Ghosts
Page 135
“One thing I should tell you also, there seems to have been a link between the haunting and the presence of children. One of the former owners did have a child, although the neighbors never knew this,” Ken Brigham said. “She had a miscarriage. Also, Lowell, Massachusetts, is where these Continental soldiers came from; that was the traditional origin at the time. Maine did not yet exist as a state; the area was still part of Massachusetts. One more thing: both Mr. and Mrs. Bell died without having any funerals performed. She died in a nursing home nearby, he in Florida. But neither had a funeral service.”
“Well, they had one now,” I remarked and they laughed. It was decided that the Brighams would search the records further regarding some of the other things that Ethel had said in trance, and then get back to me.
Mr. Brigham was as good as his word. On August 21, 1967, he sent me an accounting of what he had further discovered about the house, and the history of the area in which it stands. But it was not as exhaustive as I had hoped even though it confirmed many of the names and facts Ethel had given us in trance. I decided to wait until I myself could follow up on the material, when I had the chance.
Fortunately, as time passed, the Brighams came to visit my ex-wife Catherine and myself in August of the following year at our home in New York, and as a result Ken Brigham went back into the records with renewed vigor. Thus it was that on August 20, 1968, he sent me a lot of confirming material, which is presented here.
Ethel Meyers’s mediumship had once again been proved right on target. The names she gave us, Bell, Eben, Murdoch, Blackguard, Willie, Abraham, why there they were in the historical records! Not ghostly fantasies, not guesswork...people from out of the past.
August 20, 1968
Dear Hans,
It was good hearing from Cathy and we did enjoy visiting with you. I presume that about now you’re again on one of your trips, but I promised to forward to you some additional information that we’ve gathered since last summer. Enclosed is a chronology of the history of the house as far as we’ve been able to trace back. Early this summer (the only time we made it up to Maine) we spent hours in the York, Maine, Registry of Deeds, but the trail is cold. Deeds are so vague that we can’t be certain as to whether or not a particular deed refers to our property. We are, however, convinced by style of building, materials, etc., that the back part of our house is much older than thought originally—we suspect it goes back to the mid-1700s.
Although I haven’t included reference to it, our reading of the town history (which is extremely garbled and not too accurate) indicates that one of the Willard boys, whose father had an adjoining farm, went off to the Civil War and never returned, although he is not listed as one of the wounded, dead, or missing. If memory serves me right, he was simply listed as W. Willard (“Willie”?). Now, the “ghost” said her name was “Isabel”; unfortunately, we can find no records in the town history on the Bell family, although they owned the house from 1851 to 1959 and Eben Bell lived in the town from 1820–1900! This is peculiar in as much as nearly every other family is recounted in the Town History of 1874. Why? Could “Isabel” be a corruption of the Bell name, or perhaps there was an Isabel Bell. Checking backwards in a perpetual calendar it seems that during the mid-1800s Tuesday, St. Valentine’s Day, occurred on February 14, 1865, 1860, and 1854; the first seems most logical since the others do not occur during the Civil War—which ended on [May] 26, 1865!*
Some of my other notes are self-explanatory.
Another question of course concerns the term “Blackguard” for our particular road and hill. An archaic term that connotes “rude”—note also that the map of 1850 does not show a family name beside our house...this could be because the property was between owners, or it could be that the owners were “rude”—which also could account for the lack of reference in Town History to the Bell family. It’s an interesting sidelight.
Now, to more interesting pieces of information for you: 1) we’ve finally decided to sell the house and it’s just like losing a child...I’m personally heartbroken, but I’m also a realist and it is ridiculous to try to keep it when we can’t get up there often enough to maintain it. We have a couple of prospective buyers now but since we’re not under pressure we want to make sure that any new owners would love it like we do and care for it.
2) And, then the strangest...Doris was going through some old photographs of the place and came across a color print from a slide taken by a guest we had there from Dublin, Ireland. And, it truly looks like an image in the long view up the lane to the house. Three persons have noted this now. Then, on another slide it looks as though there were a house in the distance (also looking up the lane) which is only 1½ stories in height. We’re having the company photographer blow them up to see what we will see. I’ll certainly keep you posted on this!
Well, it all adds up to the fact that we did a lot more work and learned a lot more about the place...nearly all of which correlates with Ethel’s comments. But as a Yankee realist, I’m just going to have to cast sentiment aside and let it go.
