One of the most prominent family names among the early settlers in our area was that of the Hatches. At least four Hatch brothers or their sons acquired land and built their homes on the eastern shore of Damariscotta Lake of Damariscotta River. Two other brothers, and a sister with her husband, settled in Bristol. These six brothers and a sister became ancestors of a large group of Hatch descendants who lived in Nobleboro or nearby. To attest to this fact, there is a total of 21 pages of Hatch names listed in the book compiled by Christine Houston Dodge, "Old Bristol and Nobleboro, Volume I, Births and Deaths". The only family name to exceed the Hatches is that of the Halls with 26 pages. The Chapman family name comes in third with 19 pages..
  The Hatch brothers and a sister were all born in Marshfield, Mass. Their father was Jonathan Hatch, who lived from 1709 to 1759. His first wife was Agatha Phillips, who bore Jonathan's 13 children between 1737 and 1775. After Agatha died, Jonathan remarried to Rachel Briggs Curtis, and had two more children, making a total of 15. No wonder some of them later moved to Maine to avoid undue congestion in Marshfield.
  Agatha Phillips (Jonathan's first wife) was a fifth generation descendant of Richard Warren, of Mayflower fame. Thus many members of the Hatch family tree are eligible for membership in the Mayflower Society.
  The Nobleboro Historical Society has a copy of a detailed Hatch Genealogy consisting of 246 pages of hand-written notes compiles largely by Deacon Frederick A. Hatch, grandson of the original West Neck settler, Frederick Hatch. This Deacon Hatch lived from 1827 to 1903 making his home also on West Neck. His records were supplemented by his son, James F. Hatch and later by his nephew, Frederick Judson Hatch who married Eola Jackson Jones. She also updated some of the records and passed them on to her daughter, Betty Hatch Norburg in Milford Maine. Tour writer also has been receiving correspondence from several other descendants.
  The first Hatch to settle in Nobleboro was Frederick, who acquired 230 acres of land at the northern end of West Neck. His land extended between Damariscotta Lake on the West and Deep Cove on the east. He was the youngest of Jonathan and Agatha's 13 children, born in 1759. He came to Maine in July 1779 while participating in the Revolutionary War. He was a private aboard the sloop "Hazzard," which was part of the 43 ship expedition sent out from Massachusetts in an attempt to take Bagaduce, now Castine. This effort was unsuccessful, resulting in a major navel defeat. (as reported in our article of July 6, 1978, "Battle of Maja Bagaduce").
  The following report is taken from page 51 of the Hatch Genealogy. "A fleet of British ships arrived, and the American fleet making haste to escape were nearly all captured of run ashore and burned. The land force escaped across the river, thence through the forests to Kennebec".
  "My grandfather Mr. Hatch who was on board the sloop Hazzard was taken prisoner, held for a time at Castine, whence he escaped, made his way to Bristol, Maine where one or more of his brothers were already settled. Here he married in 1780 to Lydia Bryant, whose acquaintance he had previously made at Scituate, Mass. He then bought 200 acres of land on West Neck, Nobleboro; built a log cabin in the unbroken forest, to which he brought his wife, commenced to clear the land, soon became a prosperous farmer, here he lived among his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Here he died age 95, his wife 91".
  Frederick, his wife, and a number of their descendants are buried on the old homestead in the Hatch cemetery, which is now a part of Camp Kieve.
  He is listed under the 1790 Census for Nobleboro. However, the published report erroneously listed Nobleborough settlers under Bristol; Bristol settlers under Waldoborough; and Waldoborough under Nobleborough. So readers, beware!
  In the 1798 survey, Frederick Hatch was reported to have a house valued at $150. which was a fairly high figure in these early years. His 230 acres of land had a value of $1200. How times have changed!
  A future article will tell you more about Frederick, his family, and their homes.
  A second Hatch to settle on West Neck was Jonathan Hatch. He lived further south on the Neck, just below the present home of George and Doris Birkett, originally the John Linscott place (as shown on the 1813 town map). This Jonathan, we believe, was a nephew of Frederick Hatch, and son of Major Elisha Hatch of Bristol. In the 1798 survey, Jonathan had 96 acres of land, valued at $400. but his house was a very modest one with a value of only $20. He lived from 1769 to 1857; was born in Mass.; came to Maine with his father; and settled in Nobleboro in 1789.
