e-mail from Val Lovelace 4/11/14Exerpt from Wiscasset in Pownalborough, A History of the Shire Town and the Salient Historical Features of the Territory between the Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers, (page 25 - 26) by Fannie S. Chase.
The Widow Ellis Jewett (Alice Cothran), a famous giantess about whom innumerable stories still survive, along with the traditions of her prowess, seemed to be indigenous to Squam Island, where she was "Aunt Nellie" to all of the neighbors. Her actual birthplace is not known, but she died on the island, October 13, 1828, aged sixty-three years. She was the wife of James Jewett, who was born at Rowley, Massachusetts, September 14, 1739, and her senior by twenty-six years. James Jewett of Gloucester bought land on Jeremy Squam [now Westport], which was lot No.8 where Mayhew lived, from Nathaniel Mayhew, December 24,1767. When, in 1815, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts settled the land disputes "the Widow Ellis Jewett" was given title to lot No. 17 of Squam Island.
She was over six feet in height and of immense weight and rotundity.
She was said to be amphibious for, besides being able to swim like a fish, she could handle a coble or a wherry-with sailor with paddle-with masculine skill; she could catch a cod in the water or cook it on the land with equal facility; but it was her physical strength which made her famous. She could raise a barrel of cider to her mouth, and then refresh herself, as she held it poised upon her knees, by a draught from the bung-hole.
Jewett's Cove, the snug little harbor where she lived, took its name from the Jewett family, of which she became the greatest member of the clan. Her house where she kept a seamen's inn, though of but one story, was of great length. The large kitchen, with its huge fire-place containing crane and pot hooks, its brick oven built after the ancient fashion of massive masonry, was the rendezvous alike for the weather-beaten wayfarer and the storm-bound mariner. The other rooms built around it were small and not unlike the cosy cabins of a ship. Her wide dressers were adorned "with trencher treen and pewter bright," snow-white plates, pewter platters, kettles, cups, and utensils, all of which were scrupulously clean and in perfect order.
This cheerful hostelry, without a sign and without a bar, was amply
provisioned for a storm as became a country tavern on an island where few cattle grazed and no shambles could be found for miles. At the Widow Jewett's there was pork in the barrel and potatoes in the bin, a hogshead of molasses, a puncheon of Jamaica rum and a locker of choice liquors. Even though the coffee was an unpalatable decoction of a West India berry with beans and rye, scorched-not roasted, and sweetened with molasses, the steaming hot draught revived many a wave-soaked sailor who sought refuge within the hospitable house of "Aunt Nellie."
To the weather-bound mariner, when the cove was filled with by-landers
and bankers, this spot was the sailor's joy and a refuge as long as he
conducted himself with propriety, for none ever dared either by look or word to treat the Widow Jewett with aught save respect, behavior which she commanded both by her own deportment and her pugilistic powers. She was known to have knocked down a husky aggressor with one blow from her megasthenic fist when he failed to treat her with due deference.
She was in all things generous, a worthy benevolent woman noted for her philanthropy. She kept herb tea always brewing on the stove and possessed a disposition as cheerful as the sunshine which gladdened her fields and flowers. Many a wanderer on the sea as well as her island neighbors felt a deep pang of personal loss when it was learned that her kindly voice was forever silent.
The Widow Ellis Jewett (Alice Cothran), a famous giantess about whom innumerable stories still survive, along with the traditions of her prowess, seemed to be indigenous to Squam Island, where she was "Aunt Nellie" to all of the neighbors. Her actual birthplace is not known, but she died on the island, October 13, 1828, aged sixty-three years. She was the wife of James Jewett, who was born at Rowley, Massachusetts, September 14, 1739, and her senior by twenty-six years. James Jewett of Gloucester bought land on Jeremy Squam [now Westport], which was lot No.8 where Mayhew lived, from Nathaniel Mayhew, December 24,1767. When, in 1815, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts settled the land disputes "the Widow Ellis Jewett" was given title to lot No. 17 of Squam Island.
She was over six feet in height and of immense weight and rotundity.
She was said to be amphibious for, besides being able to swim like a fish, she could handle a coble or a wherry-with sailor with paddle-with masculine skill; she could catch a cod in the water or cook it on the land with equal facility; but it was her physical strength which made her famous. She could raise a barrel of cider to her mouth, and then refresh herself, as she held it poised upon her knees, by a draught from the bung-hole.
