they went and hopefully to understand why.

The area I would like to focus on is the following - Amity, Bancroft, Brookton, Danforth, Forest City, Kingman, Orient, Reed Plantation, Topsfield and Weston.

Maybe if we can shed some light on the past, we can brighten the future of this area as well. Please contact me any information, pictures, stories and even videos and especially family trees that you would like to share! Thank you, I am looking forward to hearing from you with both feedback and additional stories!