User:RWIR/Thomas Westbrook

Thomas Westbrook
Born
Died11 Feb 1743/1744
Falmouth, Maine
Occupation(s)councilor, mill owner, Colonel of the militia
SpouseMary Sherburne
ChildrenElizabeth
Parent(s)John Westbrook and Martha Walford
Signature

Thomas Westbrook was an innkeeper, councilor, government mast agent, a land speculator, a colonial New England militia colonel and, for a time, the senior New England militia officer in the conflict known as the French and Indian War or Lovewell's War or Dummer's War. The city of Westbrook, Maine was named after him.

One of the most energetic and useful men of New England during the first half of the [eighteenth]... century was Thomas Westbrook. Colonel Westbrook's services in the wars with the Indians, and as a leading inhabitant and business man of old Falmouth, render everything with which he was connected of interest to the present residents of the towns whose territory once formed a part of that ancient jurisdiction. He was the foremost public man of the town. His daring expedition to Norridgewock in winter, for the capture of Father Rasle and the private papers of the priest, which were brought off, has been the theme of all writers of the annals of his time. He was a native of New Hampshire and early came into public life as a councilor. ... [1]

Family

edit

He was the son of John Westbrook and Martha Walford of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His siblings included Mary who married Nathan Knight, and whose family continues to own and operate the "Smiling Hill" farm. [2] [3]

Thomas married Mary Sherburne, daughter of the mariner John Sherburne and his wife Mary Cowell. The restored Sherburne house at Portsmouth, New Hampshire's Strawbery Banke has been identified as theirs. Their only child, Elizabeth, married Richard Waldron (Secretary) of a prominent colonial New Hampshire family. [4]

 
Secretary of state honours Westbrook descendant

Though he had no sons, several descendants, starting with a grandson, were named "Thomas Westbrook Waldron". One descendant of this name, a US Consul who died in 1844 at Macau, was commemorated in a Washington DC ceremony by Secretary of State Clinton.[5] The name "Westbrook" was in use among descendants well into the twentieth century.[6][7]

Early adulthood

edit

A Portsmouth, New Hampshire native, in his youth (1704) he applied for a commission as scout and "Indian fighter" and had three men to accompany him while scouting during Queen Anne's War. [8]. From 1720 he was the owner and proprietor of the Globe tavern on the Plains area of Portsmouth.[9]

He moved to Falmouth (near modern Portland, Maine) "as early as 1719" to enter the lucrative business of providing masts to the British navy as a private contractor. He was one of only a few European-descended residents there at that time. [10]

Captain and Colonel

edit

During the years 1721-3[11] Westbrook became a captain in the militia and, after the fall of Colonel Shadrack Walton from favour with Massachusett's acting Governor William Dummer, became the colonel in charge of the militia in the "East" (Maine)[12] [13]

 
Father Rale's strongbox

A focus of the conflict was the New England effort to apprehend Father Sebastien Rale, a Jesuit priest and French national who resided with and, the New Englanders thought, guided the natives to raid and kill or abduct New England colonists. The General Court of Massachusetts in December 1721 directed the militia to apprehend Rale and bring him to Boston to answer these charges.[14]

In January 1722 Colonel Westbrook led a group of militia that, unable to find Rale, seized a strongbox containing his correspondence with Marquis de Vaudreuel, the French leadership in Quebec, and a hand written dictionary of the native Abenaki language. The letters, which proved French complicity in urging native American tribes to attack New England settlements, were conveyed to authorities in Boston. [15] The dictionary is now in Harvard University's Houghton library [16] The strongbox itself was retained by Westbrook and descended through his family and through the Massachusetts Historical Society until his descendant the Catholic Reverend E.Q.S. Waldron lodged it with the Maine Historical Society. [17] An expandable colour image is on the Mainememory.com website. [18]. The key to the strongbox is kept at a museum in Maine after it was found substantially later at the site of the former Norridgewock.

Westbrook was not present during an August 1724 raid which culminated in the death of Rasle and the slaughter of fleeing native villagers.[19]

 
Abenaki couple

He was present at the December 15th, 1725 Falmouth peace treaty with the Indians, "Dummer's Treaty", which ended the hostilities, apparently his last act as a militia officer. [20]

King's Mast Agent

edit

He was appointed as King's Mast Agent in 1727 and moved the "King's mast business" from Portsmouth to Falmouth[21] . The mast agent was charged with marking, protecting and providing to the Crown any trees which were suitable for ship's masts in the Royal Navy.

