The land which became known as Andover was originally purchased in 1788 by a group of proprietors mostly from Andover, Massachusetts. The original proprietors were Jonathan Abbot, Philip Abbott, Ebenezer Adams, Ingalls Bragg, Samuel Farnum, Samuel Johnson, Abiel Lovejoy, Benjamin Poor, Eben Poor, Jr., and Theodore Stevens, all of Andover, Massachusetts; John York of Bethel, Massachusetts; Joseph Frye of Fryeburg, Massachusetts; and Josiah Bean, Ezekiel Merrill, and Thomas Poor of Methuen, Massachusetts. The town was first settled in 1789 by Ezekiel Merrill and his family who were transported there from Bethel, Maine, in canoes managed by members of the local Pequawket tribe. The first saw-mill was built on the East Branch of the Ellis River by Col. Thomas Poor in 1791 and was used to provide the lumber for the still standing Merrill-Poor House.
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History of Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, from its first settlement in 1779, to the present time1890 · page 229Read the page →
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Nathan Adams was one of the proprietors of Andover. This town was granted to inhabitants of Andover, Mass., and neighboring towns, and was largely settled by people from Andover. The early Merrills, Poors, Adamses Wardwells and Abbots came from there, while others came from Newbury, Amesbury and Bradford.
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History of Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, from its first settlement in 1779, to the present time1890 · page 53Read the page →
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These were Saco River towns. On the Androscoggin, Turner was settled about 1772, Livermore a little later; Bethel in 1774, and Norway in 1781. Ezekiel Merrill, the first Andover settler, came from Andover, Massachusetts, in 1786, and was the sole occupant of that region, save straggling Indians, for over two years. Paris was settled in 1781, Buckfield in 1777, and Jay about the same time as Paris. Sumner and Hartford, the territory of which was originally called Butterfleld, were settled soon after 1780. The small
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History of Bethel, formerly Sudbury, Canada, Oxford County, Maine, 1768-18901891Read the page →
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Nathan Adams of Andover, one of the proprietors and early residents of Andover, Maine, sold out there about the year 1800, and moved to Bethel, where his residence was only temporary. He settled on a farm in Rumford next to Bethel, now Hanover line.
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