  He was a blacksmith and farmer, whose first wife was Nancy Barstow, daughter of George Barstow, an early ship builder on the Damariscotta River. His second wife was Betsey Linscott who lived next door. His third wife was Jane Hatch, daughter of Philip Hatch who also had settled in Bristol (a brother to Frederick and Elisha).
  Jonathan had a total of nine children. He and his family were members of the First Baptist Church of Nobleboro. However his first child, Jonathan Jr., born in 1791, moved to Morrill, and became a Millerite (see our article of Feb. 2, 1978, "End of the World").
  The father of our West Neck Jonathan Hatch, as stated above, was Major Elisha, who settled in Bristol sometime between 1770 and 1775. In the 1790 census for Bristol, his name was spelled "Elizer Hatch,". with a family of 13 persons. In the 1798 survey he had a house and 346 acres of land in Bristol. He also owned 80 acres of land on East Neck, Nobleboro, but did not have a house thereon. He purchased this land for $250. in 1797 from Seth Curtis of Newcastle (Deed 38-209). On this land is the current home of Willa and Ruppert Stevens, with her mother, Louise Rollins Winchenbaugh. Elisha lived from 1743 to 1843 to 100 years old age. He served in the Revolutionary War as a First Lieutenant, 6th Co., 3'd regiment, from Lincoln County.
  Elisha Hatch was a blacksmith and farmer, and did iron work of the first vessel built on the Damariscotta River by George Barstow. These two men had more in common than shipbuilding, Barstow's daughter Nancy was married to Elisha's son Jonathan.
  Our next article will tell you more about Elisha Hatch's family, and about Elisha Hatch of West Neck who was the son of Zaccheus (brother to Elisha).
 
Your Nobleboro Historian
(The Lincoln County News, February 4, 1982)
 

 Our last article told about Frederick Hatch, His brother Major Elisha Hatch and Elisha's son Jonathan. Here now are more details concerning Elisha's family. His son Prince, whose home was in Bristol, and a number of Elisha's grandsons were mariners and sea captains. They came rightly by this vocation because Elisha had at one time been a sea captain, and had one vessel taken from him by the French, (as recorded in notes formerly possessed by Cleon Hatch). Prince Hatch was lost at sea, leaving a family of five children. Two of his three sons became sea captains. One of them, Master Mariner William B. Hatch, lived to age 84, but he had a son, Capt. Augustus Hatch who drowned at age 32 while at Prince William Island.
  Elisha also had a son, Howland who was a blacksmith, like his father and brother Jonathan. Of Howland's 10 children, two sons were blacksmiths, one a farmer, but three others were seaman. Two of these seaman died in the West Indies, and a third at Mobile Alabama. So much sadness! Remaining unmarried were the two blacksmiths and a farmer, and a sister, (who died at age 35. More sadness.
 Elisha's son, Mark Hatch, evidently safeguarded his children from the perils of the sea by moving inland to Washington, Maine. Two of his sons, John and Albion P., took the somewhat safer occupation of becoming ministers - both "Free Baptist". Rev. Albion Hatch moved around from Washington to Clinton, Troy, Burnham and elsewhere. A third son, Mark, perhaps had a more lucrative position, becoming a lawyer in St. Paul, Minn.
  One of Elisha's grandsons was called Saturday Hatch because he went every Saturday, and only Saturday, to town.
  Zaccheus Hatch was a brother to Elisha, Frederick and others. He lived from 1749 to 1833. He also served in the Revolutionary War, as a 1st Lieutenant. In the 1798 survey he owned 50 acres of land in Nobleboro, but had no house there at the time. He probably lived for a time in Nobleboro, and married Persis Dunbar of our town as his second wife. However, all seven of his children are reported to have been born in Jefferson.
  His son Elisha Hatch, born in 1782, settled on lower West Neck, and had 59 acres of land (as shown on 1813 town map). We surmise that this was the same land previously owned by his father Zaccheus. His place was a little south of the home of his cousin Joshua Linscott's place, more recently owned by the Kalers. Elisha's sister, Sarah, married Joshua Linscott.
  Elisha married Nancy Hatch, daughter of his uncle, Phillips Hatch of Bristol. They had four children before Nancy died at age 27. Elisha then married her sister Jane, who added nine more children to this West Neck family. Her first son was Lot, and he also had a lot of children, a total of 12.