Jewett's Cove, the snug little harbor where she lived, took its name from the Jewett family, of which she became the greatest member of the clan. Her house where she kept a seamen's inn, though of but one story, was of great length. The large kitchen, with its huge fire-place containing crane and pot hooks, its brick oven built after the ancient fashion of massive masonry, was the rendezvous alike for the weather-beaten wayfarer and the storm-bound mariner. The other rooms built around it were small and not unlike the cosy cabins of a ship. Her wide dressers were adorned "with trencher treen and pewter bright," snow-white plates, pewter platters, kettles, cups, and utensils, all of which were scrupulously clean and in perfect order.
This cheerful hostelry, without a sign and without a bar, was amply
provisioned for a storm as became a country tavern on an island where few cattle grazed and no shambles could be found for miles. At the Widow Jewett's there was pork in the barrel and potatoes in the bin, a hogshead of molasses, a puncheon of Jamaica rum and a locker of choice liquors. Even though the coffee was an unpalatable decoction of a West India berry with beans and rye, scorched-not roasted, and sweetened with molasses, the steaming hot draught revived many a wave-soaked sailor who sought refuge within the hospitable house of "Aunt Nellie."
To the weather-bound mariner, when the cove was filled with by-landers
and bankers, this spot was the sailor's joy and a refuge as long as he
conducted himself with propriety, for none ever dared either by look or word to treat the Widow Jewett with aught save respect, behavior which she commanded both by her own deportment and her pugilistic powers. She was known to have knocked down a husky aggressor with one blow from her megasthenic fist when he failed to treat her with due deference.
She was in all things generous, a worthy benevolent woman noted for her philanthropy. She kept herb tea always brewing on the stove and possessed a disposition as cheerful as the sunshine which gladdened her fields and flowers. Many a wanderer on the sea as well as her island neighbors felt a deep pang of personal loss when it was learned that her kindly voice was forever silent.
e-mail from Val Lovelace 4/11/14Exerpt from Wiscasset in Pownalborough, A History of the Shire Town and the Salient Historical Features of the Territory between the Sheepscot and Kennebec Rivers, (page 25 - 26) by Fannie S. Chase.
The Widow Ellis Jewett (Alice Cothran), a famous giantess about whom innumerable stories still survive, along with the traditions of her prowess, seemed to be indigenous to Squam Island, where she was "Aunt Nellie" to all of the neighbors. Her actual birthplace is not known, but she died on the island, October 13, 1828, aged sixty-three years. She was the wife of James Jewett, who was born at Rowley, Massachusetts, September 14, 1739, and her senior by twenty-six years. James Jewett of Gloucester bought land on Jeremy Squam [now Westport], which was lot No.8 where Mayhew lived, from Nathaniel Mayhew, December 24,1767. When, in 1815, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts settled the land disputes "the Widow Ellis Jewett" was given title to lot No. 17 of Squam Island.
She was over six feet in height and of immense weight and rotundity.
She was said to be amphibious for, besides being able to swim like a fish, she could handle a coble or a wherry-with sailor with paddle-with masculine skill; she could catch a cod in the water or cook it on the land with equal facility; but it was her physical strength which made her famous. She could raise a barrel of cider to her mouth, and then refresh herself, as she held it poised upon her knees, by a draught from the bung-hole.
Jewett's Cove, the snug little harbor where she lived, took its name from the Jewett family, of which she became the greatest member of the clan. Her house where she kept a seamen's inn, though of but one story, was of great length. The large kitchen, with its huge fire-place containing crane and pot hooks, its brick oven built after the ancient fashion of massive masonry, was the rendezvous alike for the weather-beaten wayfarer and the storm-bound mariner. The other rooms built around it were small and not unlike the cosy cabins of a ship. Her wide dressers were adorned "with trencher treen and pewter bright," snow-white plates, pewter platters, kettles, cups, and utensils, all of which were scrupulously clean and in perfect order.
