Thomas Kinch (1747 - 1831)

Born 18 Mar 1747 in Needham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 17 Jan 1831 at age 83 in Brooksville, Hancock, Maine, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Adrian Stanley [send private message] and Susan Hutchinson [send private message]

Biography

"Thomas Kinch ye Son of Thomas Kinch & Susanna Kinch his wife Born March ye 18th 1747."

THOMAS KENCH " . . . for whom Kenches Mountain, South Brooksville is named, was a veteran of the American Revolution. He was an eccentric Englishman [born Needham, MA 1747] who settled on Harbor Island, near Swans Island, Me. in 1777 [later given as 1782], and lived there alone for ten years [a few years]. He appeared in Brooksville [1789] before 1790 where he raised a large family, purchasing his land [100 Acre lot fronting Buck's Harbor, extending northly to Kench's Mountain] from Edward Howard. ... " page 26 Brooksville, Maine, "A town of the Bagaduce" by Walter A. Snow

Sargent Thomas Kinch served with 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment (1779), Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Kench, Thomas , Sgt, MA r Dedham , MA b Wells 1744/5 r Brooksville 1818 d 1831 m (1) Jane (2) Mary 1(S35499); 1S; 3S; 12S; CL-4, 1: 381; CL-11; MOCA page 431 Soldiers Sailor and Patriots of the Revolutionary War, Maine by Carleton & Sue Fisher 1982

NOTED: Thomas Kench was active member in Continental Army from 1775 to 1780.

Noted: Thomas Kench's Place of birth is given as Wells, Maine.' [no primary source found]

Noted: Military service record reflects residence Dedham, MA. Pension record 1820 gives age 73, date of birth about 1747.

Noted: Thomas Kench [Kinch] is also given as born 18 Mar 1747 Needham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America ___ NOTED: Originally part of the Dedham Grant, Needham split from Dedham and was named after the town of Needham Market in Suffolk, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needham,_Massachusetts _ See as https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kinch-122

Capt. Henry Burbeck's co., Col. John Crane's (Artillery) regt. Kench, Thomas, Dedham . Gunner, Capt. James Swan's (1st) co., Col. Thomas Crafts's (Artillery) regt. ; abstract for advance pay, blanket money, etc., sworn to at Boston, June 8, 1776; also, Bombardier, same co. and regt. ; service from Sept 1, 1776,to Dec. 1, 1776; rolls dated Boston ; also, Capt. Philip Marett's (1st) co., Col. Thomas Crafts's (Artillery) regt.; service from Dec. 1, 1776, to Feb. 1, 1777, 2 mos.; also, Corporal, same co. and regt.; service from Feb. 1, 1777,to May 8, 1777, 3 mos. 7 days; also, Sergeant, Capt. Philip Marett's (5th) co., Col. Thomas Crafts's (Artillery) regt.; service from May 7, 1777, to Aug. 1, 1777, 84 days ; roll sworn to at Boston ; also, petition addressed to Col. Thomas Crafts, dated Camp at Boston, Sept. 25, 1777, signed by said Kench and others, requesting that the objectionable part of their former petition, which was considered mutinous, be stricken out, and asking that the sergeants of the regiment confined on account of the petition be released ; also, list of men belonging to the State regiment of artillery entitled to an additional bounty of £15, as returned by Col. T. Crafts, dated Boston, Jan. 12, 1778; Capt. Marrett's (5th) co. ; [see Thomas French] ; also, Sergeant, Capt. Cushing's co., Col. Paul Revere's regt. ; Continental Army pay accounts for service from May 20, 1777, to Dec. 31, 1779; also, returns for rations between March 13, 1779, and Sept. 25, 1779, dated Boston, of men employed under Col. William Burbeck at the Laboratory  ; also, Capt. Perez Cushing's (1st) co., Lieut. Col. Paul Revere's corps of artillery; service from Jan. 1, 1780, to May 8, 1780, 4 mos. 8 days ; roll dated Boston. " Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the Revolutionary War. A compilation from the archives, prepared and published by the Secretary of the Commonwealth in accordance with chapter 100, resolves of 1891. Volune 9 page 94

