| The first
settlement in the county was at Brunswick, in 1628, or earlier,
by Thomas Purchas. The next was at Richmond Island, by Walter
Bagnall; then Cape Elizabeth and Portland, each a part of
Falmouth at its incoporation. The county was included in Gorges
province of "Laconia," granted in 1622; in the "Plough Patent" (Lygonia),
granted to Dye and others, of London, in 1630, and sold by them
to Sir Alexander Rigby; it was included also in the part
assigned to Gorges in the division of New England among the
members of the New England or Plymouth Company, in England, and
named by him "New Somersetshire;" and, finally, in 1639, it was
included in the charter from the king to Gorges of the "Province
of Mayne." After the purchase of the province by Massachusetts
in 1677, it came under the jurisdiction of that commonwealth,
and was represented in its government; being included in the
county of Yorkshire until its organization under its present
name in 1760. At first it embraced in addition to its present
territory, the counties of Androscoggin and Franklin, and parts
of the present counties of Oxford, Kennebec and Somerset.
(Source:
Varney, George J., Gazetteer of the State of Maine.
Boston: B. B. Russell, 1886.)
To your right is a map of landowners in
1771 Cumberland County. If you wish to purchase a copy,
historicmapsrestored.com has it for sale.
I have no personal gain in this link, and this is the only copy
I have; nothing larger. |
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