8. | Ichabod COUSINS was born in 1688 in Wells, York, Maine (son of Thomas COUSINS and Hannah GOODALE WARD); died on 3 Apr 1764 in Wells, York, Maine; was buried in unknown. Other Events:
- Military Event: French-Indian Wars
- Military Flag: Y
- Cause of Death: Smallpox
Notes:
From “The History of Wells and Kennebunk” by D.B. Robinson
Ichabod, the father, was an enterprising man, generally engaged in milling. He lived in Wells in the earlier part of his life, but in 1745 moved to Kennebunk. He was a soldier in the old French war and died with small-pox contracted while in service. ("He had a log house surrounded by flankers during the Indian troubles on the coast." Saco Valley Settlements, p. 591) At what period the ancestors came to Wells, no record informs us. In the assumption of a right to all the common lands by those who were inhabitants in 1716, Cousins does not appear to have a share, though we are confident that he lived there about that time.
His son, Nathaniel, was born in 1739 and to him we are indebted for much of our information in regard to the ancient history of the town. He was educated as a carpenter, devoted many years to framing buildings; afterwards labored in the shipyards and in milling, as long as his constitution maintained its strength. In his vigorous years he exercised considerable influlence. He was a soldier with his father in the French war of 1755 and at various times, amounting to four or five years, in the Revolutionary war, in which he was an ensign, lieutenant, adjutant, and after the war was over, a major in the militia, having been a captain before the struggle commenced. He was also one of the selectmen of the town, assessor, and many years clerk of the Second Parish. He was endowed wilth much physical power, gained by the laborious experiences of his life, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-five years. (The History of Wells and Kennebunk, pp. 772-773).
Nicholas Cole's grant, next below that of Edmund Littlefield, was conveyed by Ichabod Cousins and his wife, Ruth (Cole) (the granddaughter of Nicholas Cole) Cousens to (Joseph) Storer, May 10, 1745, "containing one hundred acres of upland, made to our grandfather, Nicholas Cole, May 7, 1681, by the town of Wells (History of Kennebunk, pp. 359-360)
Ichabod Cousins b. 1688. In a deposition made July 6, 1714, he stated that he had known the Josiah Littlefield farm ever since he could remember. (York County Court, July Term 1714) He m. Ruth Cole July 26, 1714. She was a daughter of Thomas and Abigail Cole, who were killed by the Indians while traveling toward night between York and Wells in 1702, and a granddaughter of Nicholas Cole. He purchase the shares of his sister and his nephew and nieces in his father's Wells farm in 1717 and 1726. (York Deeds XII: 134, 136) and the town confirmed his title in the right of his father.
Ichabod Cousins had an extended military experience. His name appears on the muster-roll of Capt. James Grant's Company for service from June 24 to August 4 1725, the year of Lovewell's memorable battle at Fryburg. He served as a sergant in Col. John Storer's Company at the siege of Louisburg (NEHG Register 22:116), and we have direct authority that he was "a soldier in the old French war (1755) and died with the small-pox contracted while in the service.
?Administration of his estate was granted to his son Nathaniel on April 3, 1764. The will of his widow, Ruth Cousins, in which she mentions her sons Ichabod, Thomas, Benjamin, Samuel, Joseph, Elisha, and Nathaniel, and her daughter Ruth Wakefield, was proved Nov 23,1768.
Ichabod married Ruth COLE on 26 Jul 1714 in Wells, York, Maine. Ruth (daughter of Thomas COLE and Abigail WORMWOOD) was born on 15 Nov 1694 in Kennebunk, York, Maine; died on 23 Nov 1768 in Wells, York, Maine; was buried in unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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