Nathaniel Churchill was the first white permanent resident of what was later to become Washburn, Aroostook, Maine. According to "An Informal History of Washburn, Maine" by Ray H. Carter, Nathaniel built a cabin in 1824 at the mouth of Salmon Brook, a tributary of the Aroostook River. He brought his wife, Jerusha Freeman and his son Job to their new home.
Washburn &
Crouseville are near the K in Aroostook.
It is quite possible that Nathaniel thought he was settling in Canadian territory. The official boundary between the US and Canada was not settled until 1842 in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. Prior to that, the US claimed lands as far north as the St. Lawrence River and Britain lands as far south as Mars Hill, which is south of Washburn.
In Carter's book on Washburn, he claims that Nathaniel was the descendant of French Huguenots. Nothing in my research suggests this to be true. It is possible that one of his female ancestors was of Huguenot heritage. Carter also states that Nathaniel was born at Wakefield, New Brunswick. LDS information suggests however that he was born in Gagetown, Sunbury, New Brunswick in 1799.
Click here for a brief history of Washburn. Click here for more on Northern Aroostook.
The following are Nathaniel Churchill's descendants of my line in Aroostook County and elsewhere:
 | Job Mark Freeman Churchill (b. 7 Mar 1823 Andover, Victoria, NB d. 27 Mar 1899 Washburn, Me.) = Ann Crouse (b 15 Mar 1839 York County, NB d. 27 Dec 1909 Washburn) Married 18 Mar 1855..........Ann was the daughter of Gould Crouse. According to Roguer Crouse** (my 3rd cousin), they came from the Keswick Valley of New Brunswick. Roguer's email address is kinfolk.net@juno.com. Job and Ann are buried in the Crouseville cemetary near Washburn. They had quite a number of children. These were John Allen, Jesse Pitcher, Amos Job, Lucinda, Nathaniel Gould, William, Minna, Samuel Job, Abbie C., Frank E., Miles and Marshall. |
| John Allen Churchill (b 20 Feb 1857 Washburn d 20 May 1935 Washburn) = Lizzy Dyer (b ? d. 20 Apr 1890 Washburn).....John Allen was very active in civic affairs in Washburn, holding a number of posts as had his father and grandfather. John Allen and Lizzy had a number of children. These included: Lura Ann, Lewis Freeman, Henry Allen, Colby Amos. |
| Colby Amos Churchill (b 16 July 1886 Washburn d
18 July 1956 Holden, Mass. but buried at Washburn ) = Mary Ethel Burtsell or Burchell ( b Washburn d 10 Aug 1948 Caribou,
Me.) CFA lists her name as Burchell (which is how it is pronounced) yet my father's birth
certificate states Burtsell.......Colby was a potato farmer and Ethel, as she was called,
was a teacher. They had a number of children: Una Pearl (still living in Maine), Walter
Allen, Lynton, Albert Nason, Arthur Stanley, Donald Milton and Neal Layton.
|
| Arthur Stanley Churchill (b 7 Dec 1918 Washburn d. 15 May 1996 Delray Beach, Fla) = Ruby Marguerite Edwards (b 14 Sep 1924 Jacksonville, Fla Living in Delray Beach, Fla)....Married 1 Sep 1945 Miami, Fla.......My parents, they have two children Stephen Clyde and Jeffrey Allen. Arthur served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, lived on Long Island, NY from 1946 to 1981, where he was a supermarket produce and safety manager. Ruby worked for NY Telephone Co. for over 35 years before they retired to Delray Beach in late 1981. Although born in Florida, her ancestry goes back to Alabama and Georgia. For more information, see the following link: |
| Stephen Clyde Churchill (b 4 Mar 1947 Mineola, Nassau, NY) = Kathleen Orlando Flood (b 9 Feb 1952, Brooklyn, Kings, NY)...Married 1 Sep 1990 Charlotte, Mecklenburg, NC. Living in Charlotte...Children: Heather Anne Churchill (b 17 Nov 1981), Matthew Stephen Churchill (b 1 Oct 1977), Michael Joseph Flood (b 6 Feb 1976). |
| Jeffrey Allen Churchill (b 7Sep 1953 Amityville, Suffolk, NY, Living Hampden, Penobsot, Maine) |
** NOTES - Roguer Crouse has written an excellent book entitled "Crouse Family History". In it he tells the tale of Phillip Crouse, who immigrated from Zeeland, Holland in the 1760's as a child. His family settled in what is now Crouse, North Carolina. As a young man he fought on the loyalist side in the American Revolution and left for New Brunswick soon after the war. In NB he married Sarah Burt. Among their children was Gould Crouse, the father of Ann and father-in-law of Job Churchill.
An interesting irony appears in Roguer's book. It seems that the descendents of Job and Ann Churchill are indeed related to Sir Winston Churchill. What's ironic is that the relation is through our Burt ancestors, from whom Winston's mother Jenny Jerome (an American) was descended. I'm often asked if I'm related to Winston. The answer is yes, but not as one might think. According to Roguer's book, I am Winston's 8th cousin, 4 times removed. In addition, we may be related to him via a common ancestor in 16th century Muston, Dorset, England.
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