Harrow House

edit

Westbrook built his "splendid seat" of "Harrow House" with garrisons on the south side of Stroudwater River on a 69 acre property.[22]

Mills

edit

He built two mills, a gristmill whose stones still survive as markers of other historical sites, and a papermill.[23] Native chief Polin travelled to the governor to protest Col. Westbrook's failure to provide a way for spawning fish to get past his mill.[24]

Councilor

edit

As early as 1710[25] he was part of the King's Council appointed by the governor, and held his post (though often absent) until 1730 when he resigned voluntarily. [26]. In 1733 he was briefly in Boston as a representative to the council from Falmouth and courted by Governor Jeremy Belcher to be a supporter of the Massachusetts government. He showed little interest in these duties and was fined for being absent. [27]

Prosperity and Bankruptcy, Death

edit

With Brigadier General[28] Samuel Waldo he became a land speculator of as much as 15,000 acres[29] in the Falmouth area (near present-day Portland, Maine). The two partners prospered until, for reasons that are not entirely clear, Waldo "[who had] led him into large land speculations ... then struck upon him in an unfortunate time."[30] "Waldo by unscrupulous or ruthless means divested Westbrook of his lands and much of his wealth by 1743..."[31] A copy of one of his letters, desperately seeking a loan from a prominent figure, survived and was transcribed into an appendix to Trask's Letters of Colonel Thomas Westbrook.

He died heavily in debt[32] on 11 Feb 1743/1744 "of a broken heart caused by Waldo's Acts ...." [33] in a smaller building adjacent to his beloved Harrow House, which had been lost to his creditors. Despite his bankruptcy his estate was valued at seven thousand, three hundred and two pounds.[34] In contrast, his probate inventory totalled £1052/14/5 and included a house, a pew in Rev Smith's meetinghouse, and books. [35]

Secret Burial

edit

Fearing that his creditors might apprehend his body and hold it until payment of his debts had been made, his family secretly buried his body at night. The burial location was unknown[36] [37] until the 1976 bicentennial celebrations except to descendants of his sister Mary (Westbrook) Knight.[38] The gravesite has been marked by the Daughters of Colonial Wars in Maine and is pictured on the Knight family farm's website.[39]

City named for him

edit

thumb|left|Seal of City of Westbrook

In 1814 the town of Stroudwater was created from Falmouth. Within a couple of months, the town was renamed Westbrook in honour of the Colonel.[40] [41] It became a city in 1891.[42]

Letters of Colonel Thomas Westbrook

edit

His reports of activities as a militia captain and colonel to Governor Dummer were a series in the New England Historic & Genealogical Register (including vol 44, 1890 to vol 45, 1895) and then published in a book: Letters of Colonel Thomas Westbrook and others relative to Indian affairs in Maine, 1722-1726, William Blake Trask, A.M. editor. (1901). This work is often cited as a primary source in other histories.

References:

