John Rich (1785 - 1855)

Born 1785 in Truro, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Eleanor (Douglass) Rich — married 18 Jun 1805 (to 3 Apr 1855) in Deer Isle, Hancock, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 3 Apr 1855 at about age 70 in Isle au Haut, Hancock County, Maine

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Rosa Lane [send private message]

Biography

Capt. John Rich of Isle au Haut, Hancock County (now Knox County), Province of Maine (now State of Maine), was born in early fall of 1785 in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the likely town of Truro. John's birth year and birth season are deduced by analysis of several documents including his age 69 at death (April 3, 1855) and his age (and age ranges) enumerated in various Federal Censuses including 1790, 1800, 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850.

John's birth and his parentage are documented in two independent sources, one by genealogist Julia Rich Hogan and the other by genealogist/historian Warren Atwood Rich, both worked at different times under the auspices of the Rich Family Association located in Wellfleet, Massachusetts and whose sources are listed below. John's birth year also is corroborated by enumeration in the 1850 Census record of Isle au Haut, Hancock, Maine with his reported age of 64 and his birth place recorded as "Mass."

John was the son of Capt. Nehemiah Sr. and Margaret, aka "Peggy," (Lewis) Rich they having relocated from Truro around 1796 to the area in vicinity of Frankfort/Winterport area, then part of Hancock County, Province of Maine. Son John would have been about 11 years old at this time, his siblings being an older brother Nehemiah Jr., about age 20, and sister Lydia, about age 1 year. In Frankfort/Winterport's 1800 Federal Census record, the only Rich that is enumerated as head of household in Frankfort/Winterport is "Widow Rich," who is assumed to be Margaret "Peggy" (Lewis) Rich, John's mother. Therefore, not long after moving to Frankfort/Winterport, the 1800 Census record provides evidence that John's father, Nehemiah Sr., had passed away sometime before its enumeration but after March 1799, when Nehemiah Sr. was known to have made a land purchase per Hancock County [ME] Registry of Deeds, leaving his wife Margaret "Peggy" a widow. A decade later, in Frankfort/Winterport's 1810 Federal Census record, "Peggy Rich" is enumerated again as head of household, a household of two females (Peggy--self, and daughter Lydia); with son Capt. Nehemiah Jr. listed therein as head of his own household/family and living in Frankfort.

John's father, Capt. Nehemiah Sr., must have been a man of considerable means owning a shipping business, a fleet of ships, and two large parcels of land in the Winterport/Frankfort area, thereby at his death leaving his widow and children in good stead. Nehemiah Sr.'s fleet of ships included the "May A., the "Mary A.," the "Annie A.," the "Carrie M.," and the "Lath Rich," which contributed to Winterport being a major shipping port in the late 18th C. Son Capt. Nehemiah Jr. also became a notable mariner, and continued the family business and most certainly taught his younger brother John the skill and business of seafaring.

Young Capt. John Rich was but age 18 when he landed on Isle au Haut in 1803 and purchased property where he was well prepared and had the resources to build a home and launch his own shipping business sailing back and forth between Deer Isle and Gloucester. The property John purchased in 1803 was Lot #2 located at what became known then and is known today as Rich's Point at "Old Cove" located on the northern tip of Isle au Haut. The map drawn from an 1803 survey by Lathrop Lewis of Bangor, Province of Maine, shows this cove and point newly named as such. John acquired this parcel (Lot #2) from then Island inhabitant Robert Douglass, who continued to own Lot #1. Shortly thereafter, Capt. John married Robert Douglass's daughter, Eleanor, described in writings of historians of the area as a woman of "a prepossessing appearance." On June 18, 1805, John and Eleanor married on Isle au Haut, then still part of Deer Isle, Hancock, Province of Maine. John and Eleanor resided in Isle au Haut and built a home at "Old Cove." Some years later, familial anecdotal stories report that this house was dismantled and its pieces floated by boat around the Island tip to Douglass Cove, now known as Rich's (aka "Riches") Cove, and reconstructed at the Cove's head, that house known today as the "Breeze Cottage."

