MAINE STATE PRISONERS 1824 - 1915, from Picton Press c2001

The following nine LEAVITT (some were spelled Leavett) names are found in the book, on pages 130-131. Three of the entries belong to the same individual, though the compiler made separate lines for each (due to varying information between them). 

​Charles Leavitt, age 19, Birthplace: Lowell; York County; burglary; committed: 10 July 1867; sentence: 2 1/2 years 

Unclear who this Charles may be - or if the birth place of Lowell is in Massachusetts (no Charles here in 1850, or in birth VR)  or the Penobscot County, ME one (there was no Leavitt family here in 1850 census). 

​Eliphalet Leavitt, age 31; b. New Hampshire; Penobscot County; larceny; committed: 26 Oct 1843 for 5 years

Found in the Desc. of Nehemiah Leavitt v6, pg 21, he was the son of Edward and Hannah (Sias) Leavitt, and was born in Wolfeboro, NH between 1812 and 1816. He was a veteran of the Aroostook War (1839), serving two months on the northern Maine border. On 2 Sept 1841, he was arrested for larceny in Bangor [Bangor Daily Whig, 3 Sept 1841]. In March of 1843, there were reports of two men passing "bad money" in Bangor, and Eliphalet, "a familiar jail bird", was soon arrested and the Police Court sentenced him to 30 days imprisonment and a $10 fine [Bangor Daily Whig, 14 Mar 1843]. In Oct 1843, he was charged with one count of larceny and, being a third comer to court, would receive five years in the state prison.

After his release, he went to live with his brother, John L., in Carmel for a time, there in 1850 census. When the Civil War broke out, Eliphalet signed up with the 12th Maine Infantry, on 16 Nov 1861, at age 44. He did not survive, dying from chronic diarrhea in New Orleans on 12 Nov 1862. He was originally buried in Cypress Grove Cem No 2, and was later reinterred in Monument Cemetery, New Orleans.

​George H Leavitt, age 25; b. Manchester, NH; Cumberland County; passing counterfeit money; committed: 30 Dec 1863, for 1 year

According to the Supreme Judicial Court records [Vol. 4, pg 27-9], George H. Leavitt, otherwise called Harry Lane, of Windham, Maine, used a $5 counterfeit bank bill in Windham. He pled guilty of the charge, and received a year of hard labor in Thomaston. 

He may have been the George H "Lavett" in Naugatuck, CT, for the 1860 census, age 21, a carriage painter, b. NH. He also could have been the man of same name who, on 1 Jan 1861, enlisted into the US Army at Boston for five years (at age 23, born Manchester, NH, a painter), but deserted from Fort Delaware on 27 Mar 1861.

It is not known exactly who this George H. was, or what became of him after his release from prison.

​George R Leavitt, age 35; prisoner #4574; b. Maine; Penobscot County; compound larceny; committed 24 Feb 1914 for "not less than 3 yrs, and not more than 5 yrs"

​Harris Leavitt (no age or birth); prisoner #4506; Hancock County; assault with intent to kill and murder; committed 18 Apr 1913 for 2 yrs; transferred to insane hospital on 2 May 1913.

Harris, in jail on a charge of larceny, made his case much worse when he assaulted the deputy-sheriff in an attempt to escape. He was then sent to the East Maine Insane Hospital in Bangor for evaluation. While there, he and several other patients were allowed in the basement for a smoke and recreation. Harris and another man took this opportunity to make their escape, breaking out a window and running off into the woods. They voluntarily returned the following day, hungry and footsore [Ellsworth American, 26 Mar 1913].  

Following his two-year sentence, he was transferred to the State Hospital in Augusta, where he remained a patient the rest of his life. He died there on 31 Mar 1942. He had been born in Calais, Maine, on 25 July 1895, the son of George and Hattie E. (Lydick) Leavitt [his father listed in Desc. of Israel Leavitt v2, pg 70].