CHAPTER IV. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS. Thomas Kench Thomas Kench was the first white settler within the present territorial limits of Swan's Island. He was an Englishman by birth, and came here near 1777, and settled on Harbor island. ... " " ... Kench was a Revolutionary soldier in the service of the American colonies, and was one of those who accompanied Benedict Arnold up the Kennebec river and across the wilderness to Quebec in 1775 [ October 1775]. During this march the soldiers suffered terribly from exposure and for want of food. When they arrived Arnold, in conjunction with Gen. Montgomery, with only one thousand men, besieged the city for three weeks. At last it was decided to hazard an assault. In the midst of a terrible snowstorm, the}^ led their forces to the attack. Kench is said to have been one of the few who reached the top of the wall, but was obliged to jump down to save his life. They were soon overpowered by superior numbers, and were obliged to surrender. A remnant of the army, crouching behind mounds of snow and ice, blockaded the city until spring. At the approach of British reinforcements, they escaped and made their way homeward, disheartened by failure and sickened by want and exposure. Kench was among this small band of survivors of this most dreadful campaign of the Revolution. Soon afterwards Kench deserted from the army, and came here [Swan's Island], where he could be free from molestation, preferring the solitude of his island home to the horrors of warfare. No other person came to share his solitude, and he held undisputed possession of this island until after Swan's purchase, when, in 1791, David Smith brought his family to Harbor island.

"Walter A. Snow, Brooksville genealogist and historian gives a somewhat different account of [Thomas] Kench's residence: he settled on Harbor Island [Swan's Island, Maine] only in 1782, after his honorable discharge from a unit under the command of [Col.] James Swan (Brookville, page 44) ... " page 425 Volume 1 Islands of the Mil-Maine Coast Penobscot Bay by Charles & Sue McLane

Research Notes

Company return dated Fort No. 2, Cambridge, Oct. 5, 1775

Thomas Kinch Gone to Canada

Thomas Kench Dedham. Private Capt. Joseph Guild's Co., 36th regt. ; company return dated Camp at Fort No. 2, Oct. 5, 1775 ["... Encampt in Fort No. 2 Cambridge ..."] ; enlisted May 4, 1775. Gone to Canada [Quebec]

NOTED: The Time Line for Thomas Kench at Swan's Island [1777 to 1796] and Military Desertion [1775] are in Question Thomas Kench was with Benedict Arnold about September 1775 to December 1775, and possibly until spring in siege of Quebec. As of 8 June 1776, he is in Capt. James Swan's co. [later Col. James Swan owner of Swans Island]. Col. James Swan had many business dealings, one of which was his 1786 purchase of the Burnt Coat Island group in Maine. The largest Island in the group, Swans Island, bears his name today. (Small's History of Swan's Island has an extensive biography)

Thomas Kench is in military service in the Revolution from Sept 1775 to 8 May 1780. He is not at Swan's Island about 1777. There is no record found for Desertion in his military records. It appears there are no gaps in his military record from 8 June 1776 to 8 May 1780.

1785 Harbour Island

Noted: when Rufus Putnam's survey of the Eastern Islands was made in 1785, there is no mention of anyone in residence at Harbor Island, or the Burnt Coat group. It is most likely Thomas Kench lived at Harbor Island, Swan's Island between 7 July 1786, when Col. Swan obtained the Burn Coat Island group, and 1789, when he is found living at the Town of Penobscot. The first permeant settler was David Smith in 1791, and he first settled at Harbor Island. Adrian Stanley _ 13 Jan 2024

Buck's Harbor Sedgwick Map 1790.

CHAPTER IV. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS. Thomas Kench Thomas Kench ___ "'In 1796 Kench removed from the place [Swan's Island] that had been his solitary abode for so many years, and went to what is now the town of Brooksville. There he bought of Edward Howard one hundred acres of land fronting on Buck's Harbor, for which he paid $100. (4-14.) He spent the remainder of his life as a farmer. A HISTORY SWAN'S .ISLAND, MAINE 1898 by H. W. SMALL, M. D. page 60

Kench's Mountain, Brooksville.