Capt. John Rich continued his occupation as "mariner." He and Eleanor had nine children all born on the Island, the names of whom are: Stephen b. 1809; Jonathan b. 1810; Hiram b. 1813; Thomas b. 1815; Daniel b. 1817; Perez b. 1820; Avis b. 1822, d. January 19, 1824; Eleanor b. 1825; and Stillman b. 1827. In the 1830 Census, eight children are enumerated, daughter Avis having died at 2 years. The 1850 Census enumerates two males living within John and Eleanor's household these being son Stillman age 23 and grandson Stephen Jr. age 16, son of Capt. Stephen Sr., who died at sea in a gale in 1841 off Gloucester.

All John and Eleanor's children, who lived to adulthood, moved off-island with the exception of their son Stillman, who remained on the Island, raised his family, took care of his parents, and maintained the homestead, part of which is still retained and maintained by some of his descendants to this day, the originator of this profile being one. Capt. John Rich died of typhoid fever on Isle au Haut on April 3, 1855 at age 69. He is buried at the Rich Family Cemetery on the Island.

During this profile originator's research, counter to the above vital and biographical data, it should be noted herein that a few living descendants in their Ancestry family trees were found to have mis-identified the John Rich of Marblehead, born about 1705, who married Phebe Bridges, as grandfather of John Rich of Isle au Haut. After working with other living descendants on this line, no John Rich born about 1786 emerged from this particular ancestry to fit basic vitals of Capt. John of Isle au Haut, despite the fact that sons of the said John Rich of Marblehead (b. about 1705, m. Phebe) removed to Mount Desert Island (MDI), where they raised their families, MDI being in close proximity to Isle au Haut, in same County of Hancock, and those Rich/es had sons named John. These John Rich/es did not fit the age range and/or these John/s moved elsewhere as heads of households, had different spouses, and raised different families. The Marblehead branch of Rich/es and the Cape Cod branch of Rich/es have not been genealogically connected as of the date of origination of this profile. While the Marblehead branch of Rich/es relocated to MDI and have been documented as residing for short period of times in Castine, Deer Island, and Swan's Island, the Cape Cod branch of Rich/es settled in other parts of Hancock County, namely in Winterport/Frankfort, Buckstown (now Bucksport), and Isle au Haut. When young John Rich removed to Isle au Haut, he had immediate family in nearby Winterport and extended family including uncles, aunts, and cousins who resided in nearby Buckstown (now Bucksport).

Of additional note: In the 1899 death record of Stillman Rich, son of John Rich, family members reported the birthplace of Stillman's father, John, as "Marblehead, Ma." This information, however, is considered incorrect and 3rd hand, especially since no John Rich within the range of known vitals, as above described, has been found to date within that town or vicinity of Marblehead or within the Marblehead branch of the Rich family. In the latter part of the 18th C., historians provided probability in their writings that John Rich of Isle au Haut was part of the MDI branch and may have lived on Swan's Island. But he was not the John Rich who lived on Swan's Island. None the less, this could provide a reason why "Marblehead, Ma" appeared as birthplace of John Rich of Isle au Haut, since it was a popular speculation at that time, and also a port where Capt. John, subject of this profile, may have done shipping business. Genealogical research of Julia Rich Hogan, Warren Atwood Rich, and this profile originator has put to rest previous questions of vital data concerning John Rich, subject of this profile.

Additional Research Notes

Julia Rich Hogan, genealogist and historian, Rich Family Association (in a letter undated but sent prior to 1969) to Elizabeth "Lizzy" Rich, granddaughter of John Rich of Isle au Haut, sent her research findings, quoting in part: "In each generation [of the Rich Family of Richard Rich of Dover, NH] there were sea captains including your John Rich....his line following [in pertinent part] "Nehemiah Rich, b. 3 March 1750 d (?) Winterport, ME > Married Margaret Lewis at Wellfleet, MA 27 October 1771 > Baptized at Truro, MA 26 Jan. 1753, b. 11 Dec. 1752 > Daughter of John and Margaret (Lathly) Lewis m. 19 Dec. 1751 > Children 1) Lydia b 1780; 2) Nehemiah b. 1782, d. 26 June 1849; John b. 1786, d. 3 April 1855."

