Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Rev. Samuel Fogg ~ Calvinist Baptist Minister


Rev Samuel Fogg had an interesting life. Although he never officially served a church in Readfield, that I know of, his religious path was certainly influenced while living in Readfield.
Samuel Fogg was born in 1787 in Raymond, NH to Samuel and Ruth (Lane) Fogg. His parents, who had a large family of seventeen children, was among the first to move to Cornville in Somerset County, Maine about 1800. In 1810 young Samuel left his family and moved to Readfield where he bought 1 acre of land from Robert Cornforth. Fogg’s occupation was joiner (builder) at that time and he used those skills to build a tannery. His newly acquired property bordered on the same mill stream as Cornforth’s woolen mill.  Fogg was allowed water privileges for grinding bark - provided he did not interfere with Cornforth’s carding machine production.[i] Fogg's half-uncle Dudley Fogg and cousin Josiah, of Readfield, bought / owned Craig’s sawmill and grist mill nearby on the same steam.
Samuel Fogg married in 1811 to Charlotte Dow, a Sanbornton, NH native.[ii] They had four children: 1) Samuel D. b.1818 in Winthrop 2) Charlotte C. b.1822 in Thomaston 3) Abigail b. in 1824 Thomaston 4) Ruth b.1832 in Winthrop.

In 1822 Samuel and Charlotte Fogg sold the tannery to his brother Joseph. At that time they were living in Thomaston and his occupation was preacher. He had graduated from Waterville College (Colby) on June 21, 1821[iii] and immediately succeeded the early Baptist minister Rev. Elisha Snow in Thomaston. Interesting that Snow’s daughter Joanna was married to Rev. Isaac Case – founder of the Baptist Church at East Readfield in 1792 and a highly regarded Baptist minister and missionary throughout Maine and eastern Canada. Most likely it was Case who converted and mentored our Rev. Samuel Fogg.

As a Calvinist Baptist Rev. Samuel Fogg served his first church in Thomaston for five years, during which time he baptized thirty-two people,[iv] and in 1826 started a Sunday school.[v] In 1827 the Baptist Convention meeting was held in Thomaston at which time Fogg’s colleagues learned that he had received an appointment as agent of the Maine Baptist Convention. He resigned his pastorate at that time, in order to accept this appointment. A year later the Baptist Convention met in Readfield when Fogg was elected recording secretary.[vi] By then he was serving the Baptist Church in Greene, ME where he remained until 1831[vii]. From there he moved to Winthrop.[viii]

In East Winthrop a Baptist church had been established in 1822 where Baptist churches from all over the state met in 1824 and organized the Maine Baptist Convention.  Rev. John Butler was the first pastor to serve there starting in May 1825. A parsonage was built especially for Butler at a cost of $800.[ix] and when Rev. Samuel Fogg took over the post in 1832 he bought and lived in that parsonage for the same amount of $800. He served the East Winthrop church for four years and after that engaged in missionary work and served other churches for ten years after while remaining a resident of Winthrop[x]. During his years as Baptist preacher he was an ardent supporter of antislavery, temperance and for further education.[xi]

From Winthrop Rev. Fogg went to Lowell, MA and served in churches there – with his wife and all three daughters in tow. Abigail and Catherine were married with families by then, and three generations lived together. In 1850 there were twenty members of this family living in the same household, with Rev. Samuel as the head.[xii] They remained a close family and, until their deaths, Samuel and Charlotte continued to live with one or more of their children.[xiii]

No doubt Rev. Samuel Fogg always considered East Winthrop his home for that is where he returned in late life[xiv] and he died there in 1868. He is buried in East Winthrop Cemetery with his wife Charlotte, only son Samuel and youngest daughter Ruth.[xv]

Churches Served[xvi]

1820-1821 Waterville Seminary College

1821 – 1826 Thomaston

1828 – 1831 Greene

1832-1836 East Winthrop

1836-1847 Missionary

1847-1860 Lowell, MA



[i] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds book 21 page 374; 12/5/1810
[ii] Massachusetts Death Records 1841-1915 www.ancestry.com accessed 6/2/2015
[iii] Richardson, Peter Tufts; History of Thomaston Baptist Church; 2009 http://www.redbarnrockland.com/otherwritings/History_First_Baptist_Thomaston.pdf accessed 6/2/2015
[iv] Easton, Cyrus; History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, Maine Volume 1;  Masters & Smith Printers, Hallowell, Mel 1865; page 322; https://books.google.com accessed 6/2/2015
[v] Ibid Richardson
[vi] Burrage, Henry Sweetser; History of the Baptists in Maine; Marks Printing House, 1904; page 225; https://books.google.com accessed 6/2/2015
[vii] Merrill, Georgia Drew; History of Androscoggin County; Boston, MA 1891; https://archive.org/details/historyofandrosc00merr accessed 6/2/2015
[viii] Stackpole. Everett History of Winthrop, ME 1771-1925; Merrill & Webber, Auburn, ME; page 369
[ix] Irish, Dorothy; Excerpts from: The History of The East Winthrop Baptist Church; http://www.endtimes.com/ewbc/ew-150th.html accessed 6/2/2015
[x] Ibid Stackpole
[xi] Ibid Burrage
[xii] 1850 US Census Lowell, MA; page 697; family 1789
[xiii] 1870 US Census Merrimac, NH; page 7; family 59; 1880 US Census; 1880 US Census  
[xiv] 1860 US Census Winthrop, ME; page 1015; family 186
[xv] www.findagrave.com East Winthrop Cemetery accessed 6/2/2015
[xvi] Approximate years based on compiled information

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