The History of the Isaac Carver house, in Searsport, ME.

The following is a chronological history of the Isaac Carver house (and some of its occupants) in Searsport. The exact date of construction has not been determined, but through this research, it appears to have occurred sometime between 1818 and 1830.

1794-1830

On June 4th, 1794, Isaac Carver purchased 30 acres of land from Henry Lord, of Prospect, Massachusetts for $45. Searsport was then part of the area know as Prospect, and Maine was still part of Massachusetts. Isaac, born in 1775, was one of eight sons of John and Lucinda Carver, of Marshfield, Massachusetts. Isaac moved to Prospect in 1796 at the age of 21.

Isaac was married to Hannah. No reference to Isaac's occupation was uncovered. Isaac and Hannah had 11 children:

All of the male children, with the exception of Otis who died at age 12, grew up to become ship captains. John also became a boat builder and was responsible for building a great many ships in Searsport. The Carver shipyard, which was located directly across the street from the house, produced its first ship, the Schooner Boston, in 1824. The last ship built at the yard was the Schooner Edward L. Warren, in 1882. In all, 53 vessels were built at the yard: 25 schooners, 11 brigs, 11 barks, and 6 ships. Not surprisingly, many of the vessels were named after family members, including the John Carver, the Benjamin Carver, the Isaac Carver, and the Clarissa Carver.

Isaac engaged in various other real estate transactions in the ensuing years. Because of this, it is difficult to determine whether a transaction refers to the land around the site of the present house, or some other lands in Prospect. While he probably built a dwelling at the time he purchased the land, one can not be sure it is the present dwelling. Here is a partial list of transactions: 

1802        On June 24th of this year, Isaac gives land "being part of the same lot
                that I the said Isaac now live on" to Joseph Kidder. The land is described
                as "bordered by the westerly side by David Colcord's blacksmith shop
                and the easterly side of the brook." 

1809        Although this transaction occurred on July 6th, 1809, it wasn't recorded
                until 1821. The transaction was recorded as Isaac and Hannah selling to
                Anaiah Dodge "part of the land that I now live on."

1818        In what may be a very significant entry, Isaac and Hannah Carver sell
                and/or give property and a house "occupied by Aaron Nickerson" to said
                Aaron Nickerson. This means the Carvers owned a house that they did
                not occupy. Could this be because they had built another
                house? Is Aaron Nickerson or this property related to the house which is
                now the Nickerson Tavern?
Various other transactions over the period involved Isaac purchasing land.

1830-1880

On October 13, 1830, dear old Isaac Carver died. He did not leave a will and the estate was the subject of litigation. Nearly three years later, on April 15, 1833, Isaac's window, Hannah, transferred the estate to Isaac Carver Jr. for a price of $980. The transaction is described as follows:

"...a parcel of land with the buildings thereon situated in said Prospect near the west village being the same land and buildings owned and occupied by Isaac Carver deceased at the time of his death."

The deed lists a host of people from whom the property was transferred. Those listed are: Richard Smith and his wife Hannah, John Fowler and his wife Mary, Woodburn Carver, Benjamin Carver, Phineas Pendleton and his wife Wealthy, John Carver, and Hannah Carver. Obviously, the litigation resulted in many of the children getting a share of the goods.

Isaac Jr. ("Jr." is used only for clarification - only once was he referred to as Jr. in any documents) was married to Clarissa. The deed of transfer of the property at the time of Isaac Jr.'s death reveals that Isaac had four children: Henry B. Carver, Phineas P. Carver, Ann L. McGilvery, and Hannah C. McGilvery. However, a deed dated 1880 mentions the transfer of a tract of land, through a guardian, to the children, minors at the time of Isaac's death, named Desire, Charlotte B., and Isaac. Phineas also became a sea captain. I could find no mention of Henry's occupation.

Isaac Jr. also engaged in a great number of real estate transactions throughout his lifetime. Some of them include: 

1835        Land to John Carver, carpenter (Isaac's brother?).

18??         I forgot to record this date - sometime in the 1840s. Land to Isaac W.
                Havenor, described as "from Mt. Ephram road to the southwest corner of
                Mark Colcord's blacksmith shop." This reveals that another generation
                of Colcords took up blacksmithing.

