Thomas Jason Libby and Harriet Ann Farrar (couple 12)

[Jen's maternal GGGGrandparents]
[Ray Mitchell Jr > Elsie F. Plummer > Isa May Libby > couple 12]

Thomas Jason Libby
BIRTH: 24 Mar 1840, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine
DEATH: 17 April 1894, Augusta, Kennebec, Maine, United States


Harriet Ann Farrar
BIRTH: 21 Nov 1846, Columbia, Maury, Tenn.
DEATH: 15 Jul 1931, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine

Thomas Jason Libby
A very extensive document describing the Family Context for the Libbys of Prout's Neck is written here, detailing the hotel industry and how the land was divided.  Additional history of Scarborough is written here.

Thomas Jason Libby was born to  Silas Libby (1811-1878) and Hannah Haines (1814-1843) on 24 April, 1840 in Scarborough.  Hannah died (1 Dec 1843) soon after the delivery of he second child, Hannah Louise (born 21 September 1843, m Alonzo Googins).  This disruption was unfortunate and a hardship.

1850 Census
Thomas J is living in the household of Thomas Libby (grandfather) where Silas J is living at the time. The household of Thomas Libby has a host of children and grandchildren.

Thomas's father Silas remarried in 1851 at age 40 to Pheobe Libby (1816-1898), a distant cousin from another Scarborough Libby family.  Phoebe had one daughter, Anna Maria (1854-1876) with Silas.  Anna Maria was married upon her deathbed to Ira Foss (1856-1919), who became proprietor of The Checkley, a grand hotel around the turn of the century.

For the 1860 Census, Thomas J (20) and Annie M (5) listed as children of Silas and Phoebe, working in Scarborough. 

Thomas J Libby enlisted November 15, 1861 in the Army, and was later discharged in 1864.  He was a Private in Company C, 12th Regiment of Maine.  (Papa Mitchell has his Civil War Medallion from his Army uniform).

The company took several cities in Louisiana, and established Union Presence there.  It is undoubtedly where Thomas had met Harriet Ann Farrar.

As a little back-story to the Libbys on Prouts Neck, Thomas Jason's grandfather is known as the first hotel operator on Prouts Neck, The Prouts Neck House. Silas had built a house called The Cammock House next door to the his father's (Thomas Libby) Prouts Neck House.  To the east of The Cammock House, Thomas J. Libby built The West Point House.

from here.

For more information on the houses, see this book about Scarborough, by Rodney Laughton, 1996.  See also this description of the destiny of the Cammock house.


Harriet Ann Farrar

Harriet Kerchival, mother

Harriet Ann Farrar was born in Columbia TN on 21 November 1846 to Edmund W Farrar and Harriet Ann Kerchival.  They had been married in New Orleans in 1838.  They are recorded to have 3 children, all born in Tennessee.

1. John Edmund  1839-??)
2. Mary Alice(1842-1908) m 1863 James A Fisher (1831-??)
3. Harriet Ann (1846-1931) m. 1864 Thomas Jason Libby (18404-1894)

Harriet Ann Farrar, daughter.

Her mother, Harriet Ann died in 1850, leaving Edmund a young widower.  In 1860, Edmund W Farrar (54) is living in the household of Susan Griffiths (30) in Nashville, presumably as a hired man.  The death record of Harriet's sister, Mary Alice (b 1842), says that their father was Colonel Farrar.

Colonel Farrar may have been the means to introduce Thomas Jason to his daughter Harriet, though it is unknown.  The supposition is that with the Union Army presence in and around New Orleans, that is how they met. 

Life Together

By 1870 Thomas had married Harriet Ann Farrar, a beautiful gal from Tennessee, and had three kids.  Their oldest, John J K was born in Louisiana, while Isie M  (2) and Veranus W (1) were born in Maine. Their move to Maine would have been in the 1865/1866 time frame.  His parents Silas and Pheobe also have a 15 year old Milton at their house, though he may have been a hired boy.

