Samuel was born on Nute’s Ridge, the only child of Josiah Nute and Rebecca Wentworth. The 1850 census indicated he could read and write, so he had some education along the way. His occupation is listed as farmer whenever there is a written record, as was that of his father, Josiah, and his son, Orsamus.
At age 13, Samuel’s family left Nute Ridge and moved to Falmouth, Maine, where his father continued farming as an occupation. Doubtlessly, Samuel helped out on the farm until the 22 year-old purchased land from his father in 1814 about 30 miles north in Poland, Maine.
The Nute kids visited the Nute farm in 2018.
Samuel, Betsey, Polly, and Samuel’s mother Rebecca, are buried just down the hill in the Nute-Stevens cemetery, an idyllic setting
The Nute plot has the obelisk erected by Orsamus, and has a row of small headstones for each Nute known to be buried there. When I visited in 2016, Samuel’s small headstone had flowers, a flag, and a War of 1812 star marker.
We have no family records that indicate Samuel fought in the War of 1812, and none can be located online. On the other hand, he would have been about the right age in 1812, he was on coastal Maine in those years, and the 160 acres mentioned in Joseph Nute’s notes as being granted to Josiah may have been for Samuel’s service. Another mystery waiting to be tracked down.
At age 13, Samuel’s family left Nute Ridge and moved to Falmouth, Maine, where his father continued farming as an occupation. Doubtlessly, Samuel helped out on the farm until the 22 year-old purchased land from his father in 1814 about 30 miles north in Poland, Maine.
Poland was originally part of the Bakerstown Plantation with settlement beginning in 1767. The original town incorporated in 1795 included not only Poland and Poland Springs, but also Minot and Mechanic Falls.
Samuel settled early in the Poland’s development and a couple years later married a young lady, 22 year-old 3rd GGM Betsey Fickett (1794-1826), whose father, 4th GGF Jonathan Fickett, came to Poland from Cape Elizabeth with a new bride, 4th GGM Judith Cox, in 1788. Betsey’s mother died when she was nine, and her father married another one of our GGM’s, Betsey Bryant (1769-1854), widow of 5th GGF Dr. Peter Brooks.
In the 1820 census when Samuel was 28, the household consisted of Samuel, Betsey, two children under 10, and Samuel’s mother, Josiah’s widow Rebecca Wentworth. One of the two children was 2nd GGF Orsamus Nute. The following year, Betsey’s father sold Samuel a tract of land in Woodstock, yet another 30 miles north, and the family moved there by 1822.
Woodstock is a wooded, hilly-valleyed area with the beautiful Bryant Pond, brooks and mountain streams. Some settlers began to arrive in surrounding areas after the close of the French War in 1760, more looking for land in the wilderness after the close of the Revolution as they had been paid in worthless money. A road to Woodstock was cut from Paris to Woodstock in 1795 even before her settlement, and families began to arrive. The first were the Bryant boys, including our 6th GGF Solomon Bryant, followed by numerous other grandparent ancestor families - including those of the Davis, Stephens, Swan and Brooks, and their wives from the Robbins, Curtis, Brooks, Strout, and Fickett families.
The town incorporated in 1815 and the following years were tough for the hardy inhabitants. Winters were cold, crops failed, and fires swept through the hills. Amid this, 6th GGF Jonathan Fickett, Betsey's father bought the land in 1818 that was later to become the hilltop Nute farm, and sold the lot to Samuel in 1821.
A February 1821 letter from the town clerk to the Woodstock proprietors looking for taxes and payment on notes held on the inhabitants illustrates the dire straits of the town,
Woodstock is a wooded, hilly-valleyed area with the beautiful Bryant Pond, brooks and mountain streams. Some settlers began to arrive in surrounding areas after the close of the French War in 1760, more looking for land in the wilderness after the close of the Revolution as they had been paid in worthless money. A road to Woodstock was cut from Paris to Woodstock in 1795 even before her settlement, and families began to arrive. The first were the Bryant boys, including our 6th GGF Solomon Bryant, followed by numerous other grandparent ancestor families - including those of the Davis, Stephens, Swan and Brooks, and their wives from the Robbins, Curtis, Brooks, Strout, and Fickett families.