  Elisha's 12th child was Priscilla Hatch who married Crowell Hatch. Crowell was the son of Briggs Hatch, another brother of early Hatch settlers.
  Phillips Hatch (uncle to Elijah) was named for his mother, Agatha Phillips (who married Jonathan Hatch). He was also Elijah's father-in-law, by way of his two daughters Nancy and Jane. He had a house and 260 acres of land in Bristol, having settled there about the same time as his brother Elisha. He was a farmer and shipwright, who lived from 1757 to 1848. He contributed greatly to the Hatch family tree by being married four times and having 15 children.
  Another of the early settlers was Briggs, as stated above (brother of Frederick, Elisha, Zaccheus, Phillips and others). He was the 14th of Jonathan's 15 children. He was a carpenter and farmer, who lived from 1762 to 1830. His home place of 88 acres is shown on the 1813 town map of Nobleboro, but is now in Damariscotta. The location was just north of Jeremiah Knowlton's place, near the shell heaps on the eastern side of the river.
  The first born of Briggs's eight or nine children was Crowell Hatch. He married his cousin, Priscilla Hatch, daughter of Zaccheus, as previously stated. Crowell was the grandfather of Edbury W. Hatch, famed carver of majestic ship figureheads, and other fancy woodwork. Edbury remained unmarried, and lived in Newcastle. His craftsmanship was recently reported with several pictures of his work in Down East Magazine, entitled "The Eccentric Woodcarver of Newcastle". We rejoice that one of his carvings was acquired in 1942 by Henry Beston and his wife Elizabeth Coatsworth. It is preserved at the Beston's home on East Neck Road "Chimney Farm".
  We have recently had considerable genealogical correspondence with Miss. Mary Hatch, who is a great-granddaughter of Crowell Hatch. She is 87 years young and writes with fine penmanship. She worked for 23 years at the First National Bank of Boston, but now lives in a retirement home in Quincy, Mass. As a child she played with Judson and Galdys Trask on the old Trask homestead on Lower Cross Road. Doing what? Making mud pies and jumping on the hay! Her family also often visited with the Charles B. Hatch family in Damariscotta. He was a nephew of Crowell and Priscilla Hatch, and lived in the corner of Vine and Church streets, opposite the information booth.
  We will eventually get back to Frederick Hatch who settled on upper West Neck. But first, in our next article, you should know about his oldest sister, Agatha, named for her mother, born in 1737 as the first of Jonathan's 15 children. She married Capt. Elijah Crooker, and they resided in Bristol. He had some amazing war exploits which we will relate next time. Keep in tune.
 
Your Nobleboro Historian
(The Lincoln County News, February 11, 1982)

  As promised in our last article, we now relate the exciting war experiences of Capt. Elijah Crooker of Bristol. He was the husband of Agatha Hatch, the first of Jonathan's 15 children, as previously stated. She lived to age 93, and he to age 81. He served in both the Indian and Revolutionary Wars. For his exploits, we quote from page 53 of the Hatch genealogy.
  Capt. Crooker was born at Marshfield about 1730; in 1750 he went to Boston, where he met Capt. James Nickells; went with him to Wiscasset, Maine to assist in loading Spanish ship with lumber; in 1751 served as Vol. in several short expeditions against the Indians on the Kennebec River. Returned to Mass.; went as 1st Sergt. of company of Volunteers in expedition against "Crown Point", wounded in ankle; in 1751 as mate of transport, in exp. against Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia; was present in same official capacity at capture of Quebec, and 2nd capture of Louisburg, Cape Breton. Continued in service as mate or captain till beginning of Revolution War; at time of battle of Lexington was in Boston, returned home next day assisted in raising a company of volunteers. Trained the army before Boston, where he served nearly a year. Next year raised another company, joined army of Washington at N.Y. With army in retreat to White Plain. Then into New Jersey at Trenton. Took active part in capture of the 800 Hessians. In 1778 joined the army under Sullivan in R.I. Immediately after the close of the war, came to Bristol, where he settled and lived till he died 1812.
