Early Kittery

Kittery, in the District of Maine, was originally called Plantation of the Piscataqua collectively with all the smaller settlements up through the area to the Berwicks.  By the mid - 1600's the name was changed to Kittery and was set off into 3 Parishes.  The Lower Parish bordered the York town line at Braveboat Harbor in Kittery Point to Kittery Foreside and framed by the Piscataqua River to what is now South Eliot.  The Middle Parish is now the town of Eliot.  The Upper Parish consisted of the Berwicks and Lebanon. As the population grew each town was set off from the "original" Kittery to be their own town.  Until that happened, the early settlers were from Kittery, but geographically they might have been in one of the other towns as the boundaries morphed into today's world.  The original plan for Kittery was devised by Capt. John Mason who envisioned servants working the land as they did in England when the serfs rented land and worked for the manor lord. He sent over people with specific trades such as carpenters to build dwelling houses and mills, yeoman to care for the cattle and other livestock.  The Pied Cow made several trips from Old England to New England bringing many of my ancestors along with much needed provisions and supplies to this area. Names of my ancestors who were stewards and servants sent to the Piscataqua by John Mason are listed here.

Ambrose Gibbons, Steward
Reginald Fernald, Chirurgeon
William Chadbourne and his sons Humphrey and William, jr.
Thomas Spencer
Henry Sherburn
Information gleaned from Old Kittery and Her Families by Stackpole