James Marvel Wilder (1806-1864)
Marian and Agnes Wilder were the daughters of
James Lewellyn Wilder, the son of
Francis L. Wilder, the son of
James Marvel Wilder the son of
Abel Wilder, the son of
Moses Wilder, the son of
Oliver Wilder, the son of
Nathaniel Wilder, the son of
Thomas Wilder
James Marvel Wilder (1806 – 1864) (great grandfather)
James Marvel Wilder was born in 1806, probably in Temple, Franklin County, Maine. This corresponds to some records and to the memory of Eastman Wilder of the Norridgewock Historical Society in 2006. He wrote:
“ …I recall a Thompson Road on the west side of Norridgewock, and in that general area lived a Henry Wilder... but perhaps not at the same time as the Thompsons. Henry was related to a James Wilder as I recall.... James was in either Madison or Anson, Maine. Their Wilder branch was from Temple, Maine, distant cousins of my Norridgewock Wilders from Vermont.”
James was the son of Abel Wilder, originally from Lancaster, Massachusetts, and Grace Hosmer, believed to have been originally from Concord, Massachusetts. In the Book of Wilders, which is considered to be the authoritative text on this family, James M. Wilder is listed as a son of Abel and Grace Wilder. An online transcript of the Temple ME vital records shows a James M. Wilder born in 1806. This birth date (1806) also corresponds with an obituary that has been handed down to us in his son Francis’s Bible.
On US Census records, James M. Wilder of Fairfield ME, and earlier of North Anson ME, lists himself as having been born in Maine, and his parents both from Massachusetts. This would jibe with the connection to Abel and Grace Hosmer Wilder.
From existing tax assessments, it seems that James was raised on a farm of about 80 acres, with home and outbuildings, at least that was the assessment in 1815, when he would have been about nine years old. An uncle, Elias Wilder, was also a farmer in Temple, a village of very few families. As well, Daniel Hosmer, the probable father or brother of James’s mother Grace, is shown as living on a farm by the year 1815. Prior to this, he had lived in Lincoln, MA, adjacent to Concord, MA. This Daniel Hosmer was a survivor of the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.
The first record of James is from about 1828, when he married Hadassah Thompson in Norridgewock or perhaps Anson. The following year, his brother, Henry, is recorded as marrying a Sabrina Baston of Norridgewock. James, being about 22, and Henry, about 24 may have come to Norridgewock together or soon one after the other. Why Norridgewock is unknown, but at the time it was either still, or had recently been a county seat, so perhaps it was for work. The connection to Sabrina Baston is important in the research of this part of our family, because the family of Grace Hosmer was only discovered through a daughter or granddaughter of Henry and Sabrina Wilder, who submitted a genealogy to the DAR in 1907, which outlined the line from herself to Grace, the wife of Abel, and then on to Daniel Hosmer, of Lincoln. With the fact that Daniel Hosmer ( or his son, also known as Daniel Hosmer) moved to Temple, and the fact that Henry and James are both in Norridgewock as young men, more credibility seems cemented onto this part of the family story.
According to US Census records, James was a chair maker, having this as his listed occupation in the census of 1840 and 1850. It would be interesting to know if he was acquainted with Silas Wood, Hadassah Thompson’s grandfather, who was an accomplished cabinetmaker. Silas, in turn, may have learned some or all of his trade from Joseph Hosmer of Concord, an uncle, whose work is to this day highly prized for its artistry and workmanship. As James’s son Francis is listed as an heir to Silas’s wife’s estate in 1849 or so, it would seem that there was a good chance that James knew Silas in his old age.
On June 10 1848, James was appointed Justice of the Peace for Norridgewock, ME. He was listed as still holding this position until at least 1852, according to that year’s Maine Register and Reference book. The census of 1850 listed him as a chairmaker, and 1860 have him listed as a businessman, whether this was furniture making or another endeavor is unknown. According to census records, James acquired a better than average estate in relation to the majority of his community brethren.
It appears that James lived his entire adult life in the general area of Norridgewock. He is shown as living in the adjacent communities North Anson and Fairfield. He may have lived in Madison, ME as well (adjacent to Norridgewock ). James’s older brother (by two years), Henry Wilder, apparently lived in Norridgewock as well, running either an inn or a tavern there for many years. This was according to John Eastman Wilder of Norridgewock Historical Society ( a very distant relative). Henry’s home still stands (2007). According to Lucille Greer of the Norridgewock Historical Society, the business sign for Henry Wilder’s establishment was still stored in the home for many years. On December 30, 1828, James married Hadassah Thompson, daughter of Dr. Asaph Thompson and Mary “Polly” Wood. Hadassah died in 1832. There is a local record of an outbreak of Asiatic Cholera having broken out in this area this year. It isn’t known if Hadassah may have succumbed to this. According to Eastman Wilder , Hadassah was discovered buried next to James in the cemetery at North Anson, Maine in the year 2007, as was his second wife Rebecca Wait. By Rebecca, James had a daughter, named Lomirea or Lamira. She was born in 1839, and is known to be buried in North Anson, ME, according to Barbara Gunvaldsen of the Fairfield Historical Society. James’s wife Rebecca died in 1854 (from memory). James married a third time, a woman by the last name of Rowell or Rowland. She was apparently a widow, for in the 1860 census, there were at least two Rowland children living in James’s home.
James M. Wilder may have been in a business partnership in 1857 in Fairfield ME in a country store known as “Nye & Wilder”, according to Fairfield Historical Society, it is “quite likely” that the Wilder was James M. Wilder.
James was a member of Siloam Lodge in Kendall’s Mills, a charter member from the year 1857, when he was listed as a merchant. In December of 1858, he was listed as the treasurer of this lodge. It appears, according to the Fairfield Historical Society, that he continued involvement with this lodge until sometime around his death in 1864 or ’65.
In 1860, records for Fairfield ME show “J.M. Wilder, Dealer in Dry Goods, Groceries and Produce”.
In “A Business Directory of the Subscribers to the New Map of Maine …” (page 120), printed in 1862, “JM Wilder, Dry Goods, Groo., Corn, Flour, Boots, Shoes, &c., (Ken. Mills).
James died in 1864 at Kendall’s Mills, part of modern day Fairfield, ME.
According to Emily Quint, historian for the Anson ME Historical Society, James is buried at the North Anson, ME Sunset Cemetary, by his wife Hadassah Thompson Wilder and his second wife, Rebecca Wait Wilder. Ms.Quint wrote that there is a Masonic Lodge symbol on his gravestone. The date of his death is recorded on the stone as “9 Mar. 1865 ae 58”. We now have a photo of his grave marker.
The cause of death is unknown.
James’s religious affiliation is unknown.
A link to an image of the headstone of James Marvel Wilder, the father of Francis L. Wilder and the grandfather of James Lewellyn Wilder. Note the Mason's symbol on the stone.
Headstone of James Marvel Wilder, Sunset Cemetery, North Anson, Maine
A link to an image of the headstone of Hadassah Thompson Wilder, the first wife of James Marvel Wilder, the mother of Francis L. Wilder and the grandmother of James Lewellyn Wilder. Hadassah was the daughter of Dr. Asaph Thompson and Mary "Polly" Wood Thompson, and the granddaughter of Silas Wood and Sybil Smith Wood of Norridgewock, Maine.