  What a contribution he made in that War of independence, and the establishment of U.S.A.! If you want more details concerning the heroic crossing of the ice choked Delaware River on Christmas eve, with General Washington, to defeat the Hessians, see our recent article of January 7th.
  Capt. Elisha Crooker and his wife Agatha had eight children. One daughter, also named Agatha, married Christopher Hopkins of Nobleboro. His place is shown on the 1813 town map, on West Neck, just south of the Elijah Hatch place. In the 1798 survey, Christopher's house was valued at only $10., which we might surmise was a log cabin. His 160 acres of land had a value of $300. He and some others of his family are buried in an old family burial ground, down toward the lake near the MacRae's summer homes. Christopher also served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Capt. Joseph Jones Co., Col. William Jones, Regt. He assisted in the retaking of a mast ship, and saw service at Camden in defense of the coast.
  Thus far we reported on seven of the 15 children of Jonathan Hatch, born in Marshfield. These were Frederick, Jonathan, Zaccheus, Elisha, Phillips, Briggs and Agatha. Information is rather meager concerning the four daughters, Jerusha, Thankful, Lucy and Rachael, and also son James, Mark and his sister Lydia (who married Stover Perkins) moved to Castine. The remaining member of this large family was Prince. He established his home in Knox.
  Now back to Frederick Hatch, who settled on upper West Neck after escaping from Castine and the defeat of the Americans by the British. He married Lydia Bryant in 1780, and erected a log cabin. He secured title to his land in 1785 by purchasing 180 acres from William Clark at a cost of 49 pounds, 6 shillings, and 8 pence. The boundary was defined as starting at a hemlock tree on the east side of Damariscotta Pond, thence southeast 230 poles (same as rods) to a hemlock tree on Deep Cove, thence running northerly by the Cove and round by the Pond to the beginning. In this deed both men were of a place called Damiscotta Pond, with Clark listed as a "yeoman" and Hatch also listed as a "housewright." In subsequent deeds Hatch also was listed as "yeoman", in keeping with his occupation as a farmer.
  In 1795, he bought an additional 55 acres, from Levi Hall, which adjoined his land on the south, at a cost of 60 pounds. Both deeds were recorded in 1795 (Book 35, page 46). The 1796 survey reported his house to be worth $150., indicating a much better house than his original log >cabin. He needed a larger house because he and Lydia by 1798, had eight of their ten children.
  When Frederick settled on West Neck there was no road to his place. He traveled by boat, up the Lake from Damariscotta Mills. His wife however was lonesome for her relatives, so walked down West Neck through the woods, then cross over to East Neck to visit her brother, Amasa Bryant, and family. The Bryant farm was just North of the Jesse Dunbar place, where the Briggs and Dunbars now have there home. This was the beginning of the West Neck trail, later to become West Neck Road.
  On January 1, 1828, when Frederick was 68 years old, he divided his land between his two younger sons, David and James. The younger son James had the upper 110 acres, where his parents continued to live, and also one half of the bog land. Son David had the lower half. The deeds indicated a payment of $1000. by each son, but they also "agreed that this deed shall not be recorded nor be valued to the said David (or James) during the natural life of the said Frederick."
When Frederick was 94 years of age (one year before his death) , the two deeds were recorded (Book 202, page 145 and 147).
  Frederick's old house, reportedly built about 1790, is now occupied by Dick and Nancy Kennedy. This has been used as a double house, built for two families, probably divided when James and his wife Nancy were married in 1823.
  James Hatch was born in 1800, and lived to age 92. He was a captain in the State Militia, and served as a Selectman of Nobleboro. They had 13 children, and a lot of sorrow in the family, including two Civil War casualties. In our next article, we will tell you more about this family, and also of brother David who lived next door.
