When Dorcas Ann Townsend was born on 5 October 1829, in Rendezvous Point Cemetery, York, Maine, United States, her father, Jacob B Townsend, was 46 and her mother, Abigail Foss Elden, was 44. She married Joseph Francis Dearing on 4 June 1848, in Buxton, York, Maine, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 1 daughter. She lived in Maine, United States in 1870 and Saco, York, Maine, United States in 1880. She died on 9 January 1898, in Buxton, York, Maine, United States, at the age of 68, and was buried in Rendezvous Point Cemetery, York, Maine, United States.
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Being a second spiritual and religious awakening, like the First Great Awakening, many Churches began to spring up from other denominations. Many people began to rapidly join the Baptist and Methodist congregations. Many converts to these religions believed that the Awakening was the precursor of a new millennial age.
The State of Maine chartered the Calais Railway in 1832, one of the first railway charters to be granted by the state. Construction was very long, as the project was reorganized, abandoned, transferred to other companies, and extended several times. It was finally completed in 1898.
"In 1851, Maine outlawed the sale of alcohol, allowing exceptions only for ""medicinal, mechanical, and manufacturing purposes"". This made Maine the first state to experiment with prohibition. Neal Dow, mayor of Portland, believed that alcohol was linked to slavery and was also convinced by the Christian temperance movement. Dow ran into problems later for his anti-immigration rhetoric against the Irish, and also for breaking his own prohibition laws; although not a designated ""purchaser"", Dow personally purchased alcohol to distribute to local doctors, violating a technicality. As the citizens turned against him, Dow eventually ordered soldiers to fire on protesters. This marked a sharp decline in Dow's political career, and the Maine Law was repealed by 1856. Aspects of the law would remain in tact, however, and ultimately paved the way for the 18th Amendment, which prohibited alcohol on the national level."
English: topographic name for someone who lived at the extremity of a village, from Middle English toun(es)ende. Compare Town . There may have been some confusion with Townson .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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