John Leavitt, age 26; b. Hallowell; Cumberland County; larceny; committed for 5 yrs on 22 Jan 1870

In the Portland Daily Press, on 15 Jan 1870 (pg 3), the January Term of the Cumberland County Superior Court listed the following case:

Looking into the case in the Superior Court Criminal Records [Vol. 1, pg 434], it gives the name of the defendant as "Edwin Clark, otherwise called John Leavitt, of Westbrook". On 12 Dec 1869, Edwin/John stole a gold watch, chain, US Treasury Notes, etc from the dwelling house of Jacob Shattuck. 

The 1870 census for Thomaston shows "Edwin Clarke", age 26, in the State Prison. There was a John Leavitt in Hallowell during the 1850 census, age 8, listed as born in Nova Scotia to Irish parents William and Hannah Leavitt. The family's whereabouts after this date is not known.

John Leavitt (no age, birth, or county); assault and battery on jailor; sentenced 20 Dec 1879 for 5 yrs; discharged on 6 Aug 1883, served 3 yrs, 7 mos, 16 das; pardoned by Gov. Robie 
John Leavitt, 19; prisoner #2455; b. Ripley; Somerset County; assault and battery of jailor; committed 9 Jan 1880 for 5 yrs
John Leavitt, a. 28; prisoner #2455; b. Ripley; Somerset County; assault and battery on jailor

John L. Leavitt, the son of Jonathan Jones Leavitt [Desc. of Nehemiah Leavitt v6, pg 67], was born in Ripley, Maine on 24 May 1860. In the 1870 census, he was with his parents in Ripley, age 9. In 1880, he was in Thomaston (state prison). He was pardoned by the governor and released on 6 Aug 1883, only to die 16 days later, in Gardiner on 22 Aug, aged 23 yrs. 

From the 1892 map of Meredith, New Hampshire, published by D. H. Hurd & Co. of Boston, MA. Full map available on the David Rumsey Map Collection website. 

1. "A. E. Leavitt"
Arthur Eastman Leavitt (1831-1911), grandson of Dudley Leavitt (1772-1851), who lived on the former property of the almanac maker. - Desc. of Moses Leavitt v1 pg 97/120
2. "R. Veazey"
Home of Rufus L. Veasey. He purchased this property from Arthur E. Leavitt on 29 Aug 1866, two months after Arthur acquired the land from the heirs of John D. Leavitt. John was the son of Nehemiah Jr (1787-1850), and grandson of Nehemiah Sr (abt 1752-1829). Arthur and John were 5th cousins.

3. "Mrs. Leavitt"
Olive (Bartlett) Leavitt was the widow of Daniel (1817-1858), son of Nehemiah Jr (1787-1850). Of her five children, only Nancy survived to adulthood. Olive was living in Laconia by 1895, presumably with her daughter, but still held on to her village property. - Descendants of Nehemiah Leavitt v6, pg 55

4. "Mrs. A. Leavitt"
​Currently unknown who this person was. In 1880 and 1900 Meredith censuses, there are no women with an "A" first name. If she was using her husband's name, there is only a match with Arthur, and his wife Elizabeth was with him in both censuses. It has yet to be researched if an "A' named Leavitt owned property here, but hadn't lived in town. A "D. Philbrick" is on this spot in the 1860 Meredith map.

5. "G. Leavitt"
George Smith Leavitt (1840-1905), son of Joseph and Julia A (Smith) Leavitt. He moved to New Hampton after 1892, and died in Laconia. He was buried in New Hampton. [Desc. of Nehemiah v6, pg 69]
6. "W. Leavitt"
Warren B. Leavitt (1834-1909), the son of Bradstreet [Desc. of Nehemiah v6, pg 52]. Warren is buried in Oakland Cem, Meredith Center, though father and grandfather Samuel are both found in the family plot on this farm.
7. "T. Leavitt"
Thomas L. Leavitt (1828-1902), son of John and Sarah (Edgerly) Leavitt. He and sister Mary (both single) had moved to Gilford, later to Lakeport (Laconia), but still had the old homestead in Meredith. Their parents are buried there, off of Leavitt Mountain Road. - Nehemiah line
8. "Miss N. J. Leavitt"
Nancy Jane Leavitt, daughter of Thomas and Sarah Jane (Randlett) Leavitt, never married, and lived with her parents. Being the only heir when they passed in the 1880's, she inherited the farm. [Desc. of Nehemiah v6, pg 83]