  P.S. In a recent article, we reported that Lieut. Zaccheus Hatch (brother to Frederick Hatch) lived in Jefferson, where his seven children were born. We have now learned that he lived on the west side of the lake, in the Bunker Hill area, just above the Newcastle town line. Ruby Hodjkins Callender of Portland has written us that Zaccheus is buried in the Whitehouse Cemetery, on the land where Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Hunt, Sr. reside, just south of the Jefferson town line. Mrs. Callender is the author of a very excellent Hodjkins genealogy of 120 pages, a copy of which we have. Her father bought the old Hatch homestead from Freeman D. Hatch and his two sisters. Freeman was a grear-grandson of old Zaccheus, and son of Jonathan D. Hatch. Ruby, as a girl living on the Hatch place, remembers especially the gravestone for Zaccheus Hatch because she was greatly impressed by his having had three wives! More details are available concerning the ownership of this and nearby places in "Little History of Bunker Hill Houses", written 1973 by Amy Partridge. (The Lincoln County News, February 25, 1982)

  As reported in our last article James and Nancy Hatch suffered much family sorrow on behalf of there 13 children. Two sons, James A. and Joseph L. lost their lives in the Civil War. Both enlisted promptly in May 1861, as Volunteers in the 4th Maine infantry. Joseph died in camp in Washington, D.C., on July 6, 1861, at age 19. James was killed in the Battle of Bull Run on August 29, 1862 at age 22. And the family had more sorrows. Daughter Emiline died in 1832 at age 28; Daniel died of dysentery in 1849 at age 11; Asbury also the same year with the same ailment at age 4; and Nancy in the following month at age 2. Albion, the last of their 13 children to be born, died in 1861 at age 11.
  Son Deacon Frederick A. Hatch, however, lived until 1903 to age 75. He married Lydia J. Hall of Jefferson, and they lived on the home place. He and his family were active in the First Baptist Church of Nobleboro. Their daughter Lizzie, one of eleven children, married Richard Nutter of Wiscasset. A granddaughter, Elizabeth "Libby" Nutter married Fred Willis Hall who now resides in Nobleboro Center near the church where ancestor Deacon Hatch formerly worshipped with his family.
  Two of the Deacon's sons, James F. and Judson L., inherited the home place. Their need for a housekeeper was met by the arrival, by train from Boston, of Hattie Cook and her small daughter Ruth. Hattie and James were married, but they later separated, with James giving her his half of the home place. The property was then officially and specifically divided between Hattie and her brother-in-law, Judson, in 1919 (Deed 364, pages 82-86). She had the north end of the house, and Judson the south part. The division passed through the center of the house, with use of the front door, the front hall and stairs to be in common. In the barn, Hattie had use of the east side; Judson the west side and attached shed, but the use of the barn floor, barnyard and well were to be in common. The excellent large spring on the hillside was on Judson's premises, but the cistern to which the spring water flowed, was on Hattie's side of the house cellar. The maintenance and repairs of the water pipe was to be shared equally.
  Hattie sold her half of the home place in 1925, the same year that James F. Hatch died. The purchaser was Donald Kennedy, the father of Richard who is the present owner (Deed 374-6). Hattie subsequently bought the old Knowlton farm on West Neck. Her daughter Ruth married and became the mother of Parker Erskine, the current owner.
  Judson L. Hatch also married, in 1899 to Marie E. Frizzell. She died in 1922, and five years later he sold his half of the property to their son Frederick J. Hatch and his wife (deed 381-96). He had married Eola Jackson Jones, whose first husband was Melrose Jones of Damariscotta Mills. Two of the Jones children,  (Mellicent and Arthur) joined their mother at her new home. Arthur who was now lives at the Mills, remembers the big spring on the hill, the magnificent view of the Lake, and the Upper West Neck School where he and his sister attended for a few years.
  Frederick J. and Eola Hatch had one daughter, Mary Elizabeth "Betty" who married Charles Norburg. Betty and family now live in Milford, just north of Oldtown. She is the one who inherited the Hatch genealogy, and graciously loaned it to us for photocopying. We are so appreciative of having a copy back in Nobleboro, where it originated!
  Frederick J. Hatch, known as "Fred" was a well driller, and also worked for the Kennedy's. He eventually sold his well drilling business, now operated by Adney Peck, Jr. in cooperation with his partner, Joe Ball. The business continues to be known as "Hatch Well Drillers." Joe Ball is a son of Millicent Jones Ball.
  In 1946, Fred Hatch also sold his half of the house to the Kennedy's - thereby uniting the entire house formerly the home of settler Frederick, under Kennedy ownership.
  As previously stated, David Hatch had acquired in 1825 the lower half of his father Frederick's farm on Upper West Neck. He was born in 1795 and lived until 1878 to age 83. He was married in July 1820, and had apparently started to build his house two years earlier. A timber in the cellar has a chiseled date mark of 1818. However, the northern part of the house appears to have been built at a later date - perhaps when David's son, John Arad, also made his home here.