Sources

• Brownson, Linda B., et al. (comp.). Genealogical Notes of Cape Cod Families [Duxbury, MA: Originally Self-Published (hand-scribed in notebook), 1966; now in Internet Archive, p. 72, Nehemiah and Margaret (Lewis) Rich's children, Ref. NEHGR Register (periodicals) #84 (or #83?) at Sturgis Library, shelved in Lothrop Room]: http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogicalnote41brow#page/72/mode/2up

• New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 83, p. 404 of 580 [John of this profile is listed as son of Nehemiah and Margaret (Lewis) Rich] [Repository: American Ancestors: https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/new-england-historical-and-genealogical-register/image?pagename=404&volumeid=11658&refreshed=true

• Maine, Death Records, 1761-1922 for John Rich [name reported as father of deceased], Knox, 1899. [Repository: Ancestry.com. Maine, Death Records, 1761-1922 (database on-line, Frame #9 of 54). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Maine Death Records, 1761-1922. Augusta, Maine: Maine State Archives. Maine Death Records, 1761-1922, Maine State Archives, Augusta, Maine, USA.] FamilySearch Index Link (death of John Rich's son, Stillman; reports Stillman's date, location and cause of death; reports his parents' names and their places of birth)

• "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (Index Link : accessed 15 April 2019), John Rick, Deer Isle, Hancock, Maine, United States; citing p. 603, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 34; FHL microfilm 281,238.

• 1830 United States Federal Census for John Rich, Maine, Hancock, Deer Isle, Enumerated. [Repository: Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census (database on-line, Frame #4 of 4). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch Index Link. Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.] (family household enumeration)

• 1840 United States Federal Census for John Rich, Maine, Hancock, Deer Isle. [Repository: Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.] (family household enumeration)

• 1850 United States Federal Census for John Rich, Maine, Hancock, Deer Isle, Enumerated on September 6, 1850. [Repository: Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census (database on-line, Frame #71 of 73). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch Index Link. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.] (household, family member details)

• Barter, Janet, "A Pictorial History of the Houses in Rich's Cove, Isle au Haut, Maine" (2009). Maine Town Documents. 345: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1472&context=towndocs

• Noyes, Dr. Benjamin Lake, (Transcriber), Births, Deaths, abt. 1784-1865; Marriages, Marriages Licenses, and Marriage Publishments, abt. 1832-1852, 1950; Image 485 of 971, p. 54 (death date of young daughter, Avis): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSM7-PGWR?i=241&cat=89595

• Geni.com, Profile, Accessed April 14, 2019, Managed by Roger Keith Crosby: https://www.geni.com/people/Capt-John-Rich/6000000051964317894?through=6000000051981868883

• Swans Island, swansisland.org, Accessed April 14, 2019: http://www.swansisland.org/swansgenealogy/JohnRich/b6867.htm

• Turner, Charles F., Compiler with sources Virginia McDonald et al. "Isle au Haut, Maine: Burials and Cemeteries," 2009, Accessed April 14, 2019: http://isleauhauthistory.org/documents/Isle%20au%20Haut%20BURIALS%202009.pdf

• Hogan, Julia Rich. The American Beginnings of the Rich Family, Volume IV of Rich Family History, published by Hogan, 1968. [Original from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Digitized November 1, 2007.] (provides lineage of John Rich and his parentage being Nehemiah and Margaret (Lewis) Rich)

• Hogan, Julia Rich. Rich Family History: William Riche, Volume III of Rich Family History, published by Hogan, 1969. [Original from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Digitized November 1, 2007.] (provides lineage of John Rich and his parentage being Nehemiah and Margaret (Lewis) Rich)

• Rich, Warren Atwood (Comp.), Rich Families, Deacon John, Vol. I, 1993: Rich Family Association, P.O. Box 142, Wellfleet, MA 02667. (provides lineage of John Rich and his parentage being Nehemiah and Margaret (Lewis) Rich)

• Rich, Norman Wesley (Comp.), The Rich Family of Isle au Haut, Maine, self-published in limited edition, copyrighted 1993. (provides lineage of John Rich and his parentage being Nehemiah and Margaret (Lewis) Rich). [Note: This work includes decades of manual research by Norman Rich and his father Floyd Wesley Rich, this work personally known by the originator of this profile. This work is available at both the Isle au Haut and Stonington, Maine libraries.]