Genealogical and Family History
of the
STATE OF MAINE

Compiled under the editorial supervision of George Thomas Little, A. M., Litt. D.

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York
1909.

[Please see Index page for full citation.]

[Transcribed by Coralynn Brown]

[Many families included in these genealogical records had their beginnings in Massachusetts.]

STAPLES Among the early colonizers of New England were several of this name; all are supposed to have come from old England. John Staples settled in what now is North Weymouth, Mass., as early as 1636. Abraham Staples, who was of Dorchester in 1658, was married in Weymouth Sept. 17, 1660, to Mary, daughter of Robert Randall, and shortly afterwards went to Mendon, Mass. In 1640 three brothers named Staples - Peter, Thomas and another whose Christian name is now unknown, arrived at Kittery, Maine. Thomas removed to Fairfield, Connecticut, and Peter remained in Kittery. The name was long written Staple. (I) Peter (1) Staple had a grant of land in Kittery in 1671, and on July 4, three years later, purchased land of Thomas Turner. He deeded land to his son and namesake in 1694. Five acres were measured and laid out to Peter Staple. His will was made June 6, 1718, and probated April 7, 1719, which indicates approximately the time of his death. His wife Elizabeth was probably a widow of a Mr. Edwards. She survived him and was alive in 1720. His will mentions three sons, Peter, John and James. (II) Peter (2), son of Peter (1) Staple, was married Jan. 8, 1696, to Mary Long, who was born in 1678. He was a carpenter by occupation, and died Dec. 17, 1721, leaving a widow and several children, namely: Mary, Peter, Elizabeth, Robert, Anne, Enoch, Grace and Joshua. (III) Joshua (1) youngest child of Peter (2) and Mary (Long) Staple, was born Sept. 16, 1712, in Kittery, and resided in that town. He was married Jan. 17, 1735, to Abigail, daughter of John and Sarah Fernald. She died in August, 1761, and he married (second) Mary Ross. Children of 1st wife: Joshua, Abigail, Stephen, Mary, Lydia and Nathaniel. Children of 2d wife: Eleanor, Peter, John and Margaret. (IV) Joshua (2), eldest son of Joshua (1) and Abigail (Fernald) Staples, was born Dec. 12, 1738, in Kittery, and resided in Berwick, Maine. He was married Jan. 27, 1761, to Hephsibah Hanscom. (V) Stephen, son of Joshua (2) and Hephsibah (Hanscom) Staples, was born in Berwick, Maine, and lived in that part of the town which now (1908) South Berwick. The maiden name of his wife was Hill; his last days were spent in Tamworth, New Hamsphire. (VI) Enoch, son of Stephen Staples, was born in Berwick and died in Limington, Maine. (VII) John, son of Enoch Staples, was born in Limington, Maine in 1800, and died in Scarborough, Maine, in 1884. He married Anna Libby, born in 1802 and died in 1894. He was a farmer and lumberman and operated a sawmill. Children: Elizabeth (died in infancy); Marcellus, Charles Austin, Statira, Elbrige, Marcus and Hiram. (VIII) Charles Austin, son of John and Anna (Libby) Staples, was born in Limington, Maine, July 31, 1836, and now is one of the oldest lumbermen and sawmill superintendents in the region in which he lives. He was given a good education, attending academies in Limington and Litchfield, and after leaving school at once took up the work of lumbering in its several departments, and in all the years of his wide experience he perhaps has given more attention to superintending lumber work than to any other of the operations pertaining to lumbering in general. For fifteen years he was superintendent in different mills, and for the last ten years he has been in charge of the large mill plants of the International Paper Company, at Gardiner, Maine. Something more than forty-five years ago Mr. Staples engaged in more hazardous work than lumbering. At Brunwich, Maine, in 1862, he enlisted in Company A of the Twenty-fourth Maine Volunteer Infantry, and severed under General Banks at New Orleans and elsewhere in the operations of the army comprising the Department of the Gulf. At the end of the term of enlistment he returned with his regiment to Maine and was mustered out of service at Augusta in the winter of 1863-64. Mr. Staples is a Mason and a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Miranda Carll Taylor, now (1908) deceased, daughter of John B. Taylor, by whom he had three children, the eldest of whom, a daughter, died in infancy. Those who still live are: Adah, now Mrs. Alfred G. Crossman. Frank Leslie, see forward. (IX) Frank Leslie, only son of Charles Austin and Miranda Carll (Taylor) Staples, was born in Topsham, Maine, June 8, 1866. He acquired his early literary education in public schools and Coburn Classical Institute, Waterville, Maine, where he fitted for college. In 1885 he entered Bowdoin College for the classical course and graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1889. He studied law under the direction and in the office of Orville D. Baker, of Bath, one of Maine's most prominent and learned attorneys, and in 1891 was admitted to practice in the Maine courts. He opened an office in Bath the same year, remaining until 1893, when he removed to Augusta. He became partner with Mr. Baker, his old preceptor, and established the law firm of Baker, Baker & Staples, which firm, during the following seven years was well known in all the court and professional circles in that part of the state. However, at the expiration of that period the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Staples returned to Bath, and has since lived in that city. On Aug. 22, 1904, he was appointed judge of the municipal court, his commission being