Individual Details
Leonard Cornforth
(26 Oct 1790 - 25 Nov 1857)
Events
| Birth | 26 Oct 1790 | Gersby, Yorkshire, England |  | ||
| Baptism | 10 Nov 1790 | Sockburn, Durham, England | | ||
| Marriage | 15 May 1812 | Readfield, Kennebec, Maine - Polly Morison | | ||
| Military | Sep 1814 | Waterville, Kennebec, Maine |  | | |
| Divorce | Oct 1838 | Kennebec County, Maine - Polly Morison | | ||
| Marriage | 25 Nov 1838 | Waterville, Kennebec, Maine - Louisa Smith | | ||
| Census | 1 Jun 1850 | Waterville, Kennebec, Maine | | | |
| Death | 25 Nov 1857 | Waterville, Kennebec, Maine | | ||
| Burial | Old Cemetery, Oakland, Kennebec, Maine | | |||
| Bio Note | 1892 | mentioned in the Illustrated History of Kennebec County, Maine | | | |
| Bio Note | 1902 | mentioned in The Centennial History of Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine | | |
Families
| Spouse | Polly Morison (1793 - 1865) |
| Child | Mary L. Cornforth (1814 - 1888) |
| Child | Charles Cornforth (1815 - 1898) |
| Child | John Cornforth (1817 - 1879) |
| Child | Oliver Cornforth (1820 - ) |
| Child | Sybil F. Cornforth (1824 - ) |
| Child | Henry Clay Cornforth (1832 - 1854) |
| Spouse | Louisa Smith (1802 - 1885) |
| Child | Octavia Cornforth (1841 - 1842) |
| Child | Sarah Emma Cornforth (1842 - 1913) |
| Child | Eliza J. Cornforth (1846 - 1914) |
| Father | Robert Cornforth (1765 - 1842) |
| Mother | Mary Linton (1765 - ) |
| Sibling | Richard Cornforth (1792 - 1876) |
| Sibling | William Cornforth (1794 - 1881) |
| Sibling | John Cornforth (1796 - 1866) |
| Sibling | Robinson Cornforth (1799 - 1877) |
| Sibling | Charles Cornforth (1801 - 1814) |
| Sibling | Betsey Cornforth (1802 - ) |
| Sibling | Robert Cornforth (1805 - 1885) |
| Sibling | Burks Cornforth (1807 - ) |
| Sibling | Bateman Cornforth (1809 - ) |
Notes
Military
Roll of Captain William Pullen's company of militia in Lieut. Col. Elnathan Sherwin's regiment, raised in Waterville and in service at Augusta from the 14th to the 25th of September 1814, listed William Pullen as Captain, Joseph Warren as Lieutenant, and Leonard Cornforth as ensign, all from Waterville.Census
Leonard Cornforth was enumerated as head of household, age 60, male, farmer, owned real estate valued at $4100, and was born in England. Other members of the household were Loise Cornforth [wife], Henry E. Cornforth [son], Sarah E. Cornforth [daughter], Eliza J. Cornforth [daughter], Polly Cornforth [ex-wife], and John Mills [age 36, male, farmer, owned real estate valued at $200, and born in Maine.].Bio Note
When Leonard Cornforth settled in Oakland, and built the dam and mills that so long bore his name, is a matter of uncertainty. But his early coming, and that he built a stone grist mill, a saw mill, a carding and clothing mill, and was a large land owner, farmer and trader, are recognized facts. His son, John Cornforth, assisted and succeeded him in the general and practical management of his business. In 1834 Clark Stanley turned bedstead posts and wagon hubs in the basement of the Cornforth saw mill. The old saw mill stood on the east side of the stream. Probably the first trader in Oakland was Leonard Cornforth, in a building near his mills.Bio Note
Very early in the 19th century, Leonard Cornforth settled in West Waterville, now Oakland, and built a dam, a stone grist mill, a saw mill, and a carding and clothing mill on the site now occupied by the scythe finishing shop and axe shop of the Dunn Edge Tool Company. Bed posts and wagon hubs were turned by Clark Stanley in the basement of this saw mill in 1834.Endnotes
1. Cindy Spaulding, "Robert Cornforth," ; descendancy narrative to Dale Walter Mower, , Bangor, Maine, 6 August 2002; held by Cindy Spaulding, .
2. "England Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 May 2020), Leonard Cornforth, son of Robert Cornforth and Mary; citing FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2013; FHL Film No. 91112.
3. Cindy Spaulding, "Robert Cornforth," ; descendancy narrative to Dale Walter Mower, , Bangor, Maine, 6 August 2002; held by Cindy Spaulding, .
4. Mrs. Mary Stiles Guild, Genealogy: Strobridge, Morrison or Morison, Strawbridge (Lowell, Massachusetts: Vox Populi Press: S. W. Huse & Co., 1891), 180; digital image, HathiTrust Digital Library, HathiTrust Digital Library (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 May 2020.
5. Rev. Edwin Carey Whittemore, Editor, The Centennial History of Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine: Including The Oration of the Historical Address and the Poem Presented at the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town June 23d, 1902, with Illustrations (Waterville, Maine: Executive Committee of the Centennial Celebration, 1902), 212; digital image, HathiTrust Digital Library, HathiTrust Digital Library (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 May 2020.
6. "Maine Divorce Records 1798-1891," extraction, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 May 2020), Docket No. 377, SJC, volume 9, page 439; citing Maine State Archives, Augusta, Maine.
7. Cindy Spaulding, "Robert Cornforth," ; descendancy narrative to Dale Walter Mower, , Bangor, Maine, 6 August 2002; held by Cindy Spaulding, .
8. 1850 U.S. Census, Kennebec County, Maine, population schedule, City of Waterville, 75, dwelling 460, family 533, Leonard Cornforth household, line 1, Leonard Cornforth; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 7 May 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, 1009 rolls.
9. Cindy Spaulding, "Robert Cornforth," ; descendancy narrative to Dale Walter Mower, , Bangor, Maine, 6 August 2002; held by Cindy Spaulding, .
10. Ancestry.com, Find-A-Grave, database with digital images (www.findagrave.com : created 8 October 2009), Memorial No. 42862364.
11. Old Cemetery (Lakeview Drive, Oakland, Maine), Broken gravestone in Cornforth lot; personally viewed by Dale Walter Mower, 9 October 2009.
12. Henry D. Kingsbury; Simeon L. Deyo, editors, Illustrated History of Kennebec County, Maine (New York, New York: H. W. Blake & Company, 1892), 1068, 1070; digital image, HathiTrust Digital Library, Hathitrust Digital Library (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 May 2020.
13. Rev. Edwin Carey Whittemore, Editor, The Centennial History of Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine: Including The Oration of the Historical Address and the Poem Presented at the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town June 23d, 1902, with Illustrations (Waterville, Maine: Executive Committee of the Centennial Celebration, 1902), 341; digital image, HathiTrust Digital Library, HathiTrust Digital Library (https://www.hathitrust.org/ : accessed 7 May 2020.