" ... Mr. Thomas Kench, who many years ago lived near Buck's Harbor, in Brooksville. Mr. Kench was also a Revolutionary soldier, and was one of those who accompanied Benedict Arnold up the Kennebec River and across the wilderness to Quebec in 1775, and was engaged in the attempt to capture that city under General Montgomery. It is said that he was one of the few who reached the top of the wall, but was obliged to jump down to save his life. ... " page 179 History of Deer Isle, Maine 1905 by Hosmer

1 Sept 1789 " To the Selectmen of the Town of Penobscot." " ...About this time, certain individuals living upon the peninsula, desirous of having preaching at a more convenient place for themselves than where the meeting-house above referred to was located — at the Narrows — started a subscription paper for a meeting-house on the peninsula. ..." [1 Sept 1789, Meeting house at Cape Rozier, Buck's Harbor, etc.] This petition was signed by David Hawes, Samuel Wasson, Elisha Hopkins, Noah Norton, Thomas Kench , Benjamin Howard, John Bakeman, Jr,, Thomas Wasson, John Wasson, John Condon, Edward Howard, Malachi Orcutt, Jacob Orcutt, John Redman, and John Bakeman. History of Castine, Penobscot, and Brooksville, pages 114 & 115

Entry for Thomas Kench, 1790 _ "United States Census, 1790" FamilySearch [Penobscot Maine] (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKK-T2M : Wed Oct 04 02:54:30 UTC 2023),

Old Sedgwick Vital Record Thomas & Mary Kench.

Thomas was born in 1744. He passed away in 1831.

1. m. Jane Maker [no primary record/sources found for Jane Maker]

2. m. Mary Perkins[?] died 10 May 1832 [Mary, b about 1765; m about 1789] given as 2nd wife no marriage record found & no primary sources for Mary Perkins, except birth of children to Thomas and Mary Kench] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK7-RSCT-F?i=611&cat=208389

A record of Mr. Thomas Kench's family [wife Mary]: ^[2]

Thomas Kench, born Mar. 14, 1790

Mary Kench, born Aug. 15, 1792

Elizabeth Kench, born Dec. 11, 1794

William Kench, born Jan. 14, 1798

Joseph Kench, born Aug. 2, 1800

Lucy Kench, born Nov. 9, 1803

Stephen Kench, born Nov. 25, 1806

Thomas Kench died Jan. 17, 1831

Mary Kench died May 10, 1832

1. Children's births recorded in Sedgwick Vital Records indicates mother as Mary. [Sometimes given as Mary Perkins/no primary source found]

Children's birth records in Brooksville Vital Records reflect mother as Mary.

Thomas Kench Family from Brooksville Vital Records.

2. Small's History of Swan's Island  ; Thomas Kench biography, indicates his children's mother was Jane Maker. [That statement is in Question; also in question is the 1796 date of Thomas Kench's removal from Swan's Island, another item in question is the statement that daughter Betsey was the wife of Mr. Witherspoon]

3. Was Thomas Kench's daughter Elizabeth (Betsey) the one who m. Unadella Witherspoon or the one who m. Samuel Gray 3rd?

4. The section of Sedgwick where they lived appears to be in present day Brooksville (incorporated 1817 from parts of Castine, Sedgwick and Penobscot) Noted: Birth Wells 1744/45 information source given as Rev. Jonathan Fisher [Sedgwick, Maine] Maine families in 1790

From "A History of Swan's Island Maine": From "A History of Swan's Island, Maine" by H.W. Small, MD, Hancock County Publishing Company, Ellsworth ME, 1898, Chapter IV. "In 1796 Kench removed from the place that had been his solitary abode for so many years, and went to what is now the town of Brooksville. There he bought of Edward Howard one hundred acres of land fronting on Buck's Harbor, for which he paid $100. He spend the remainder of his life as a farmer. He died there, over ninety years of age. His wife was Miss Jane Maker, of Cutler, whom he married soon after going to Brooksville, and by whom he had six children, three sons and three daughters. His sons Thomas and William lived and died in Brooksville. The other son, Stephen, settled in Durham. His oldest daughter, Betsy, was the wife of a Mr. Witherspoon, who lived on Butter island in Penobscot bay. Mary was the wife of John Ross, of Brunswick. After his death she married Jeptha Benson, who lived for many years on Marshall's island. After her second husband's death she came to this island and lived with her son until her death, which occurred in 1874, at the age of eighty-two years. The last daughter, Lucy, was the wife of a Mr. White, of Orland." 11 years ago