Drop us a line when you get a chance.
Sincerely yours,
*Willie left on Tuesday, St. Valentine’s Day.
Two points should be made here regarding this story. Ethel Johnson Meyers had many phases or forms of mediumship, but despite her fervent belief that she might also possess the ability to produce so-called extras, or supernormal photographs, she never did during my investigations. What she did produce at times on her own were so-called scotographs, similar to Rorschach effects used in psychiatry; they were the result of briefly exposing sensitive photographic paper to light and then interpreting the resulting shapes.
But genuine psychic photography shows clear-cut images, faces, figures that need no special interpretation to be understood, and this, alas, did not occur in this case when I took the photographs with my camera in Mrs. Meyers’s presence.
After the Brighams had sold the Maine property, they moved to Hampton, Virginia. Ken and Doris looked forward to many years of enjoying life in this gentler climate.
Unfortunately, exactly two years after our last contact, in August 1970, Ken slipped and injured an ankle, which in turn led to complications and his untimely and sudden death.
As for the restless ones up in Maine, nothing further was heard, and they are presumed to be where they rightfully belong.
The following research material, supplied by the late Mr. Ken Brigham, is presented here to give the reader a better feel for the territory and times in which this took place.
* * *
Brigham’s documentation:
1. Roberts, Kenneth, March to Quebec, Doubleday, 1938, p. 32. Listed in the King’s Service: Thomas Murdock.
2. Carpenter, Allan, Enchantment of America—Maine, Children’s Press, 1966, p. 27—85 years of Indian warfare, more than 1,000 Maine residents killed, hundreds captured; by year 1675, there were about 6,000 European settlers in what is now Maine.
3. Smith, Bradford, Roger’s Ranger & The French and Indian War, Random House, 1956, p. 5—Indians began to slaughter them when they marched out of Fort William Henry to surrender—women and children and men (1757); p. 6—Robert Rogers of New York raised company of rangers in 1755, by 1758 had five companies. Ebenezer Webster came from his home in New Hampshire; p. 46—mentioned Colonel Bradstreet; p. 176—Ebenezer, 1761, returned east to Albany as Captain and then to New Hampshire where he married a girl named Mehitable Smith...pushed northward with men under Colonel Stevens and settled on 225 acres at northern edge of town of Salisbury. Later fought in Revolutionary War.
Oxford County Registry of Deeds
(References: Book 14, p. 18; Bk. 25, p. 295; Bk. 49, p. 254; Bk. 67, p. 264; Bk. 92, p. 158; Bk. 110, p. 149; Bk. 117, p.268; Bk. 187, p. 197; Bk. 102, p. 135; Bk. 240, p. 477–478; Bk. 260, p. 381)
1805 Abraham (or Abram) Whitney sold to Nathan Jewell
1809 Nathan Jewell sold to William Monroe (part of land and the house) (1/9/09)
/> 1823 Jonathan Stone bankrupt and sold to Peter Gerry (house), Thaddeus Brown and Josiah Shaw (5/19/23)
1836 Peter Gerry sold to Moses M. Mason (6/14/36)
1848 John Gerry sold to Daniel Billings (5/27/48)
1895 Semantha Bell sold to Caroline Bell (3/4/95)
1940 Edna Culhan (daughter of Caroline Bell) sold to Irving and Alice Bell (11/7/40)
1956 Alice Bell transferred to Archie and Ethel Bell (10/12/56)
1959 Archie and Ethel Bell sold to K. E. and D. M. Brigham (1/59)
Bk. 3, p. 484, Feb 7, 1799
Isaac Smith of Waterford for $800 sold to Nathaniel Geary of Harvard, Lot 2 in 6th Range (southerly half). Deed written February 7, 1799, but not recorded until September 24, 1808. (m. Unice Smith) (See notes 1 & 2)
Vol. 3, p. 99, Jan 6, 1800 (Fryeburg)
Nathaniel Geary and Betey Geary, his wife, sold to Peter Geary for $400 westerly end of southern half of Lot 2 in 6th Range. Notarized in York, January 6, 1800. On April 2, 1801 Betey Geary appeared and signed document which was registered on February 11, 1804.