In an earlier blog, I wrote about the family of Stephen and Mehitable (Eaton) Leavitt of Gilford. In their family record [Desc. of Samuel Leavitt, pg 98], it was determined (through Stephen's probate file) that the Samuel Leavitt who married Nancy Gilman was far too old to be the correct son of this couple, and had been erroneously placed in this family. It was found that Samuel T. Leavitt, of Gilford and Meredith (currently in the Desc. of Nehemiah book), would instead be the correct son of Stephen Leavitt.

Where, then, did this now unattached Samuel belong?
First of all, a correction must be made with the birth and death dates given him in the Samuel genealogy (1784-1866). It seems his death in 1860, at age 82, was misread in the Gilford, NH VR as 1866, and so entered into the Samuel book with a birth year calculated from the wrong death date. A new birth date of 21 Jan 1778 is now the more accurate one, based on the full age from his obit (see below).

So, who was the father of this Samuel?
The answer lies in a certain land conveyance, found in Strafford County Deeds: Vol. 136, pg 300. It read, in part:
   I, Jonathan Leavitt of Gilford, County of Strafford, State of NH, Gent, for in consideration of the sum of $500. paid by my son Samuel Leavitt of same Gilford, Gent.
In this deed, dated 23 July 1814, Jonathan sold 20 acres of his homestead farm in Lot 18, 15th Range, in Gilford, and also part of his land in Lot 1, 16th Range. On this same day, he would also sell portions of his land holdings to sons Jonathan Jr and Miles Leavitt. Both of them would receive a portion of this lot in the 16th Range.

​Previously, on 1 Sep 1813 [Strafford County Deed Vol. 81, pg 521], Jonathan had sold Samuel 1 1/2 acres in Gilford, where he now lived, but no lot number was listed, nor any relationship between the two given.

This Jonathan Leavitt was the son of Miles and Lydia Leavitt [Desc. of Samuel Leavitt, pg 89-90], and was a brother of Stephen Leavitt. Jonathan had purchased these lots back in 1808, the same day he (and wife Abigail) sold off his other land holdings in town, including property his mother had left him and his brother.

Samuel and his siblings
On January 1st, 1828, Jonathan (Jr) sold his shares of these lots to (brother) Samuel [Strafford Deeds, Vol. 134 pg 568]. In turn, Samuel would sell 50 acres of it to son Taylor [Belknap Deeds, Vol. 15, pg 14]. 

​The 1840 census for Gilford (names listed in geographical, not alphabetical order) shows the neighborhood of these two lots, all four of the names belonging to the family of Jonathan: Martha, widow of Miles (Jonathan's son), Mary, his unmarried dau, living on her father's homestead with sister Hannah; Samuel, son of Jonathan, and Taylor, Samuel's son.

The census for Gilford, NH in 1850 again records the families together:
113/129 Samuel, 72, and Nancy, 72   value $1300
114/130 Martha Leavitt, 49, w/ family   (no estate value)
115/131   (town farm)
​116/132 Taylor Leavitt, 43, and his family  val $100.
     /133 Polly Leavitt, 70 and Hannah Welch, 66  (no value)

The death of Samuel
Samuel Leavitt, Esq. died on 7 March 1860, aged 82 yrs, 1 mo, 15 das, according to Concord's Independent Democrat published on the 15th. His obituary reads: 

The U.S. Mortality Schedule for Gilford (pg 2) listed typhoid fever as cause of death, with 6 days duration. There was no burial place given, nor has a gravestone yet been found for him or Nancy (who died in 1870). They may be in McCoy Cemetery, in the plot with their son Jonathan.

Samuel had written a will on 5 Jan 1857 [Belknap County Probate, Vol. 8, pg 390], which was presented to the court on the 3rd Tues. in Mar. 1860. Son Gilman received $300, wife Nancy would get 1/4 of all crops raised on the farm, with privilege of house and barn, while Taylor, named the executor, received the real estate. On 10 Nov 1865, Taylor (and wife Lydia) would sell his rights [Belknap County deed, Vol. 42, pg 565] to both Lot 18, 15 R and Lot 1, 16 R in Gilford to his son John R. 