This cheerful hostelry, without a sign and without a bar, was amply
provisioned for a storm as became a country tavern on an island where few cattle grazed and no shambles could be found for miles. At the Widow Jewett's there was pork in the barrel and potatoes in the bin, a hogshead of molasses, a puncheon of Jamaica rum and a locker of choice liquors. Even though the coffee was an unpalatable decoction of a West India berry with beans and rye, scorched-not roasted, and sweetened with molasses, the steaming hot draught revived many a wave-soaked sailor who sought refuge within the hospitable house of "Aunt Nellie."
To the weather-bound mariner, when the cove was filled with by-landers
and bankers, this spot was the sailor's joy and a refuge as long as he
conducted himself with propriety, for none ever dared either by look or word to treat the Widow Jewett with aught save respect, behavior which she commanded both by her own deportment and her pugilistic powers. She was known to have knocked down a husky aggressor with one blow from her megasthenic fist when he failed to treat her with due deference.
She was in all things generous, a worthy benevolent woman noted for her philanthropy. She kept herb tea always brewing on the stove and possessed a disposition as cheerful as the sunshine which gladdened her fields and flowers. Many a wanderer on the sea as well as her island neighbors felt a deep pang of personal loss when it was learned that her kindly voice was forever silent.
The Widow Ellis Jewett (Alice Cothran), a famous giantess about whom innumerable stories still survive, along with the traditions of her prowess, seemed to be indigenous to Squam Island, where she was "Aunt Nellie" to all of the neighbors. Her actual birthplace is not known, but she died on the island, October 13, 1828, aged sixty-three years. She was the wife of James Jewett, who was born at Rowley, Massachusetts, September 14, 1739, and her senior by twenty-six years. James Jewett of Gloucester bought land on Jeremy Squam [now Westport], which was lot No.8 where Mayhew lived, from Nathaniel Mayhew, December 24,1767. When, in 1815, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts settled the land disputes "the Widow Ellis Jewett" was given title to lot No. 17 of Squam Island.
She was over six feet in height and of immense weight and rotundity.
She was said to be amphibious for, besides being able to swim like a fish, she could handle a coble or a wherry-with sailor with paddle-with masculine skill; she could catch a cod in the water or cook it on the land with equal facility; but it was her physical strength which made her famous. She could raise a barrel of cider to her mouth, and then refresh herself, as she held it poised upon her knees, by a draught from the bung-hole.
Jewett's Cove, the snug little harbor where she lived, took its name from the Jewett family, of which she became the greatest member of the clan. Her house where she kept a seamen's inn, though of but one story, was of great length. The large kitchen, with its huge fire-place containing crane and pot hooks, its brick oven built after the ancient fashion of massive masonry, was the rendezvous alike for the weather-beaten wayfarer and the storm-bound mariner. The other rooms built around it were small and not unlike the cosy cabins of a ship. Her wide dressers were adorned "with trencher treen and pewter bright," snow-white plates, pewter platters, kettles, cups, and utensils, all of which were scrupulously clean and in perfect order.
This cheerful hostelry, without a sign and without a bar, was amply
provisioned for a storm as became a country tavern on an island where few cattle grazed and no shambles could be found for miles. At the Widow Jewett's there was pork in the barrel and potatoes in the bin, a hogshead of molasses, a puncheon of Jamaica rum and a locker of choice liquors. Even though the coffee was an unpalatable decoction of a West India berry with beans and rye, scorched-not roasted, and sweetened with molasses, the steaming hot draught revived many a wave-soaked sailor who sought refuge within the hospitable house of "Aunt Nellie."
To the weather-bound mariner, when the cove was filled with by-landers
and bankers, this spot was the sailor's joy and a refuge as long as he
conducted himself with propriety, for none ever dared either by look or word to treat the Widow Jewett with aught save respect, behavior which she commanded both by her own deportment and her pugilistic powers. She was known to have knocked down a husky aggressor with one blow from her megasthenic fist when he failed to treat her with due deference.
She was in all things generous, a worthy benevolent woman noted for her philanthropy. She kept herb tea always brewing on the stove and possessed a disposition as cheerful as the sunshine which gladdened her fields and flowers. Many a wanderer on the sea as well as her island neighbors felt a deep pang of personal loss when it was learned that her kindly voice was forever silent.
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Alice
Wife of James Jewett
Died Oct. 13, 1828
Age 63
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