Peter Gerry (or Geary) b. 1776—d. 6/16/1847
m. Mary (b. 1782—d. 3/16/1830)
m. Elizabeth (b. 1787—d. 5/1/1858) c. Mary (b. 1834 or 1804—d. 1844)
(see note 3) John C. (b. 1808)
Roland (b. 1810—d. 1842)
m. Maria Farrar (b. 1811—d. 1842)
Abbie (b. 1812—d. 1817)
Elbridge (b. 1815—m. Anna Jenness)
Bk. 92, p. 158, May 27, 1848
John Gerry sold for $100 (?) to Daniel Billings
Daniel Billings (b. 1780 Temple, Massachusetts)
...m. Sarah Kimball (b. 1786)
...c. Louise (m. William Hamlin) Caroline (b. 1810—m. G. F. Wheeler—b. 1810)
George C. (b. 1837—d. 1919)
...m. Rebecca Whittcomb, private F. Co., 9th Reg.—3 years svc. Civil War)
Maria (m. Calvin Houghton)
James R. (m. Esther Clark)
John D. (m. Esther Knowlton) Miranda
Bk. 102, p. 135, Oct 14, 1851
Daniel Billings sold to William F. Bell of Boston and Timothy Bell for $1,400
Bk. 117, p. 268, Dec 24, 1858
William Bell of Waterford paid his father, William F. Bell, $800 for Lot 2 in 6th Range
Bk. 187, p. 197, April 3, 1871
William Bell, “for support of self and wife,” transferred to Timothy C. Bell “homestead farm” and its parts of lots.
Bk. 240, p. 24, 1894
Timothy Bell left property to his wife Semantha Bell
Bk. 240, p. 477–78, Mar 4, 1895
Semantha Hamlin Bell transferred to Caroline Bell of Boston
Caroline Bell (b. 4/4/1848—d. 9/20/1926)
...m. T. C. Bell (b. 10/10/1829—d. 7/13/1894)
...m. J. B. Bennett
1905
Caroline Bell (d. 1905??) left property to her son Irving Bell, “her sole heir.”
Bk. 442, p. 133, Oct 30, 1940
Edna Bell Culhan (unmarried) of Cambridge, Mass. transferred to Irving and Alice Bell
Nov. 7, 1940
Irving Bell transferred to Edna Culhan “premises described in deed from Semantha to his mother Caroline Bell and he was her sole heir.”
Bk. 560, p. 381, Oct 12, 1956
Archie and Ethel Bell inherited Lots 1 & 2 in the 5th Range and Lots 1 & 2 bought the 6th Range from Alice Bell
Jan 1959
Archie and Ethel Bell sold property to K. E. and D. M. Brigham
Notes
1. According to Bk. 2, pp. 445–46: On December 20, 1802, Nathaniel Gerry (wife Betey) for $800 sold to David Whitcomb of Boston, Mass., Lot 2 in 6th Range. Deed mentions road running thru land. Registered 1807 and notarized and signed by Justice of the Peace Eber Rice.
2. According to Bk. 9. p. 467–68: On November 13, 1810, David Whitcomb for $150 sold to Peter Gerry Lot 2 in the 6th Range, including “Gerry Road.” Apparently both these transactions (notes 1 & 2) were concerned with the westerly end of the northern half of Lot 2 in the 6th Range.
3. John C. Gerry (b. 1808): m. Nancy Farrar (b. 1810–d. 1841), Nancy Sawin (b. 1819). He had an apothecary store in Fryeburg.
Interesting Notes
1. Local cemetery has gravestone of Hon. Lewis Brigham, b. 1816, d. 1866 (at Amherst, Mass).
2. Eben Bell, (b. 8/5/1820—d. 6/8/1900)
3. Richard and Samuel Brigham, and David Whitcomb, signed petition for incorporation on December 9, 1795.
4. Historical:
Waterford was in York Country when it applied for incorporation (January 27, 1796).
Fryeburg (Pequawkett) was settled in 1763, Inc. 1777; in 1768 Fryeburg had population 300 plus.
November 17, 1796—Isaac Smith petitioned, with others, Massachusetts for incorporation. Document stated there were fifty to sixty families in “said plantation.”
History of Waterford, p. 25—“and when the Indians attacked the growing settlements on the Androscoggin in 1781, and carried Lt. Segar* and other into Canadian captivity, Lt. Stephen Farrington led twenty-three men over this trail in hot, although vain pursuit of the savages.”
(*Lt. Nathaniel Segar had cleared a few acres in 1774. A few townships, as Waterford and New Suncook [Lovell and Sweden] had been surveyed and awaited settlers. p. 22) Waterford, settled 1775, incorporated 1797; population 1790—150; 1800—535.