Name: Thomas Kench

Home in 1790:^[3] Penobscot, Hancock, Maine

Males- Under 16: 1

Males- 16 and over: 1

Females: 1

Home in 1800:^[4] Sedgwick, Hancock, Maine

Males-10 thru 15: 1

Males- 26 thru 44: 1

Females - 26 thru 44: 1

Home in 1810:^[5] Sedgwick, Hancock, Maine

Males- Under 10: 1

Males- 10 thru 15: 2

Males- 16 thru 25: 1

Males- 45 and over: 1

Females - Under 10: 1

Females - 10 thru 15: 1

Females - 16 thru 25: 1

Females - 45 and over : 1

Home in 1820:^[6] Brooksville, Hancock, Maine

Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820

Males- Under 10: 2

Males- 10 thru 15: 1

Males- 16 thru 25: 2

Males- 45 and over: 1

Females - Under 10: 1

Females - 10 thru 15: 1

Females - 26 thru 44: 1

Females - 45 and over : 1

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Stanley Wood, Wednesday, October 16, 2013.
2. ↑ Brooksville V.R. "The Kench Family
3. ↑ 1790; Census Place: Penofscot, Hancock, Maine; Series: M637; Roll: 2; Page: 55; Image: 46; Family History Library Film: 0568142
4. ↑ 1800; Census Place: Sedgwick, Hancock, Maine; Series: M32; Roll: 7; Page: 199; Image: 107; Family History Library Film: 218677
5. ↑ 1810; Census Place: Sedgwick, Hancock, Maine; Roll: 11; Page: 467; Image: 00460; Family History Library Film: 0218682
6. ↑ 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Brooksville, Hancock, Maine; Page: 588; NARA Roll: M33_34; Image: 10

• Thomas Kench born 1747 "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L979-4D4F?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DH-3TY%3A353350501%2C353614601%2C353614801 : 20 May 2014), Norfolk > Needham > Births, marriages, deaths 1711-1801 > image 155 of 202; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.'

• Brooksville, Maine, "A town of the Bagaduce" https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/222045-brooksville-maine-a-town-of-the-bagaduce

• Primary Source _ Sedgwick VR birth records, with Elizabeth, date of birth 11Dec 1794 (15 Dec 1794) , indicates parents as Thomas and Mary Kench https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BK-LW6B-J?cc=1803978

Footnotes

• Old Sedgwick Vital Records Thomas & Mary Kench "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BK-LW6B-J?cc=1803978 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; multiple sources, Maine.

• "United States Census, 1790", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKK-T2M : Wed Oct 04 02:54:30 UTC 2023), Entry for Thomas Kench, 1790.

• "United States Census, 1800", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHR8-Z86 : Thu Oct 05 14:44:42 UTC 2023), Entry for Thomas Kench, 1800.

• Maine families in 1790 by Ruth Gray. Alice MacDonald Long., eds. Volume 2 page 165

• History of Castine, Penobscot, and Brooksville, Maine; including the ancient settlement of Pentagöet; by Wheeler, George Augustus, 1837-https://archive.org/details/historyofcastine00whee/page/114/mode/2up/search/Kench

• Rev War Record Thomas Kench Brooksville

https://digitalmaine.com/revolutionary_war_hancock_county/88/

• An historical sketch of the town of Deer Isle, Maine, with notices of its settlers and early inhabitants by Hosmer, George Lawrence https://archive.org/details/historicalsketch00hosm/page/179/mode/1up
• Vital records 1817-1940 Authors: Brooksville (Maine) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99N7-69W1-Q?cc=1803978

• Thomas & Mary Kench family, VR of Sedgwick, Maine

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSK7-RSCF-W?i=692&cat=208389

• Limeburner, Grace G.. Stories of Brooksville. Bangor, Me.: Press of Seely Print. Co., 1924.

• A History of Swan's Island, Maine" by H.W. Small, MD, Hancock County Publishing Company, Ellsworth ME, 1898

• 1775 Service Record "Massachusetts, Revolutionary War, Index Cards to Muster Rolls, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQZ-CH62-3?cc=2548057&wc=QZZQ-MQG%3A1589088764 : 20 September 2019), Kibbee, Thomas - King, Benjamin > image 2260 of 2642; Massachusetts State Archives, Boston.

• Volume 56 p 242 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ4-DSHS-F?i=412&cat=729681

• Thomas Kench born 1747 "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L979-4D4F?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DH-3TY%3A353350501%2C353614601%2C353614801 : 20 May 2014), Norfolk > Needham > Births, marriages, deaths 1711-1801 > image 155 of 202; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.

• Pension Payment Record https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24Q-23ZY

• Deed from Moses Eaton https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSL5-FLSN?i=546&cat=334690

Map Harbor Island https://digitalmaine.com/planbook_8/29/

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Stanley Wood for creating Kinch-122 on 16 Oct 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Stanley and others.