Rufus McIntire, our next featured resident of Parsonsfield at the time of statehood, was born the third son of Micum and Rhoda (Allen) McIntire on December 19, 1784 in York, Maine. A relatively newcomer to Parsonsfield in 1820 he would play an important role not only in the town but in the state.
In a piece by his eldest daughter, Miss Mary
Rolfe McIntire, appearing in the History of Parsonsfield written in
1888, she writes this of her father:
In the publication The War of 1812 in Person: Fifteen Accounts by United States Army Regulars, Volunteers and Militiamen edited by John C. Fredriksen, letters from Captain McIntire (written to John Holmes with whom he had studied law in Alfred) relate his experiences during the war from July 1813 – March 1815 at Sackets Harbor, New York. In the last published letter dated March 4, 1815 he writes…
"The army will probably in a month or two be disposed of when I shall be at liberty to look out for a stand and at my age you know it will be necessary to do it immediately, but the great question is, where? I have it in contemplation to visit the western country as far as the Indiana or Illinois territories and satisfy myself of the prospects there before I return to Maine… Is the prospect in the District of Maine sufficiently encouraging as ought to destroy all thoughts in me of immigrating into the western woods? ...I have an idea that, at present, law business in Maine must be small and lawyers plenty in general, tho’ perhaps some particular openings may offer where a beginner might with advantage commence. Do you know of any such?”
Perhaps timing was everything. In the year of McIntire’s arrival in
Parsonsfield, 1817, Reverend Benjamin Rolfe (1st settled minister
for the Congregational Church) died, his widow, Mary, returned to
Massachusetts, and the parsonage was purchased by newly arrived Rufus.
Built in 1795 the house was located on Middle Road at the
intersection of Merrill Hill Road and, according to the Congregational Church
records, was “40 feet long, 30 feet wide, 2 stories high with clapboards and
shingles”. This picture was taken in
1917, then the Weeman homestead.
According to the 1856 map below, Mr. McIntire had a store nearby. The house and store no longer exist.
In 1819 he married Nancy Hannaford of Parsonsfield. At the time of the 1820 census his household
consisted of:
1
male 10-15 years of age
1
male 16-44 years of age
1
female under 10 years of age
1
female 16-25 years of age
1
female 26-44 years of age
Rufus (age 35 or 36), his wife Nancy (age 24) and their first child, Mary Rolfe McIntire (born September 1819) account for 3 of the above 5 enumerated. Who the other 2 are is unknown except that the census listed one person in the household as “Foreigner, Not Naturalized” which we would assume is the older female, perhaps domestic help.
We learn, in the History of Parsonsfield, that on April 3, 1820 the town was called “to choose a Representative to the First Legislature of Maine to convene at Portland on the last Monday of May.” Reverend John Buzzell received the most votes, but declined the honor, and a second town meeting was called on the 20th of the same month for the same purpose. The honor this time went to none other than Rufus McIntire.
In all Rufus and Nancy would have 8 children before her
death in 1830 at the age of 34:
Mary
Rolfe, born 1819
Annette,
born 1821
James
Otis, born 1822
Alonzo,
born 1822 and died 1823
Eveline,
born 1825
Malcolm,
born 1826 and died 1829
Rufus
Jr, born 1828
Malcolm, born 1829 or 30 and died in infancy
In 1832 Rufus married his late wife’s younger sister, Mary. She bore him two more children before her death in 1838 at the age of 30. They were Malcolm, born 1835, and Nancy Hannaford McIntire, born before 1838.
It is at this point in his life that Rufus McIntire would become involved in a little known conflict which resulted in the Maine we know today. In her book, State O’ Maine, by Louise Dickinson Rich she writes,
“Early in her statehood, Maine was faced with an emergency rising out of the highly ambiguous Treaty of Versailles of 1783. This was the Aroostook War. Very few histories mention this little war at all, and yet it was a real and serious matter that nearly plunged the United States and Great Britain into full-scale conflict. The bone of contention was the boundary line between what were at the time of the treaty Nova Scotia and Massachusetts, but what became New Brunswick and Maine….It was perhaps only a question of definition, but over twelve thousand square miles of the richest stands of yellow pine in the world were involved, a treasure that neither country would willingly sacrifice.”
The following account of the Aroostook War is from a CD entitled, Maine: An Encyclopedia, Research and Education Edition by Jim Henderson as part of the 150th celebration of Maine Statehood in 1970. Rufus had just recently been appointed State Land Agent in 1839 when hostilities heightened.
“The nation's only war declared
by a state and the nation's only bloodless war. It began in 1837 when New
Brunswick officials arrested a Maine state land surveyor who was conducting a
census in the northeastern regions of the state which were also claimed by New
Brunswick.
Maine citizens were outraged.
Because the federal government took no action, the Maine legislature authorized
$10,000 for the defense of the disputed territories. A military road was
authorized to aid in the movement of troops from Bangor to Houlton. Another,
later to be known as the Airline, was authorized to link Bangor with Calais,
but was never completed.
An expedition of 200 men led by
state land agent Rufus McIntire arrested several Canadians, including the New
Brunswick warden of the disputed territories, James McLaughlin. New
Brunswick officials were now upset and arrested several of the Maine volunteers
including McIntire.
In 1839 the Maine legislature,
furious over the arrest of McIntire, then appropriated $800,000 and raised a
militia of 10,000 men to defend the northern territories. Patriotism and flag
waving swept the entire state, and other states were promising support. No
longer able to ignore the dispute, Congress authorized $10 million and raised a
50,000-man militia to defend Maine's land claims.
The only fighting of this war
occurred in a Houlton barroom where both British and American troops were
drinking. When someone offered a toast to Maine's success, a brawl broke
out that resulted in several black eyes and bloody noses.
Battle was avoided when Daniel Webster negotiated a peaceful withdrawal and new boundary with Alexander Baring, Lord Ashburton. The treaty became known as the Webster-Ashburton Treaty and established Maine's current northeastern boundary in 1842. "
The four daughters of Rufus, all unmarried, remained in
the home caring for their father until his death on April 28, 1866. He is interred in the Middle Road Cemetery
along with his two wives.
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