signed by Governor John Fremont Hill. On June 17, 1907, Judge Staples formed a law partnership with Walter S. Glidden, the firm style being Staples & Glidden, as since known in legal circles in Sagadahoc county, and they conduct a large and growing business. In politics Judge Staples is a Republican of undoubted quality, and one of the influential men of his party in the state, but he is not in any senes a politician or seeker after public office. He is a member of Augusta Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Cushnoc Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Trinity Commandery, Knights Templar; Sons of the American Revolution. Judge Staples married, Sept. 23, 1896, Anna Louise, daughter of Dennis M. and Jennie B. Roberts, of Bath, and they have one child: Murial Roberts Staples. [trans. note: we now go back to generation 2) (II) John, second son of Peter (1) and Elizabeth (Beadle) Staples, was born in Kittery, Maine. He married Mary, daughter of Peter and Mary (Renwick) Dixon. His will, made Nov. 21, 1744, was proved July 16, 1745. Children: 1. John, born Sept. 3, 1699, died young. 2. Hezekiah, born Feb. 11, 1702. 3. Solomon, born June 20, 1705, married Martha Tobey. 4. Samuel, born April 11, 1707, married (first) Oct. 2, 1727, Patience, daughter of Thomas More, of York; (second) Mercy, daughter of Nicholas Cane. 5. Hannah, born Feb. 8, 1709-10, married (first), June 17, 1736, John Drew, of York; (second) Nov. 12, 1739, Edward Whitehouse. 6. Thomas, born Jan. 9, 1711-12, married Nov. 21, 1733, Sarah, daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Gowen) Ferguson. 7. Mary, born Jan. 21, 1714, married ____ Hanscom. 8. Ann, born March 10, 1716, married Aug. 21, 1733, Joshua Brooke. 9. John, born Jan. 2, 1717-18, not mentioned in will. 10. Elizabeth, born Feb. 11, 1719-20, married Nov. 17, 1736, John Thompson Jr. 11. Mark, born Oct. 31, 1725, died about 1782. (III) Hezekiah (1), second son of John and Mary (Dixon) Staples, was born in Kittery, Feb. 11, 1702, and married Feb. 22, 1727, Anna, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Furbish) Thompson. They had two sons (and perhaps others): Miles, born Sept. 22, 1729. Hezekiah Jr., born 1734, who was a revolutionary soldier, lived in Kittery and York. He married July 5, 1755, Mary Park. (IV) Miles, son of Hezekiah (1) and Anna (Thompson) Staples, was born in Kittery, Sept. 22, 1729. He was married June 11, 1753, by Rev. Benjamin Stevens, to Sarah Trefethern, and settled in Stockton, Maine. They had several children and many descendants. He died Feb. 1, 1810, and his wife Sarah, born 1728, died also in Stockton in 1808. (V) Miles (2), son of Miles (1) and Sarah (Trefethern) Staples, was born at Prospect, Maine. He moved near Swansville, and there married, but the name of his wife is not given. Children: Hezekiah, Anna, Josiah, Miles, Joseph, Mary, Jane, Aaron, Reuben, George and Alfred. (VI) Hezekiah (2), eldest son of Miles (2) Staples, was born in Swansville, Maine. He married 1815-16, Elizabeth, daughter of General William James and Huldah (Stinson) Treat, who was born Sept. 1, 1792, at Frankfort, now Prospect, Maine. She was the granddaughter of Lieut. Joshua Treat, armorer at Fort Pownal, and one of the first settlers on the Penobscot river. Mrs. Staples was industrious, high-minded and sympathetic, a good manager, as shown by her having the repsponsibility during her husband's absence at sea of the conducting of a large farm and the bringing up of her family. Children: 1. Maria, born Dec. 30, 1816. 2. Aaron, born Nov. 4, 1818, died Sept. 5, 1819. 3. Hezekiah Jr., born Jan. 1, 1820, master of the brig "J. W. Godfrey," which sailed for Florida Dec. 17, 1852, and was lost on the home voyage. 4. Lydia T., born May 8, 1821. 5. Richard T., born July 5, 1822, passenger on the brig "J. W. Godfrey," and lost with it. 6. James, born Jan. 19, 1824. 7. Samuel, born June 22, 1826, died March 18, 1827. 8. Josiah S., born Sept. 1, 1827, was master of the brig "Mariel," and lost with it on Cohasset Ledge April 6, 1852. 9. Elizabeth Ann, born Sept. 4, 1830. 10. Mary Amanda, born Oct. 2, 1831, died July 14, 1865. 11. Samuel M., born Aug. 3, 1833, died in West Indies Oct. 7, 1852. 12. George Andrew, born Feb. 13, 1837. (VII) James, fourth son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth (Treat) Staples, was born in Swansville, Jan. 19, 1824. He inherited from his mother qualities which constributed largely to his success in life. He spent his youth in Swansville, working on his father's farm in summer and attending school in winter, until he was fourteen years old. He then went to the high school at Searsport, Maine, for three terms, for two terms to the academy in Belfast, Maine, and for one term to a school at Hyannis. Desirous of having a college education, he prepared himself and at the age of seventeen was prepared to enter, but too close application to his studies had undermined his health and he was compelled to forego the realizing of this ambition. After this great disappointment he accepted a position as teacher, and until he was twenty-five he taught school in winter and managed his fahter's farm in summer, and after that time for four years he taught continuously in Belfast, Maine. In this line of work he was pre-eminently successful and throughout his lfie held the profession of the teacher in the highest esteem as one of the noblest and most useful of avocations. In 1851 he married Harriet H. Shirly, daughter of Hugh Shirly. In the following year his wife and their infant died, and during that year three of his brothers were lost at sea, and another seafaring brother died in the West Indies. These