Lincoln, Maine

Responses from four students in Mrs. Harris’ Social Studies class can be viewed below:

Victoria Rideout
“Research your topic and summarize the 'who, what, when, and where' in the form of a few paragraphs”

Jacob Stinchfield was a self-made man born July 12, 1806 in Phillips, Maine. He was the 11th of 12 children of Mary and Josiah Stinchfield. Jacob was an orphan at age 12 after his parents died from unknown events. He then lived with his uncle, and moved to Lincoln in 1826 where he started his own life.

Upon arriving in Lincoln, Jacob started working for a man named Ira Fish in 1826 in the lumbering business. Ira ended up selling Jacob land where he built a house in the mid-1830s. We know this house today as the Corro House, located on West Broadway where the Lincoln Historical Society is. Jacob also built a grist mill in Lincoln Center.

He married a woman named Maria Hersey in 1837. They had four children together named Ira, George, Charles, and Mary. His son, Charles, was the person who built the Civil War monument at the merging of Routes 2 and 6, in honor of his father, even though Jacob never fought in the war. We also know the monument as “The Soldier’s Monument,” dedicated to all soldiers from Lincoln. However, when the Aroostook War came, Jacob was in a militia and served as lieutenant. The Aroostook War was when Maine was arguing with Canada for parts of the border. It was a bloodless war because we settled it with a treaty before we actually started fighting. The militia Jacob joined was known as the “A-Company of Riflemen, Sixth Regiment, First Brigade, Third Division.”

Jacob was also elected town clerk. The town clerk was a secretary and kept files. When Jacob was thirty-three in 1839, he was elected to the state legislature. He moved to Michigan in 1864 where he died on October 7, 1873.

This is the the life of Jacob Stinchfield, one of the first founding fathers of Lincoln, Maine. The reason why this is important to the town’s history is because he contributed to the start of Lincoln and made Lincoln a successful town.

Alex Avery
“Create a ‘why’ question, research the answer, and create response answering the question”

Why did Jacob Stinchfield move to Michigan?

Jacob W. Stinchfield moved to Michigan to scout out and cut down the timber there, which he did until his death in 1873. He moved with his wife and son, Charles Stinchfield, who made the Civil War monument by the Methodist Church, at the intersection of Main and Lee Streets. The inscription on the bottom of the monument says: “Erected in honor of the men of Lincoln who served their country in the war which preserved the Union, destroyed slavery and maintained the Constitution, 1861-1865.” Charles made the statue in Jacob’s image. Jacob would have fought in the Aroostook War if there was any fighting, but it was prevented by a treaty. He also played a part in the Westward expansion of the country. This is probably another reason he moved to Michigan. He wanted to explore the Western territory.

Jacob was the town clerk, which is like a modern day secretary. He kept track of all the records and files of the town. He was later elected to become a state legislator. Even then, he still logged. Evidently, logging was a very big part of his life.

Isaiah Kilby
“Describe the feelings of someone living at that time when a certain event happened”

When Jacob Stinchfield moved to Michigan in 1864, his friend Ira Fish was probably very worried. We know they were friends because Jacob worked for Ira in the lumber business. I think Ira was worried because not many people had moved west yet and many people had died while traveling west. Some of the things Ira might of been afraid of for Jacob were animals, outlaws, hunger, disease, and losing transportation. He was probably sad, too, because Jacob was his friend and there weren’t many ways of communicating with people from long distances; they wouldn’t be able to talk much. The only way would be to send letters back and forth and that took a long time. The telephone hadn’t been invented yet, and wouldn’t be for a few more years. The two friends probably lost touch once Jacob moved to Michigan, unfortunately.

Works Cited
"Aroostook War - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." Main Page - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Aroostook_War>.

Fellows, Dana W. "Stinchfield." History of the Town of Lincoln Penobscot County Maine. Lewiston: Dingley Press, 1929. 410-12. Print.

Goodwin, Beckie. "Jacob Stinchfield." Personal interview. 5 Apr. 2010.

Goodwin, Kathryn B. "Jacob Stinchfield." Personal Glimpses of the Early Settlers of Lincoln, Maine. Maine: S.n., 1970. 55-56. Print.