The town incorporated in 1815 and the following years were tough for the hardy inhabitants. Winters were cold, crops failed, and fires swept through the hills. Amid this, 6th GGF Jonathan Fickett, Betsey's father bought the land in 1818 that was later to become the hilltop Nute farm, and sold the lot to Samuel in 1821.
A February 1821 letter from the town clerk to the Woodstock proprietors looking for taxes and payment on notes held on the inhabitants illustrates the dire straits of the town,
Dear Sir: - We are very sorry that we are not able to forward to you any money in this letter, and extremely sorry to state the little prospect we have of any large payments this season. Money with us is the most scarce it has ever been since the town has settled…. Mr. Jonathan Fickett has sold his lot to a son-in-law by the name of Samuel Nute, who says he can pay the money down, but wishes to have the deed when he pays the money. Mr. Fickett’s lot is number 44….
The Ficketts lived in Poland before moving to Woodstock in 1818. Betsey's dad, Jonathan, already had his land in Poland foreclosed in 1819 for failure to pay taxes. He was, likewise, probably having trouble with payment on his Woodstock land when he sold that beautiful hilltop farm to Samuel. What a chore it must have been for Jonathan to clear the property for planting and grazing!
Samuel and Betsey had four children, all spaced 2 years apart. In 1826, two years after the last child, Betsey died at age 32, leaving 34 year-old Samuel with four children under the age of ten.
Samuel and Betsey had four children, all spaced 2 years apart. In 1826, two years after the last child, Betsey died at age 32, leaving 34 year-old Samuel with four children under the age of ten.
Children of Samuel and Betsey:
Harriet Nute, b. 1818 in Poland, m. Charles Brooks Davis (son of our 4th GGPs Aaron Davis and and Lucinda Oraing Brooks as well as brother to our 3rd GGF Joseph Davis), d. age 80 in Lancaster, Massachusetts
ORSAMUS Nute, b. 1820 in Poland, m. 1) Emmy Amy Stevens and 2) Lovina Dunn Davis, granddaughter of our 4th GGF Aaron Davis, Jr. and 5th GGF Dr. Peter Brooks. Lovina is a Mayflower descendant of passenger Richard Warren.
Phebe Wentworth Nute b. 1822 in Woodstock, m. Asa Smith, d. 1875 in Malden, Massachusetts
Mary Jane Nute b. 1824 in Woodstock, m. Eleazer Cole Billings, died in Woodstock in 1904, breast cancer
The year after Betsey’s death, Samuel married Polly Davis, daughter of Revolution soldier 5th GGF Aaron Davis and granddaughter of Revolution privateer, 6th GGF Zebulon Davis. They had no children together. She became a widow in 1855 with the death of Samuel, but continued to live with Orsamus and his family, even moving to Boston when the family migrated out of Woodstock.
Samuel died in 1855, age 62, in Woodstock. His 1846 will left Polly the new part of his house, one third of the income from his real estate, and use of the principal of the estate if needed “to make her comfortable.” He left Harriet $5.00 and “if she becomes of sound mind and capable of taking care of the same for her comfort and support $60 more, and if she does not, then said sixty dollars is to be divided equally among said Harriet’s children." To daughters Phebe and Mary Jane, Samuel left $65.00. Orsamus inherited the residence and farm.
The will indicates the eldest child, Harriet, may have had some mental difficulties. She was mid-twenties, married with children. The problems may have been transient as she raised six children, two of whom went on to become dentists.
The beautiful hilltop location must have reminded Samuel of his childhood home on Nute’s Ridge. The original farmstead is no longer standing, but a local historian believes it to be a short distance behind a stately home built on the hilltop.
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| Samuel Nute's hilltop farm with mountains in the distance |
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| Nute Kids at the Nute farmstead, June 2018 |
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| Nute/Stevens cemetery |
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| Samuel Nute's headstone with War of 1812 marker |
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