1. John Kerchival  (1865-1940) m 1888 Edith F Taylor (1867-1954)
2. Mary Lillian  (1866-1866)
3. Isa May  (1867-1931) m 1888 Edward Clark Plummer (1860-1941)
4. Veranus "Uncle Vene" Warren (1868-1940) m 1894 Edith E Chase (1874-1936)
5. Leonard Wilson (1871-1962) m 1891 Evelyn May Osborne (1878-1959)
6. Annie Louise (1874-1900) m 1893 Fred Dickson Wish Sr (1867-1937)
7. Lloyd Lester (1876-1931) m 1901 Alice Lillian Gilson (1874-1938)

LtoR: Lloyd (cart), John, Veranus, Lester, Isa, Annie (seated)

In October 1879 around the time of Aunt Minerva's death, there was a major split of property ownership at Prout's Neck.  Of interest (from the document linked above, a must-read), Thomas Jason's sister, Hannah Louise was basically raised at grandfather Thomas Libby's house.  She was one of the primary inheritors of most of the land on Prout's neck from Aunt Minerva, (unmarried sister to Silas, and preceeded in death by sister Sophrona, who was part owner in the land they received from father Thomas Libby).

In 1880, life is pretty good for Thomas (farming) and Hattie, and their 6 kids at home:  John  (15), Isa M (12), Veranus W (11), Leonard W (8), Anna L (6),  Lloyd L (6), and a servant named Emily Bragdon (24).
(The census taker was relatively lazy, and doesn't appear to have asked the family members where they were born!)

Thomas J had been keeper of a small summer hotel between at least 1875 and 1884.  

"Harris Seavey's coach is in front of the Prouts Neck House, which was the first hotel built at the neck. It was also referred to as the Middle House.  The house was the residence of Thomas Libby. Later, it was cut in two sections and part of it moved. The portion that was moved became the V.T. Shaw's store and remained a seasonal store in 2012.  This coach was used in the play "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." from here:

Thomas J apparently suffered from mental health issues, and went to town acting erratically on September 5, 1884.  He was accused and later convicted of 2nd degree murder of Lydia Snow at City Hotel, Portland.

Harriet Farrar Libby

Thomas  died in Augusta in 1894 (likely at the state mental hospital), caused by general paralysis (probably a stroke), and was buried at Black Point.  He was attended by Dr. P H S Vanghan, MD of Augusta. (Note here in Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 1902)

The documents about the hotels of Prouts Neck seem to indicate that without Thomas, Hattie had a hard time keeping up the hotel.  It's possible that at age 38, 1884, she tried to keep the house, farm, and hotel for a little while, but failed to make payments and lost the property and had to move in with relatives.
 We know that Isa May modeled for a few of Winslow Homer's paintings in the mid-1880s, and Len Libby worked for Winslow Homer as a house boy.

Around 1890, the Libby children started to get married and establish homes of their own, so it's possible that they sold the property and moved out at that point.

 Harriet's mother-in-law, Phebe died in 1898.

John, Isa, Veranus, Lloyd, Len, Harriet

At the time of son Lloyd Lester Libby's marriage to in 1901, though, Harriet was living in Montreal, Quebec.

 By 1920, Harriet lived in South Portland with her daughter Isa May and  her husband Edward C and their daughter Elsie, and her son Veranus, listed as a Widower.  Ed is a Vulcanizer, Veranus is retired.

Veranus was divorced (rather than a widower, error on Census), as his wife Edith E and children Napoleon B Libby and Hazel M Libby show up  in John Knowlton's Household in Cambridge, Ma in 1910.

In 1930 Census, Harriet still lived with her daughter, Isa May and Ed Plummer (listed as a "vulcanizer", which was a tire repair shop-- both patching tires and applying new treads) until the time of her death.

Isa died in 1931 at her home on 148 Q Street, South Portland, ME, where she had lived for 30 years.

According to Raymond V Mitchell, Jr (Papa!), when the roads were being updated for 911 telephone service, the town asked Norman A Plummer if he had any input on what the extension of Q Street should be called (that was not connected to the northern section of Q Street), and having an affinity for Winston Churchill, he suggested it should be called Churchill Road.  The house still stands at the north-eastern side of Churchill road.

Extra links:
1884 Registry, Scarborough
More photos available on FamilySearch.org.