John Getchell (abt. 1690 - 1771)

Born about 1690 in Berwick, Maine

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 10 May 1771 at about age 81 in Brunswick, Maine

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Biography

John was born in Berwick, Maine between 1688 and 1692, the son of Samuel Getchell and Elizabeth Jones.^[1] He was granted land at Scarborough, Maine, in 1720, and in 1736 moved to New Meadows, a part of Brunswick, where he became a prominent citizen and served as captain of the militia company.^[2]

On June 22, 1720, John Getchell was granted land in Scarboro, Me., at a Proprietors' meeting held at that place. He served as a corporal in Captain John Gray's company from June 3 to Nov 22, 1725 (mass. Arc., vol. 9, pg 221). In 1736 he, with his wife Elizabeth & their 8 children, moved to New Meadows, a part of Brunswick, where he was elected one of the selectmen in the 1st town meeting. The next year his name appears as one of the signers of a petition by the inhabitants of "Sheepscott, Whiscasick and Damriscotty" to the Hon. Spencer Phips, Esq., Gov.-in-Chief, etc., praying for protection against the Indians. In 1739, he bought of Arthur Noble land on the Winnegance River. He was made Captain of the militia company at Brunswich, & in March 1748 (from the 7th to the 18th) he led a company of men on a scouting expedition up the Kennebec, going as far north as the Belgrade lakes, & Snow Paond in Sidney. In 1751, he was captain of a company in which his son John, Jr., was sergeant, & which performed guard & scout duty. He was the King's surveyor, & made numerous surveys in all the adjoining towns. In 1760 "John Getchell, Gentleman", of Brunswick, sold to George Coombs land in Georgetown (York Co. deeds). He was a noted Indian fighter, & a man of great influence in the region. He is described by one who remembers seeing him as "a large, portly, venerable-looking old man, especially when he appeared on Sunday with white wig & triangular hat." He was buried in the Getchell graveyard near Brunswick. [From the 1909 "Family of Samuel Getchell" by Everett Lamont Getchell]

His tombstone in the Getchell graveyard near Brunswick is inscribed "May ye 10th 1771",^[3] the same date given by NEHGR for his wife Elizabeth's death,^[2] and the inscription "in ye 74th year of his age" further suggests a birthdate in 1697 rather than 1690.

Sources

1. ↑ NEHGR 63 : p. 266.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} NEHGR 63 : p. 267.
3. ↑ Find A Grave, (accessed 5 Jul 2016), memorial for John Getchell including photograph of marker.

• Getchell, Everett Lamont. The Family of Samuel Getchell of Salisbury, Mass., The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1909) Vol. 63, Page 266-7.
• "Maine Vital Records, 1670-1921," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BJ-J9BW-M?cc=1803978 : 28 November 2018), > image 1 of 1; multiple sources, Maine. (children William & Abigail)