Neighborly Uncle Marshall Mower

One of the Mower clan that I've always had an affinity for is my 4th great granduncle, Marshall Mower.  I think it is because we share the same birthday, September 1st.  And he piqued my interest long before I discovered the story which appears a little later in this post.

Gravestone of Marshall & Charity Mower

Marshall Mower was born 01 Sep 1773 in Charlton, Massachusetts, the 9th of 10 children born to Jonathan and Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower.  Family historian Walter Lindley Mower described him as "a man of commanding presence, tall, erect, of large physique and attractive features, and an excellent bass singer."  On 1 Jul 1790, Marshall married Charity Curtis.  She was the daughter of Rev. Caleb Curtis, the first settled minister in Charlton and his wife, Charity Combs, having been born 04 Sep 1773 in Charlton.  Marshall and Charity Mower raised a large family.

Around 1802 Marshall, along with his wife, their 4 children, and his father, followed his older brothers and moved from Charlton to Greene, Maine, where they settled in the center part of that town, on a grant from his father.  About 11 years later, Marshall and his family again packed and moved by ox team once again, this time to Calais, Vermont, where he lived out the remainder of his life.

Marshall died 19 Jan 1831 at the age of 57.  His wife survived him, dying on 31 Oct 1843 at the age of 70.  They are both interred in Robinson Cemetery in Calais, Vermont.  Patti and I made the trip to visit his grave site back in 2014.  It was an emotional moment to stand at this grave.  He is laid to rest in a beautiful and well maintained little cemetery on a very out of the way back road.

Marshall and Charity (Curtis) Mower had 14 children:

1. Lucy, b. 4 Nov 1790
2. Mary, b. 2 Jun 1792
3. Nancy, b. 5 Jan 1795
4. John, b. 6 Jun 1797, d. in infancy.
5. Sophia, b. 6 Jun 1797, d. in infancy. 
6. Laura, b. 31 Oct 1799, d. 25 Aug 1802.
7. Curtis, b. 26 Oct 1801
8. John Russell, b. 8 Mar 1803
9. Alfred, b. 7 Nov 1804
10. Nelson, b. 14 Oct 1806
11. Cyrus, b. 22 Sep 1809
12. Elizabeth, b. probably 1811, d. 22 Nov. 1813.
13. Eleanor, b. 16 Oct 1813, d. 29 Aug 1816.
14. Cynthia, b. 11 Apr 1815

Now, for the interesting folklore associated with Uncle Marshall.  According to a 1996 article in the Newsletter of the Androscoggin Historical Society, it appears that Marshall was up to the task of being a good neighbor back in 1807.  As told by Mrs. John Burbank Hooper of Greene in 1882, that one set of neighbors to Marshall Mower was the town physician, Dr. Ammi Ruhamah Cutter and his wife, Deborah nee Curtis (and no, I have not determined if she is related to Marshall's wife, Charity Curtis).  Dr. Cutter was a highly regarded member of the town, "beloved and esteemed by all."  I'll add that apparently, Mrs. Deborah Cutter was quite a beauty.  Anyway, unfortunately, the couple had not been able to conceive allegedly due to the impotency of Dr. Cutter.  The couple very much wanted to have a family. So it was agreed that Marshall Mower would assist Mrs. Cutter with conceiving a child by having sexual intercourse with her (Marshall having proved his ability to father numerous children with his wife).  For services rendered, Dr. Cutter would give Marshall a cow.  The deed was done and John Loring Cutter was born on 19 Jun 1807.  Evidently, all were well satisfied with the transaction, as they repeated it, an act resulting in the birth of William Cutter on 24 Sep 1813.  The births of both children are recorded in the vital records of the Town of Greene, both shown as the children of Dr. Ammi Cutter and his wife Deborah.  However, according to Mrs. Hooper, Dr. and Mrs. Cutter have admitted that Marshall Mower is the father of the two children.  Interesting also is that Walter L. Mower in his "History of Greene" has a brief narrative about Dr. Cutter, but makes no mention of the Cutter children.

Now I'm not sure if the repercussions of these "transactions" hastened the move of Marshall Mower and his family out of Greene, but that did take place around the time of William Cutter's birth.

An interesting footnote to this story is that both of the Cutter boys seem to have moved to Bangor, Maine.  I recently located the grave site of William Cutter.  He is interred in Mount Hope Cemetery here in Bangor, Maine, in a lot right across from the Superintendent's office. More research needs to be done on their families.

Line of descent: 1~Richard Mower, 2~Samuel Mower, 3~Samuel Mower, 4~Jonathan Mower
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Sources

• "Dr. Ammi R. Cutter's Children." Androscoggin History, Newsletter of the Androscoggin Historical Society, 17 (2/1996).
• Robinson Cemetery (Robinson Cemetery Road, Calais, Vermont). Gravestone.
• Mower, Walter L. Mower Family History: A Genealogical Record of the Maine Branch of This Family together with Other Branches of the Family Tree. Portland, Maine: The Southworth Press, 1923.
• Mower, Walter Lindley, compiler. Sesquicentennial History of the the Town of Greene, Androscoggin County, Maine 1775 to 1900. 1938. Reprint, Salem, Massachusetts: Higginson Book Company, n.d.
• Systemic History Fund. Vital Records of Charlton, Massachusetts, To the end of the year 1849. Worcester, Massachusetts: Franklin P. Rice, Trustee of the Fund, 1905.
• FamilySearch. "Records of births, deaths, marriages and marriage intentions, 1755-1925 (Greene, Maine)." Database with digital images. FamilySearch. www.familysearch.org