“Spirit of 76” (Commanger/Morris, p. 605)—General Burgoyne surrenders October 1777...General John Stark agreed to work with Seth Warner because Warner was from New Hampshire or the Hampshire Grants (1777).
November 15, 1745—First Massachusetts Regiment, under Sir William Pepperrell—8th company: Capt. Thomas Perkins, Lt. John Burbank, John Gerry (single).
Civil War: “Fifth Regiment commanded by Mark H. Dunnill of Portland. “Fifth was engaged in eleven pitched battles and eight skirmishes ere it entered on terrible campaign of the Wilderness which was an incessant battle. It captured 6 rebel flags and more prisoners than it had in its ranks.”
5. Local Notes:
A) Androscoggin Trail was the main Indian route from the East Coast to Canada. Below our property, in the area of Lot 3 in the 4th Range, it follows a brook called “Mutiny Brook.” The origin of the term used here is vague, but the natives say Indians mutinied there during the French and Indian Wars.
B) When the town was first settled, the pioneers built their homes on our hill rather than the flat land and the only road around Bear Lake was at the foot of Sweden and Blackguard roads.
C) Our road is called by the archaic word “Blackguard” which connotes villain. No one knows why.
D) The second floor of the house was constructed sometime after the first; timbers are hand hewn to the second floor and mill cut above. The house was rebuilt several times apparently; about 1890 or so two brothers and their families intended to live there but one died before taking residence. Also, foundations of an earlier building were uncovered near the back door.
* 114
The Ghost at Port Clyde
PORT CLYDE IS A LOVELY little fishing village on the coast of Maine where a small number of native Yankees, who live there all year round, try to cope with a few summer residents, usually from New York or the Midwest. Their worlds do not really mesh, but the oldtimers realize that a little—not too much—tourism is really quite good for business, especially the few small hotels in and around Port Clyde and St. George, so they don’t mind them too much. But the Down Easterners do keep to themselves, and it isn’t always easy to get them to open up about their private lives or such things as, let us say, ghosts.
Carol Olivieri Schulte lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa, when she first contacted me in November 1974. The wife of a lawyer, Mrs. Schulte is an inquisitive lady, a college graduate, and the mother of what was then a young son. Somehow Carol had gotten hold of some of my books and become intrigued by them, especially where ghosts were concerned, because she, too, had had a brush with the uncanny.
“It was the summer of 1972,” she explained to me, “and I was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom,” in the summer cottage her parents owned in Port Clyde, Maine.
“My girlfriend Marion and her boyfriend were sleeping in a bedroom across the hall with their animals, a Siamese cat and two dogs.”
The cat had been restless and crept into Carol’s room, touching her pillow and waking her. Carol sat up in bed, ready to turn on the light, when she saw standing beside her bed a female figure in a very white nightgown. The figure had small shoulders and long, flowing hair... and Carol could see right through her!
It became apparent, as she came closer, that she wanted to get Carol’s attention, trying to talk with her hands.
“Her whole body suggested she was in desperate need of something. Her fingers were slender, and there was a diamond ring on her fourth finger, on the right hand. Her hands moved more desperately as I ducked under the covers.”
Shortly after this, Carol had a dream contact with the same entity. This time she was abed in another room in the house, sleeping, when she saw the same young woman. She appeared to her at first in the air, smaller than life-size. Her breasts were large, and there was a maternal feeling about her. With her was a small child, a boy of perhaps three years of age, also dressed in a white gown. While the child was with Carol on her bed, in the dream, the mother hovered at some distance in the corner. Carol, in the dream, had the feeling the mother had turned the child over to her, as if to protect it, and then she vanished. Immediately there followed the appearance of another woman, a black-hooded female, seeming very old, coming toward her and the child. Carol began to realize the dark-hooded woman wanted to take the child from her, and the child was afraid and clung to her. When the woman stood close to Carol’s bed, still in the dream, Carol noticed her bright green eyes and crooked, large nose, and her dark complexion. She decided to fight her off, concentrating her thoughts on the white light she knew was an expression of psychic protection, and the dark-hooded woman disappeared. Carol was left with the impression that she had been connected with a school or institution of some kind. At this, the mother in her white nightgown returned and took the child back, looking at Carol with an expression of gratitude before disappearing again along with her child.