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
