BLAZO-LEAVITT HOUSE TOURS...

Public tours of the Blazo-Leavitt House will be available October 3^rd, 5^th and 19^th through MSAD 55 Adult & Community Education.  Advance reservations are required – call 207 625-3092.

Cost: donations at the time of the tour will benefit the Parsonsfield-Porter

           Historical Society. 

Location: 515 North Road (Route 160 South in North Parsonsfield across from Pars Sem).

Tour Guide: Peter Cyr - the present owner who purchased the property in Nov. 2013 and

Is in the process of extensive restorations.  Thus, it is very much a “work in progress”.  

The Blazo-Leavitt house was built in 1812 by William Blazo, uncle to prominent Parsonsfield lawyer Robert Tibbetts Blazo. Oral tradition holds that Robert Blazo, as a young man of fifteen in 1812, and later aged twenty in 1817, had helped with the construction of his uncle’s house. Robert was bound out to William when his father, Daniel, died in an accident in1802.  Later, ownership passed to Robert and then to his two daughters and eventually to Susan (Blazo) Leavitt’s son, Robert Greenleaf Leavitt.  The property remained in the family until it was sold by Robert Leavitt’s daughter, Constance (Leavitt) Hanson in 1974.  

This large two story house has five large brick chimneys, unique doorways and interior details.  What is now the large ell was built in 1812 and the main house built in 1817.  It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Robert Tibbetts Blazo began his career as a schoolmaster, went on to become a lawyer and was an influential resident of Parsonsfield.  He conveyed the land and was instrumental in establishing Parsonsfield Seminary located across the road from this house.  (For more details check Wickipedia on the internet.)

 

People and Places of Middle Road Village- A presentation by Lyn Sudlow

 Saturday, September 20 at 1pm at History House...

Middle Road Village was once the thriving center of Parsonsfield. There, at the crossroads of Middle Road and Merrill Hill Road, stood the town meeting house and offices, a school, a library, store and post office where the mail came each day.

   There were 2 churches, a large cemetery, a couple of blacksmith shops, a tavern and an inn and more than a score of beautiful houses. Residents included successful doctors, lawyers, farmers, and merchants. Today little is left of what existed back in the 1800's. Lyn Sudlow, who has been researching the history of Middle Road Village, will take us with her on a virtual journey into the past as we explore the changes over the years.  Please join us for this informative talk.

Have you purchased your quilt raffle tickets yet?

Snapshots from the Old Porter Meeting House Labor Day Open House...

Photographs by Lynda Sudlow

Open House this Sunday at the Porter Old Meeting House....

Come enjoy an afternoon of music

at the

OLD PORTER MEETING HOUSE

Sunday, Aug. 31, 2013     1 – 3 pm

Pianist Frank Baxter will be playing a variety of music on the Meeting House organ accompanied by vocalist Kathleen Ford.

-------------------

This is also an opportunity to tour this local gem and learn about its history

Rain or Shine!

Located on Old Meeting House Road, Porter, ME

Directions: from Kezar Falls Village: take Rt. 25 West to Colcord Pond Rd., then right on Old Meeting House Rd. From Porter Village: take First County Rd., bear left at Colcord Pond Rd. then right on Old Meeting House Rd.

FMI call– 625 7019

Sponsored by

Parsonsfield-Porter Historical Society

(Sorry, no “facilities” available)

Open House at the Parsonsfield Old Town House

  

Old cemeteries can be found along many of our roads in this part of Maine. Parsonsfield, for instance, has nearly 200 of them. Some are the final resting places of the original settlers of the area.

   This past Saturday, the Old Parsonsfield Town House was open to the public and many people took advantage of the rare opportunity to see the inside of the building that once was the center of community life in this town and to find out more about the adjacent Town House Cemetery.

    The open house, sponsored by the Parsonsfield Porter Historical Society, featured an array of exhibits focusing on the once bustling Middle Road Village and who used to live there.  

     Special guest speaker, Jessica Davis (formerly Jessica Felix), spoke about old New England cemeteries and gravestones and how to best preserve them. Her talk was filled with fascinating historical details about burials and how stones and their design changed over time. Even more interesting, she led a walk through the Town House Cemetery and demonstrated the proper method of cleaning stones and a simple (and non-damaging) method for setting a tilted or downed stone upright.  Everyone paid rapt attention. 

     If anyone would like a copy of Jessica’s handout on cemetery restoration and the do’s and don’ts of caring for the stones,, please contact Lyn Sudlow (Lynda.sudlow@gmail.com) with “Gravestones” in the subject line.

            The next meeting of the Parsonsfield Porter Historical Society will take place at the Porter Old Meeting House on (appropriately enough) the Old Meetinghouse Road in Porter.  To find out more about another gem of an historic meetinghouse, come to the open house on Sunday, August 31 between 1 and 3pm.  This building is on the National Register of Historic Places (as is the Parsonsfield Old Meeting House) and well worth a visit. Besides the opportunity to tour the building, pianist Frank Baxter will be playing the Meeting House organ accompanied by vocalist Kathleen Ford.  To find out more, visit the historical society’s blog: localhistorymatters.blogspot.com/ or call Jan @ 625-7019.

Special Event at the Parsonsfield Town House - Middle Road Village

Curious about Parsonsfield’s Old Town House or the Union Church?  Do you know who is buried in the Old Town House cemetery?  Want to know more about Middle Road Village in days past?  How can we preserve what remains?

Come to our

Open House!

Saturday,

 August 16

 from 1 to 3 pm

Old Town House

Merrill Hill Road

Parsonsfield

            Both the old Town House and the Union Church across the road will be open.  The Town House will feature displays and information about Middle Road Village, its buildings and its people. You can get a peak at renovations to the interior of the Union Church.

Special guest speaker: Jessica Felix

(You can check out the website, Save a Grave, for more information.)

            Parsonsfield has nearly 200 cemeteries; many are small family plots hidden along back roads and in the woods. Gravestone specialist Jessica Felix, will talk about the do’s and don’ts of gravestone care and cleaning and lead a walk through the Town House Cemetery beginning around 1:30 at the Town House.

            If you care about the past, if you have photos or more information about Parsonsfield’s buildings or people in days past, we’d love to talk with you. If you have ideas for how we can preserve and utilize these buildings, please come share.

FMI: Lyn Sudlow: lynda.sudlow@gmail.com or 625-8189.

Sponsored by the Parsonsfield-Porter Historical Society

An excellent talk at the History House....

   Despite the beautiful weather and lots of other local activities, the talk on getting started on your family history by Brian Bouchard of the Maine Genealogical Society was very well attended.

   Brian gave us a basic introduction to how to "climb your family tree".  He stressed the importance of talking to living members of your family before anything else.  As he said, "Your ancestors can wait, those living may not be with you for long...get their stories."

   Here are five questions you can use to start the conversation with a family member:

1. "What are your earliest memories?"
2. "Tell me some of your favorite family stories."
3. "What was the happiest time of your life?"
4. "Which person in your family had the most influence in your life?"
5. "What have you done that gave you the most satisfaction?"

   The most important thing to remember when interviewing people is to keep the questions open-ended and focus on the positive.  You can always ask more specific questions once the stories start, like "What year did that happen?", "Do you remember where you were when that happened?"/

   Brian also emphasized the need to not rely solely on internet searches but to visit local historical societies (hint, hint!) and most importantly, talk to people.  You can visit the Maine Genealogical Societies website, Maine Roots, for more information.

Word for the day:  AHMENTAFEL - a German word for an ancestor chart, something you can make after a bit of research.