Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 9.djvu/214

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192
Capt. John McClintock.

wife, Jane, settled in Medford for a few years after their marriage. Upon her death he moved to Boothbay, in the District of Maine, where he married Margaret Fullerton, March 11, 1770, the New Hampshire Legislature voted "giving leave to William McClintock, of Boothbay, in the State of Massachusetts, to export 70 bushels of corn for said Boothbay." He died June 3, 1779, aged 49 years, of yellow fever.

III. William McClintock, born in Boothbay September 26, 1778, commenced his sea-faring life at the age of seventeen and pursued that calling for forty years. In 1798 he was mate with Capt. Dickey, in the schooner Hester, bound to Bristol from the West Indies. She was captured August 18 by a French privateer and a prize crew put aboard. The vessel was recovered by her old crew, who overpowered their captors and completed her voyage to Bristol. The Frenchmen accepted the situation so gracefully and behaved so well that the intention was not to deliver them up to the authorities, but they were found out and lodged in Wiscasset jail. While there Capt. McClintock supplied the officer with clothing and made him as comfortable as possible. On a subsequent voyage, while master of the sloop Hunter, Capt. McClintock was overhauled by a French privateer, who boarded him in his own boat. The officer no sooner stepped on deck than he seized the captain, hugged and kissed him, and began to inquire for people in Bristol. He was his old friend, the prize officer of the Hester, who suffered him and his vessel to go in peace.

In October, 1800, while master of the sloop Hunter, from the West Indies to Bristol, Capt. McClintock providentially rescued from death a portion of the crew of the Galgo, a wrecked British sloop-of-war. Of 121 but 29 were saved. A few days later, October 12, the Hunter was hove to by an armed vessel under Spanish colors that took two puncheons of rum from the cargo, robbed the vessel of spare cordage, twine, arms and other things, and left her. Next day the same cruiser hove the Hunter to again and took another puncheon of rum, leaving word that if he fell in with the vessel the next day he would take two more. What the real character of this queer craft was Capt. McClintock never knew, but he was certainly what the sailors call "a rum customer." Probably he was one of those cruisers that were either privateer or pirate, as opportunity offered. For some years Capt. McClintock sailed a sloop packet between Ireland and the United States.

Capt McClintock enjoyed the highest respect and confidence of all with whom he was associated in business, and was a remarkably successful commander. No vessel under his command was wrecked or seriously damaged. In the intervals of his sea life Capt. McClintock filled various offices of trust conferred by his fellow citizens. His proficiency in mathematics was such that when disputes arose between the proprietors of Bristol and the settlers he was selected as referee, and made a survey of the whole town, which quieted the differences and marks the boundaries of lots to this day. He held justice commissions from Gov. Gerry in 1810 and from Gov. Brooks in 1817. He was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1809, 1810 and 1811. When Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820, he was a member of the convention that formed a constitution for the new State. He was twice a member of the Maine Legisla-