John Wadleigh CRESSEY

1749 - 1842  (93 years)

• Name	John Wadleigh CRESSEY
  Born	22 Feb 1749	Gorham, Cumberland County, Maine   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Died	23 Dec 1842	Buxton, York County, Maine   [1]
  	NEHGS Register article says 1841, but Highland Cemetery gravestone, and History of Gorham, Maine, indicate that death date was 23 Dec 1842.
  Buried	Highland Cemetery, Buxton, York County, Maine
  	ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/me/york/buxton/cemetery/highlandcem.txt
  Person ID	I554	Sturgis
  Last Modified	22 Apr 2005

  
  

  Father	John CRESSEY,   b. 31 Jul 1721, Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts ,   d. 1785  (Age 63 years)
  Mother	Deborah WADLEIGH,   d. 1796
  Married	Abt 1745  [2]
  Family ID	F67	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Susanna MCDONALD,   b. Abt 1751,   d. 1796  (Age ~ 45 years)
  Married	01 Dec 1770  [2]
  Children	1. James CRESSEY,   b. 27 Nov 1790, Buxton, York County, Maine ,   d. 18 Jun 1877, Portland, Cumberland County, Maine  (Age 86 years)
  Last Modified	14 Oct 2018
  Family ID	F25	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  John Wadleigh Cressey was b. in Gorham, Maine, February 22, 1749, m. December 1, 1770 Susanna McDonald of Gorham, b. in 1751. He was probably b. in the Fort on Fort Hill on account of the Indians. He bought a farm on Codman's Hill, where his father first settled. After a time he sold this piece and was paid in Continental money, which proved to be worthless. About 1776 he moved to the adjoining town of Buxton, bought a farm of 60 acres called the ``Right'' of Cornelius Davis of Newbury and Rowley on range of lots known by the letter G, No. 5. Mr. Davis was a soldier in the Narragansett War in 1675. Buxton was a land grant by the General Court of Mass. to the soldiers of that war, being No. 1 of the 7 ``Narragansett Plantations.'' About 1786 Mr. Cressey built a large two-story which stood until 1934, 150 years, having been occupied by five generations. Records give but 13 two-story houses in Buxton in 1798. He kept a good stock of cattle, sheep, swine and poultry. He and his wife raised and made nearly everything needed for the family in food and clothing by using the flaxwheel, spinning wheel, and the hand loom. He served as collector of taxes in Buxton in 1795. His wife d. in 1834 at 83, a member of Rev. Paul Coffin's Church. He d. in 1842 in 94th year, an early settler and ``truly a worthy, honest man.'' They were buried in Groveville Cemetery, Buxton, Maine. He left a good property and many descendants. [2] "John Cressey, the eldest son of John, married, Dec. 1, 1770, Susanna McDonald, who was probably the sister of Charles McDonald. Soon after his marriage Mr. Cressey purchased a farm in Buxton, near what was formerly called Spruce Swamp, now Groveville, where by industry and prudence he brought up a family, and left a good farm, which is still owned by his descendants. Two of his children, Daniel and Betsey, were born in Gorham; Daniel married Elizabeth Harding of Baldwin, and Betsey married Edmund Watson. Another of his sons, Benjamin, was captured in a privateer during the War of 1812, and for some time held a prisoner in Dartmoor Prison. Mr. Cressey died Dec. 23, 1842, in Buxton." [3]

  
  

• Sources

  [S46] NEHGS Register, v.31, p.202. [S77] Cressey Family Ancestry, Cressey, Ernest W., (Electronic, 1935). [S82] History of Gorham Maine, McLellan, Hugh D. and Lewis, Katherine B., (Picton Press, Camden, ME, 1903 (1992 Reprint)).