repeated blows affected his health and led him to leave his native state, give up his chosen profession and go to Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1854 he embarked in the lumber business in Bridgeport, entering into copartnership with S. C. Nickerson, under the name of Staples & Nickerson. The firm did a prosperous and growing business and the future looked bright and promising, when the terrible crash of 1857 swept over the country, and, with thousands of others, the firm was forced out of business. In 1859 Mr. Staples opened a real estate office in Bridgeport, the first one in the city. His great energy and ability soon put him on the road to success, and he became the leading agent and one of the best and most consulted authorities on real estate in Bridgeport. In his later years, after he had attained a full measure of success, he was wont to say of this trying period of his career: "My friends told me I could not earn enough to season my food. I told them I was brought up in Maine and never had it very highly seasoned and I would take my chances." In 1863 the business of fire insurance was added, Mr. Staples associating his brother, George A., with him, under the firm name of J. & G. A. Staples. In 1874 a banking department was opened, under the name of Staples & Company, and placed in charge of Thomas R. Cruttenden, one of the copartners. In 1884 the firm of James Staples & Company, bankers, insurance and real estate agents, was formed. The members of the firm were James Staples, Philip L. Holzer and Frank T. Staples, the last named being the only son of James Staples by his union with Sarah Elizabeth, the only daughter of Andrew and Sarah (Turney) Trubee, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, whom he married in 1858. She was a granddaughter of Capt. Aaron Turney, of Fairfield, Connecticut, who ably defended Fort Gowers Hill, Fairfield, during the revolution, and a lineal descendant of Andris Trubee, said to be descended from a family of Spanish refugees. The business of the firm prospered to such a degree that larger offices were required, and in 1892 a fine banking house, known as the Staples Bank Building, was erected on the corner of State and Court streets, where the firm, one of the principal business houses in the city, is now (1908) located. Mr. Staples was a man of strong character. Honest, fearless, sagacious, positive, industrious, faithful to his engagements, ready to take responsiblity and, with a clear intellect, he mastered the problems of life and rose to the highest ranks of usefullness and distinction in his community. With him to decide was to act, and once started on a course of action, he pursued it with a singleness of purpose, an indefatigable energy and a tireless persistence that assured the certain accomplishments of his object. And yet withal he was a man of genial disposition, kindly nature, a human sympathy and generous repsonsiveness to the needs of suffering humanity that caused his presence to shed sunshine in every circle and won for him the respect and affectionate regard of his associates. He took an intense interest in the upbuilding of his city and the welfare of its people, and was ever ready to devote himself to their service. He was one of the incorporators of the board of trade, and as chairman of the executive committee of that organizatiaon he held the position that he most desired, in that it enables him to the greatest possible amount of work in advancing the interests and growth of Bridgeport. Surrounded and aided on that committee by such men as P. T. Barnum, Nathaniel Wheeler, David M. Read and Frank Armstrong, notable impetus was given to the city's development into one of the chief cities of the state. True to his early tendencey, he was particularly interested in the schools of his town and became a member of the board of education on its formation and served on that board for many years. In politics he was a Republican and ardently supported the principles of the party, but he never desired office. In 1900, at the earnest solicitation of his friends who wished to do him honor, he consented to represent Bridgeport in the legislautre, and he was elected by a handsome majority. As a member of the house he displayed the same interest and forceful activity on behalf of measures affecting his city that he did in private life, and never feared to expresss the approval or opposition his judgment dictated. He had the distinction of being the oldest member of the legislature. He was a total abstainer from the use of intoxicating liquors and tobacco. He lived simply and unostentatiously, and was devoted to his family, yet he loved to society of his fellows and was a member of the Sea Side Club from its organization. His humor and ability as a storyteller made him a delightful companion. In religious belief he was a Universalist, he was a faithful member of that denomination. His faith was immovable in the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, and this faith was a living force in his daily life. He died Feb. 28, 1903. The world in better because he lived. (VIII) Frank Trubee, son of James and Sarah E. (Trubee) Staples, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Nov. 24, 1863. He was educated in the public schools of Bridgeport, and has followed the occupation of banker. he is a member of the firm of James Staples & Company, bankers of Bridgeport. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Staples married, Dec. 16, 1884, Laura Frances, daughter and only child of the late William and Mary E. Stevens, of East Bridgeport, who was born Oct. 18, 1863. Child: Richard T., born Sept. 4, 1885.