William Bolton (1731 - 1787)

Born 13 Apr 1731 in Falmouth, Cumberland, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Rachel (Haskell) Bolton — married 11 Dec 1756 in Falmouth, Maine

Descendants

Died 12 Oct 1787 at age 56 in Windham, Cumberland, Massachusetts, United States

Biography

William Bolton was born on 13 April 1731 in Falmouth, Maine. His parents were Thomas Bolton and Mary (McLellan) Crague Bolton^[1].

He married Rachel Haskell on 11 December 1756 in Falmouth^[2]. They had eleven children^[3]:

1. Thomas, born 25 Feb 1758; married Hannah Crockett

2. William, born 1 Jan 1760; married Ann Webb

3. Sarah, born 18 Jun 1761; married Edward Webb

4. John, born 2 Oct 1762

5. Peter, born 2 Jun 1764; married Rebecca Cobb

6. Ann, born 1 May 1766

7. James, born 23 Jul 1768; married Elizabeth Pettengal

8. Mary, born 14 Aug 1770; married Daniel Haskell

9. Rachel, born 16 Nov 1772; died 1786

10. Elizabeth, born 4 Apr 1775; married Levi Estes

11. Solomon, born 9 Mar 1778; died 1793

Author Hugh Davis McLellan relates a story in which William, while out hunting for cattle on his father's farm in Windham, Maine, was captured by Indians and marched to Canada. He was sold to a French officer and put on board a French frigate; the frigate was then captured by the English, and William was taken to Boston to become the servant of a Lieutenant Wallace. He was later set free and returned to his family in Windham. The story continues that William later found his old master Lieutenant Wallace in Portland, now a destitute old man, and brought him home to live out his years in Windham.

William passed away on 12 October 1787 in Windham and is buried in Smith Anderson Cemetery^[4].

Sources

1. ↑ McLellan, Hugh Davis. History of Gorham, Maine. Portland, Maine: Smith & Sale, 1903. Page 405.
2. ↑ "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2HVQ-68C : 6 November 2017), William Bolton and Rachel Haskell, Marriage 11 Dec 1756; citing Division of Vital Statistics, State Board of Health, Augusta; FHL microfilm 1,002,384.
3. ↑ McLellan, page 406.
4. ↑ "Maine, Nathan Hale Cemetery Collection, ca. 1780-1980," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVJ5-3KS6 : 16 March 2018), William Bolton, 1787; citing Windham, Cumberland, Maine, United States, Smith-Anderson Cemetery, Maine State Library, Augusta; FHL microfilm 1,315,033.