It was sometimes called the "Drowne
Claim." In 1747 he had the whole tract of land surveyed, and was
instrumental in causing forty or more families to settle in that region.
That he became blind, or nearly so, as early as 1762, is attested by a
deed of land at Broad Cove (Bristol, Maine), made in that year to Thomas
Johnston; a note in the margin of which states that it was "distinctly
read to him on account of his sight;"[9] but the signature is written in
a large, plain hand. He died January 13, 1774, aged ninety-one years. He
had a daughter, Sarah, who, in 1757, was married to Rev. Jeremiah Condy,
who, from 1739 to 1764, was pastor of the First Baptist Church, of which
church Mr. Drowne was a deacon. As a metal worker he made the
grasshopper, Indian, and other vanes; but that he ever carved a pump
head, urn, gate-post, "Admiral Vernon," or any other wooden image, there
is not a scintilla of evidence; nothing but the figment of a romancer's
brain.
The following letter to his nephew, Honorable Solomon Drowne of
Providence, Rhode Island, is here printed by the kindness of Henry T.
Drowne, Esq.
Pages:
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112