On 19 Dec 1860, Jonathan (Jr) sold all of his right to Lot 18, 15 Range to Taylor Leavitt [Belknap County Deed, Vol. 35, pg 31]. Two days earlier, in deed Vol. 35, pg 19, Polly Leavitt and Hannah Welch also sold their share of the same lot to Taylor. The heirs of Miles and Martha Leavitt, on 16 Dec 1861 [Belknap Deed Vol. 36, pg 390], would also sell off their part in Lot 18 to Taylor.  

The other Samuel Leavitt
With sorting these Samuels into the correct families, the move of Samuel Leavitt, Esq., to a different set of parents within the same genealogy book was a minor change. With Samuel T. Leavitt, however, it involves moving a whole family (with over 50 descendants currently in our Nehemiah database) into an entirely different book. With that, we now turn to Nehemiah and Sally (Philbrick), who we formerly had listed as his parents. Did they have a son named Samuel? Yes, they did. He didn't make it into any of the original NALF books, though, but was mentioned in the JPL writings that Emily had used to form this family in the Nehemiah genealogy. In "Notebook 6", pg 39, info was transcribed from a letter written by George A. Leavitt of Suncook, NH to JPL on 10 May 1878. It stated that (George's uncle) "Samuel lived in Cabot, VT". Back in 2018, NALF Secretary Anne Wilson, while travelling in Vermont, came across the Cabot Plains Cemetery. In it, was this stone:

Above is a clipping of the town of Meredith, from a Belknap County, N.H. map, drawn by E.M. Woodford, and published by Smith & Peavey in 1859 and 1860 (the full map can be found on the Library of Congress website). There were seven Leavitt households found on it - these families can be identified by comparing their names with the census of 1860. PART II will focus on the eastern side of town [Part I here]:

5. "S. Leavitt" - Samuel Leavitt (1800-1869) lived in Meredith Village, on High street. While both the 1850 and 1860 censuses show him as a carpenter, the Desc. of Nehemiah book (pg 78) called him a Free Will Baptist minister.

Not marked on the map, but seen as owning land in the 1860 census, is George A. Leavitt. He was the son of Emerson Leavitt [Desc. of Nehemiah, pg 32/33], and lived on Water Street. On the above map, the home of "Mrs. S. Fogg" is highlighted. She is Susannah G. Fogg, who George and his family were living with at the time.

6. "I. & A. E. Leavitt" - Isaac Leavitt (1798-1881), son of the well-known Dudley Leavitt, and his son Arthur E. (1831-1911), lived on Lot 45 in the 3rd Division, land purchased by Dudley after moving to Meredith from Gilmanton [Strafford County Deeds, 66-222; 97-162]. They are from the "Moses line", found in the Desc. of Moses Leavitt genealogy, on pg 97/120.

7. "J. D. Leavitt" - John D. Leavitt (1827-1866) was the son of Nehemiah [Desc. of Nehemiah Leavitt, pg 41. The 1860 census shows him being in the household of Ebenezer Sturtevant, though John was the owner of the land. 

Having been severely injured in the town hall collapse back in 1855, John led a pain filled life, until his death in 1866. His land, formerly that of his father, was sold by his heirs [Belknap Deeds, 44-155] to their (distant) cousin next door, Arthur E Leavitt (see #6). The 150 acres included Lot 48, which bordered on Lake Winnipesaukee. 

Below shows the 1770 map of Meredith, showing where lots 45 and 46 were in the Third Division, northeast of "Little Pond". A map from the 1980's has the Dudley Leavitt cemetery marked out, just north of the pond.

Another person not found on the 1860 map is Dorothy J. Leavitt, widow of Samuel T. Leavitt [Desc. of Nehemiah, pg 44]. At the time of the enumeration, she was living in the household of Daniel Hilton and his family. He lived on Main Street, opposite Cross St., on the 1860 Village map [see Library of Congress map].

