5 Comments
Feb 29Liked by Michael Magoon

Extremely enlightening, well argued and convincing.

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Nov 20Liked by Michael Magoon

Thank you for the interesting survey.

My father's ancestors were part of that first group, they came in 1634 ,settled along the Maine/New Hampshire border not far from Portsmouth and specialized in lumber.

They later brought their skills down to the Carolinas where there is a town named after them but apparently they didn't like the South as much.

We don't know what religion they were but there is some evidence they were Catholic.

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Nov 20·edited Nov 20Author

Interesting. The Puritan did not take kindly to non-Puritans!

This is somewhat similar to my ancestor.

I believe his name was Henry Magouin (or something like that). He fought for the King, but was captured in battle at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 in the English Civil war.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Worcester

He was supposedly given a choice of living on a prison ship (certain death) or becoming an indentured servant in New England. He ended up in New Hampshire, which was really wild back then. Though he was likely Presbyterian, Anglican or Catholic, he married within the Puritans. Based on what I could tell from Ancestry.com, all the other ancestors from that branch of the family were Puritan New Englanders. There are a few towns and landmarks in northern New England and southern Ontario that have the name "Magoon," so they are likely named after my ancestors.

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Nov 20Liked by Michael Magoon

Fantastically interesting article. interested in the West Country Settlers in Maine. Were they Religious or not?. Did they fall in with the Puritan commercial ways?.

I think a few Quaker settlements up that way.

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Nov 20·edited Nov 20Author

I am not familiar with the West Country Settlers in Maine. I have never heard the term.

I am guessing, but most likely, they were Puritans who moved north in search of virgin soil to farm. I believe Maine was part of Massachusetts at the time. The Puritans grew rapidly so almost all settlement in the area was by them. Then they migrated to the Upper Midwest and eventually to West Coast.

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