Garrisons, Block-Houses, and Forts in the Saco Valley

Saco Fort in 1699

During the Indian wars various kinds of fortifications were built by the settlers along the Saco river. Some of these were put up by individuals for the better protection of their own families, and others were built by authority of the Provincial Government and paid for from appropriations voted “for the defense of the frontier.” When the Indians threatened the settlement along the coast the people importuned the Great and General Court for funds to erect forts and blockhouses. These were to be built of stockades, or square timber, in such places as would best accommodate the inhabitants in each … Read more

Bean and Bane Family Genealogy of Saco Valley Maine

Gen. Daniel Bean and Wife

Tradition makes the ancestor of this family who first came to our shores a native of the Isle of Jersey, but I doubt the truth of the statement. I have not found the name, or one resembling it, in any record or book relating to Jersey. The surname Bain, and Bane, are derived from the Gaelic word bane which signified white or fair complexion, as Donald Bane, who usurped the Scottish throne after the death of his brother, Malcolm Canmore. An ancient branch of the family in Fifeshire, Scotland, have spelled the surname Bayne. The Highland MacBanes were a branch … Read more