1852        An acre and a half parcel of land sold to the trustees of Mt. Solitude
                cemetery for $125 for the use as a "cemetery only."

1853        A parcel of bay frontage to Benjamin Colcord for the purpose of
                launching and landing ships. It's interesting to note that the deed
                stipulated that Isaac Carver receive "$1 for each vessel launched" from
                the property.
Searsport became a town in 1845. The tax assessment record for that year provides an interesting glimpse of Isaac's possessions. At that time, a person's property tax was based on all the things of worth they owned, not just buildings and land. Isaac's tax was based on the following possessions: Also considered were Isaac's ownership of various sailing vessels. Since vessels were usually owned by a group of people, the tax was based on the percentage of ownership one had of a ship. Isaac had 11 entries: 
1/8 Whittan    	1/8 Admar
1/8 Charlotte  		3/15 Geneva
1/4 Sherrer    		1/8 Clarissa
1/4 Abero      		1/8 John Carver
1/8 F Heath    	1/8 Avon
3/16 F Heath
The net value of this property was determined to be $6562, for which Isaac had to pay $62.34 in taxes. Isaac was quite wealthy compared to others in the town at the time.

1880-1940

Isaac Jr. died in the 1872. An 1876 map refers to the property as the Mrs. Isaac Carver house. On Feb. 4th, 1880, Isaac's widow, Clarissa, sold the estate to Benjamin Carver 2nd. The deed for this property was signed by Clarissa as well as the children, Henry (and wife Luella W.), Phineas (and wife Sarah A.), Ann (McGilvery), and Hannah (McGilvery). The property was sold to Benjamin for the sum of $4000. The property included: Not bad for $4000.

Benjamin 2nd was also a sea captain. When Benjamin 2nd died (date unknown), he willed the estate to his wife Hannah. Hannah, in turn, willed the house to their daughter Florence. No mention of other children could be found.

1940-1946

On March 25th, 1940, the Isaac Carver estate, for the first time in 144 years, left the ownership of the Carver family. Florence Carver sold the estate, which the deed describes as being the same as described in the 1880 transfer of deed, to Beulah D. Carrol. In 1946, Beulah transferred 905 square feet of the property to the Havenor family next door - this 905 square feet now constitutes half of the driveway.

1946-1958

On Dec. 23, 1946, Beulah Carrol sold the house to Sidney C. Moore and Rosa Mae Moore, of Mississippi. The Moore's took out a $1200 mortgage on the property from one Joshua Treat Jr. (Mr. Moore visited the house in 1990. He was a spry 87 years old at the time and was an accomplished artist. He has since passed away. His son, who lives in Canada, continues to correspond with us.)

1958-1964

The Moore's sold the property to Norman A and Ruth W. Kilby on Sept. 15, 1958. The Kilby's took out a $3000 mortgage on the property.

1964-1977

The Kilby's sold the property to Richard E. and Jean B. Ferris of Fort Meyers, Fla., on Nov. 20, 1964. The Ferris' had a $9000 mortgage at 6 percent interest. On March 19, 1972, the property deed was transferred to the Ferris trust. Records show that Mrs. Ferris died May 12, 1976, and Mr. Ferris died May 22, 1976.

1977-1985

On Oct. 18, 1977, Ralph A. and Carol P. Ridolfino purchased the house from the Ferris trust. The Ridolfino's took out a $17,500 mortgage on the property.

1985-1987

On Oct. 21, 1985, the Ridolfinos sold the house to Albert X. and Elsie M. Hemmerlin. The Hemmerlins bought the house outright and thus did not have a mortgage. Mr. Hemmerlin ran a piano tuning and repair shop out of the house. He was also a violinist of some note.

May, 1987-present

On May 15, 1987, the Hemmerlins sold the house to Greg Closter. The Hemmerlins moved to New York to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
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