edit
  1. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.171 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  2. ^ "Smiling Hill Farm History" at http://www.smilinghill.com/Dairy_Farm_history.html accessed 21 August 2010
  3. ^ "Our 12th Generation" http://www.smilinghill.com/about-us.html accessed 21 August 2010
  4. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.208 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  5. ^ "American Foreign Service Association's Memorial Plaque Ceremony" Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, C Street Lobby, Washington, DC, May 1, 2009 at: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/05/122565.htm
  6. ^ "SAR Application", Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Patriot Index
  7. ^ Rootsweb page http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=robbins&id=I03365
  8. ^ Dan L. Thrapp (ed)., "Thomas Westbrook", In: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, p.1536 at http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0803294204&id=NCObM3OAPuwC&pg=PA1536&lpg=PA1536&q=Westbrook&vq=Westbrook&dq=%22Thomas+Westbrook%22&sig=d8EKy_MaMQ5h5HUjQS4TUBYGYc8#v=snippet&q=Westbrook&f=false accessed 22 August 2010
  9. ^ "Globe Tavern at the Plains - Portsmouth New Hampshire", http://www.goseacoast.com/detail.ihtml?lid=447&catID=75 accessed 21 August 2010
  10. ^ Southgate, History of Scarborough, cited In: William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.198 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  11. ^ Robert Bayley, The First Schoolmaster in Falmouth (Portland) Maine and Some of His Descendants In: SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY http://files.usgwarchives.net/me/cumberland/portland/school/sj4p196.txt accessed 21 August 2010
  12. ^ Dan L. Thrapp (ed)., "Thomas Westbrook", In: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, p.1536 at: http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0803294204&id=NCObM3OAPuwC&pg=PA1536&lpg=PA1536&q=Westbrook&vq=Westbrook&dq=%22Thomas+Westbrook%22&sig=d8EKy_MaMQ5h5HUjQS4TUBYGYc8#v=snippet&q=Westbrook&f=false.
  13. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.197 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  14. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.177 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  15. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.181 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  16. ^ Dan L. Thrapp (ed)., "Thomas Westbrook", In: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, p.1536
  17. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.183 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  18. ^ "Sebastien Rasle strongbox, ca. 1720 - Contributed by Maine Historical Society" at: Mainememory.net http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=7917 accessed 22 August 2010 (The webpage maintained by this society makes no mention of Westbrook's role and describes the New England force which took the strongbox as "British")
  19. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.185 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  20. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), pp.191,196 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  21. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.199 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  22. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.204 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  23. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.205 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  24. ^ "August 10, 1739" In: A RIVER DAMMED - The History of the Presumpscot River from 1725 to 1800 at: http://www.friendsofsebago.org/riverdammed.html accessed 21 August 2010
  25. ^ Dan L. Thrapp (ed)., "Thomas Westbrook", In: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, p.1536
  26. ^ "Father of City Lived An Exciting Life Indeed", newspaper article, at Westbrook Historical Society
  27. ^ Michael C. Batinski, Jonathan Belcher, Colonial Governor (1996), p.99. Batinski appears unaware that Westbrook had already held the positions Belcher offered.
  28. ^ Dan L. Thrapp (ed)., "Thomas Westbrook", In: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, p.1536
  29. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.205 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  30. ^ Judge Freeman, compiler of Smith's Journal, as quoted in Portland in the Past at Google Books, p.208
  31. ^ Dan L. Thrapp (ed)., "Thomas Westbrook", In: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, p.1536
  32. ^ Dan L. Thrapp (ed)., "Thomas Westbrook", In: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, p.1536
  33. ^ Judge Freeman, compiler of Smith's Journal, as quoted in Portland in the Past at Google Books, p.208.
  34. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.209 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  35. ^ Maine Probate Abstracts "Vol Viii: 1749 -1753" page 331
  36. ^ William Goold, Portland in the past (1886), p.211 at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=4DfmZIJyM2UC&pg=PA212&lpg=PA212&dq=%22thomas+westbrook+waldron%22+elizabeth&source=bl&ots=uYYHIepkUM&sig=byt2IkOdr_BF-ZzVPpwOmQFLP1A&hl=en&ei=zXtwTPKaJIq2sAO6q_z6BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22thomas%20westbrook%20waldron%22%20elizabeth&f=false accessed 21 August 2010
  37. ^ Westbrook Historical Society, "Col. Westbrook burial plot" at: http://www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org/Cemeteries/Col.%20Westbrook.pdf accessed 21 August 2010
  38. ^ Isabel T. Coburn, "The Westbrook Secret: A Skeleton In The Woods Solves A 232-Year Old Mystery", Portland Evening Express, Tues, July 27, 1976, (with photo of Westbrook's partially exhumed skeleton) copy at Westbrook Historical Society
  39. ^ "Smiling Hill Farm History" http://www.smilinghill.com/Dairy_Farm_history.html accessed 21 August 2010
  40. ^ Westbrook Historical Society, "Things to know about Westbrook" In: "Collections" (webpage) at http://www.westbrookhistoricalsociety.org/collections.html accessed 21 August 2010
  41. ^ Geo. J. Varney, History of Westbrook, Maine From A Gazetteer of the State of Maine (1886), at: http://history.rays-place.com/me/westbrook-me.htm accessed 22 August 2010
  42. ^ Wikipedia, Westbrook, Maine