  The first of David's eight children was born in 1821. There was also much sadness in his family. Son Edward K. Hatch enlisted for Civil War service in September 1861, then re enlisted as a Corporal, but was wounded in the Battle of the Wilderness, and died of his wounds on September 11, 1863 at age 29. Another son, Cyrus M. Hatch survived the war. He had gone to Minneapolis and enlisted in Minnesota in April 1861. He was wounded at Antiedam, but recovered, and later made his home in California.
  Their family sorrows were made acute by having son Leander drowned in the lake at age 18; and daughter Lydia living to only age 22.
  Son John Arad Hatch, born in 1828, stayed on the home place and lived until 1911 to age 88. In 1859 his father David deeded him for $1000. an undivided half of the farm and buildings. But at the same time he deeded him the other half with the requirement that the deed would not become effective until David's death (Deed 218-106 and 259-991?). John Arad had four marriages, with a total of ten children. The youngest was Wilder, born in 1891 when John Arad was age 68 and his fourth wife Cassie was age 28. But again sadness descended on West Neck. Wilder drowned in the pond at age 14.
  A more cheerful item concerns the courtship of John Arad's son Frank M. Hatch. He was courting Melissa Hodgkins who lived in South Jefferson in the Bunker Hill area, on the opposite side of the pond. To visit her, he put his clothes in a tin lined box, swam across the Pond, reclothed, paid his respects, then swam back home. Oh, to have owned a boat! In winter, crossing on the ice was an easier matter. Anyway the courting was successful, they married, and raised a family in Mass.
  In 1907, when John Arad was age 84 he deeded one half of his property to his wife, and one half to his then youngest son, Cressey I. Hatch (Deed 324-107, 108). Cressey subsequently acquired full ownership by inheriting his stepmother's half. Cressey remained unmarried and
operated the farm, raising oxen and sheep, using a big barn up on the hill. There were then large open fields and pasture. He was one of the last to keep oxen for farm use.
  In 1941 Cressey at age 68 sold his farm, which a few years later, in 1944, was acquired by Richard Kennedy's parents. The Kennedy's in turn in 1969 sold the buildings and a portion of the land to Charles and Joyce Carter. The Carter's sold a small part of their southern section in 1972 to her parents, LeRoy and Olive Kinney. A guest house, formerly located near the Carter's home, which had served for a time as the residence of Richard Kennedy's mother, and her mother, was moved to the Kinney's plot of land, becoming a part of their new home.
  In the Carter's house can be seen some large hand-hewn beams. Also some wide panel boards at least 24 inches wide. Mr. Carter works at the Bath Iron Works and is an expert on old houses and tools. He is remodeling and improving the house, and in the process has exposed the original wall plastering which used hand split boards. Their two daughters have been very active and successful in 4-H club projects in which their mother is a leader.

  Next time we will wind up our comments on these Hatch homes.
 

Your Nobleboro Historian
(The Lincoln County News, March 18, 1982
 

 We now complete our visit with the West Neck Hatches by telling you about two of Frederick Hatch's daughters, Thankful and Abigail. They each married a Daniel Hall, Thankful's husband was Daniel, the 2nd of Jefferson; Abigail's husband was Deacon Daniel, the 3'd of East Neck Road.
  Thankful Hatch was Daniel Hall's second wife. He had first married Lucy Hatch, sister of Thankful. But Lucy died in 1803, at age 23, without having children. Surely Daniel must have been very thankful to have Lycy's sister Thankful to brighten his home. She was born in 1792 and Daniel in 1780. They had a family of ten children, most of whom were baptized by the Rev. Phineas Pillsbury, the first minister at the First Baptist Church of Nobleboro.
  Thankful lived on West Neck Road, in the house built by Daniel Hall in about 1807, the year that their first child was born. His farm is shown in the 1813 town map as having 60 acres of land. This remarkable old house is now the home of Mrs. W. J. Robinson.
  A prominent son of Daniel Hall, 2'd, and his wife Thankful, was Alden Hall. He rebuilt the First Baptist Church on 1854-55 at a cost of $4598. Alden's oldest daughter was Mary Thankful Hatch who made the marvelous hair wreath, of human hair, which was given to the Nobleboro Historical Society by her grand-niece, Martha Hall Bishop. More details on this house and the hair wreath were included in our article of August 23, 1979.
