Settlers came to Boothbay from Ireland, Scotland and England. Some made their way from Londonderry, NH long before the town was incorporated in 1764. The next few Chronicles will highlight some of these families.

Much information is sourced from Francis Greene's History of Boothbay, Southport and Boothbay Harbor. His family histories exclude the genealogy of women, so additional information comes from internet sites and cemetery headstones.

ABBOTT

Henry, one of eight children, was the first Abbott to settle on Barter's Island, around 1785, with his first wife Keziah, with whom he had five children, all born in Boothbay between 1786 and 1796. During the Revolutionary War he served as a private in Colonel Hitchcock's Rhode Island Regiment and also served in the Massachusetts line of the Continental Army. He's buried in the private Abbott Family Cemetery on Barter's Island. No burial information is available for Keziah or their children George (1786), Aaron (1787), Thankful (1789), Lydia (1791) and Emma (1795). Perhaps they are buried in unmarked graves with Henry.

Emma Abbott lived to be 103. She married Thomas Pinkham. Both are buried in Wylie Cemetery. They had five children, notably Harriet Pinkham, a nurse who served in the Civil War, and Edward who was lost at sea in 1850 at the age of 16.

Henry's second wife was Lydia Flanders (Abbott Family Cemetery) They had a son, Daniel (married to Sophia Barter) who sired five children that are buried in the Lewis, Oceanview, and Greenlawn (Wiscasset) Cemeteries. They lived on Barter's Island.

• Henry and Lydia's second son, William, married Belinda Pinkham. They had five offspring, Isaac (1841), Lucy (1844), Orrington (1848), Augusta (1852), and Antoinette (1857), two (Lucy and Augusta) died as children. Lucy, Isaac, and Augusta are buried in the Abbott Family Cemetery. Antoinette is buried in the Lewis Cemetery. William and Belinda may be buried in unmarked Abbot Family plots.

Subsequent generations also lived on Barter's Island and many are buried in Oceanview and Evergreen Cemeteries. There are still Abbotts living in the area.

ADAMS

Samuel Adams came to Boothbay from Londonderry, New Hampshire. He married Sarah Reed, the daughter of Andrew and Jean Reed. A carpenter by trade, he built the first church in Boothbay. He served as a private in the American Revolution. He owned 320 acres on the site of Adams Pond and had 10 children.

1. Adams' son Andrew was lost at sea in 1780, and son Samuel drowned at Adams Pond in 1777 at the age of 10. Son William was also lost at sea in 1801, leaving wife Betsey Sawyer and only child William, who sired 10 children, all of whom are buried in Thomaston, Maine and California. Sons David, James, Samuel Jr. and Jonathan survived their childhood.

Daughter Jane married Ebeneazer Chase of Edgecomb, and had 12 children, all but one buried in Edgecomb. Daughter Sarah married Joshua Crummet, had five children, all buried in China, Maine cemeteries.

David was married to Mercy Pinkham, had eight children, all buried in Kenniston and Wylie Cemeteries. He and his brother James were the first shipbuilders in town.

James was a farmer and business partner with brother David. He had 16 children with wife Mehitable. They are buried in the Kenniston, Wiley and Hillside cemeteries.

Samuel Jr. and wife Sarah McCobb had eight children, buried in Kenniston, Wiley, Hillside and Green Landing cemeteries.

Youngest son Reverand Jonathan was a minister at the Congregational Church, married to Hannah Clough and had eight children.

The descendants of Samuel and Sarah are buried in various cemeteries in Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor, and their families are still living in the area.

BEATH

Walter Beath (1680 to 1759) was born in Ireland and came to Boothbay via Massachusetts. His wife's name and burial information is unknown. His is the first documented grave in Pear Street.

Son John (1710 to 1798) was married to Margaret Fullerton (1714 to 1813) and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. They had 10 children, four of whom died young of scarlet fever.

John's son Joseph (1740 to 1828) was also a Revolutionary War soldier, teacher and land surveyor, married to Mary Pelham (1766 to 1841). One of their 12 children was Lydia Beath (1801 to 1876) postmaster in Boothbay from 1861 to 1876.

Walter's son Jeremiah (1710 to1803) married Mary Cowden of Massachusetts. She died in 1804, burial details unknown. Jeremiah and his children are buried in Pear Street and Kenniston cemeteries.

Jeremiah Jr. married Sarah Stewart. Both are buried in Kenniston and two of their 14 children in Wyley, the other children in various towns in Maine.

There are no current records of Beaths currently living in the Boothbay region, but the road named for them is between Back Narrows Road and Country Club Road in Boothbay.