Above is a clipping of the town of Meredith, from a Belknap County, N.H. map, drawn by E.M. Woodford, and published by Smith & Peavey in 1859 and 1860 (the full map can be found on the Library of Congress website). There were seven Leavitt households found on it - these families can be identified by comparing their names with the census of 1860. PART I will focus on the western side of town:

1. "B. Leavitt" - This is Bradstreet Leavitt, son of Samuel [Desc. of Nehemiah, pg 52].
​Also written as "Broadstreet" in early papers, he purchased half of his father's holdings in Lot 16, 2nd Div., in 1837, including land in Lot 16, 4th Div., which bordered it [Strafford Deeds, v. 180, pg 459]. He purchased another 39 acres from adjoining lot 60 in 1839, from David G. Smith [Straff Deeds, v. 180, pg 435]. He died in 1883, and was buried in the family cemetery on the property, along with his wife, parents, et al [See LEAVITT Cem on Find a Grave]. 

2. "T. Leavitt" - Thomas Leavitt (1794-1880)
A descendant of Nehemiah [Vol. VI, pg 83], he lived on the north side of "Saddle Hill", which would be renamed Leavitt Mountain. He owned land in Lot 63, 2nd Division. He first purchased 1/2 of the 120 acre lot from his father John in 1817 [Straff. Deeds v.116, pg 435], and another 30 in 1828 [v.151, pg 462]. His brother Ebenezer had property in Lots 60 and 61, which their father had sold him in 1832.

He is buried, along with his wife Jane (Randlett) and their three unmarried children, on the old homestead. Daughter Nancy J. was the last to live on the property, her will, dated 1888 (proved in 1902), left 100 acres (in two lots) to Warren L. Glidden, provided he live on the farm and "take care of the farm in a husband like manner" and care for her "in sickness and health" [Belknap County Probate, Vol. 26, pg 512]. His parents, John and Sally (Ward) Leavitt, are buried nearby in the Sanborn Cem. (Asahel Sanborn purchased the westerly end of the "burying yard" from Ebenezer K. Leavitt in 1851).

3. "T.L. Leavitt" - on the south side of "Saddle Hill" was Thomas L. Leavitt (1828-1902) another member of the Nehemiah line [Vol. VI, pg 65], the son of John and Sarah (Edgerly). His father had purchased Lot 42, 2nd Div., in 1818 [Straff. Deeds, v. 6, pg 228], later selling it to Thomas' eldest brother Levi in 1844. Levi would, in turn, "sell" it back to his parents in 1852, for use during their natural lives. Following their father's death in 1855, Levi sold the lot to Thomas [Belknap Deeds, v. 27 pg 525].  

​Thomas and his sister, Mary J., didn't marry, and shared the household. Sarah, his widowed mother, was with them in the 1860 census. The siblings are both buried in Laconia's Union Cemetery [see our cemetery page for Laconia], sharing a plot with their Uncle Ebenezer K. Leavitt. 

4. "J. Leavitt" - Likely the home of Joseph Leavitt (1807-1858)
Though deceased at the time of the 1860 census, his widow Julia was still living there with two children. Her father, Levi Smith, had sold the property to her husband in 1841 [Belknap Deeds v.2, pg 41], which was all he then owned in town. The deed included the stipulation that Joseph and Julia cared for her parents and let them stay in the household, along with their other children.

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Found in the 1860 census living in Meredith, but NOT marked on the 1859/60 map of Meredith, was the family of Jeremiah W. Leavitt. He spent most of his life in New Hampton, but had apparently briefly crossed over the border just in time for the census. Looking at his household, there is a "Ruth Ranlet", aged 55, listed with him. 

​On the 1859/60 map, marked just north of the J. Leavitt homestead (see #4 above), is a "Mrs. R. Randlett". The order of enumeration would place him in this vicinity. The home probably belonged to Ruth, as other censuses find her around this location, so the estate value should have been listed beside her and not Jeremiah. 
Jeremiah Leavitt is found in the Desc. of Nehemiah VI book, on pg 35/63.    

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MEREDITH, NEW HAMPSHIRE in 1860 - continued in PART II