  Abigail Hall who married Deacon Daniel Hall 3'd, was born in 1801. She lived for 82 years and her husband for 83 years. Their home was on East Neck, where Elizabeth Coatsworth Beston and her daughter Kate now live. Deacon Hall had a family of eight children, who were active in the First Baptist Church. He was a boot and shoemaker. In our December 31 article we referred to Daniel's wintertime crossing of Deep Cove, on the ice, with his wife, Abigail, and losing his horse through the ice after visiting her West Neck family.
  The last of their eight children was Abbie Hall, who married John Palmer. He was the last surviving Civil War veteran from Nobleboro, who died in 1944 at age 98. He contributed the bronze tablet placed on the huge granite boulder at the lower end of East Neck Road. This was dedicated on Memorial Day 1933, "In memory of all soldiers and sailors from Nobleboro, Maine". (see our article of November 10, 1977 for more details).
 The beautiful Hatch family cemetery is located on Upper West Neck, at what is now known as Camp Kieve. Here is the resting place of Frederick Hatch, his wife, Lydia, and at least five of their sons and daughters, with their spouses and a number of descendants. There are eight veteran's flags placed in this cemetery each year in memory of Hatch men who served their country. Those honored are Frederick for his service in the Revolutionary War; two sons Frederick Jr. and David Hatch, and one son-in-law, Daniel Hall, 2'd, for the war of 1812; three grandsons, Edward K., James A., and Joseph L. Hatch, all of whom lost their lives in the Civil War; and great-great-grandson Frederick J. Hatch who served in World War I and was the last of the Hatch descendent to live in Frederick Hatch's old home.
  A fairly newcomer to be put to rest n this cemetery was Dr. Samuel Kennedy and his wife Lily. He was a physician in New York, but was born locally, in Newcastle. He died in 1900, and his wife in 1905.
  Richard and Nancy Kennedy, the present owners of Camp Keive and the old house of pioneer Frederick Hatch are not related to Dr. Kennedy. As stated earlier, "Dick" Kennedy
inherited the place from his parents. He was, until recently, a high school teacher just north of Boston. But he spent all his spare time here on West Neck, and operated Camp Keive during the summer. He and Nancy now reside here the year-round, and enjoy living in the old historic house of original settler Frederick Hatch.
  In recent years, Camp Keive has been changed to a non-profit camp for boys with programs that emphasize an appreciation of nature and the environment. Surely ancestor Hatch would appreciate such sensitivity to preserving and enchanting the farm land that he reclaimed from the "howling wilderness."
  The love of Nobleboro and its heritage by Dick and Nancy was evidenced last fall by their participation in the twelve week course in Nobleboro history.
  These five articles on the Hatches may seem to our readers as similar to my first long research publication at the University of Maine. My father, in all his wisdom, said, "George, you've exhausted the subject, and also the reader!" However, the Hatch family tree had many branches. Hopefully you have acquired a more intimate feeling and awareness of the lives of our early settlers - and their large families; their hardships, their accomplishments, their sorrows, and their homes. They were a hardy breed. Most of them lived long and useful lives. For Frederick, and his brothers and sisters whose ages we know, there were four who lived for 83 to 89 years, and seven who lived 90 to 100 years. May you dear readers, do as well!
 
Your Nobleboro Historian
(The Lincoln County News, April 1, 1982)
 

A note about the author:
 Since his retirement in 1970, George F. Dow has been involved in researching Nobleboro History. The data he has collected, including historic records and personal accounts, such as diaries, journals, letters, and account books, has been deposited in the archives of the Nobleboro Historical Center. He also published more than 250 articles on Nobleboro History in the Lincoln County News. Before his retirement, Dr. Dow's career spanned 42 years of teaching, research, and administration as a professor of agriculture and life science. He retired as Director Emeritus, Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Maine, Orono. He served as the Society's president and curator of the Nobleboro Historical Society.
  George and Robert E Dunbar co-authored a the book Nobleboro, Maine - A History, Published by The Nobleboro Historical Society in 1988 and Printed by Lincoln County Publishing Co., Damariscotta/Newcastle, Maine
 
Bob Byron