Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Thank you to Walter Lunt for the wonderful informative article: Chief “Polin-Sebagoland’s Wabanaki freedom fighter.” As I read the article a name stuck out as familiar from my family tree’s history. It was the Ezra Brown, who was shot and killed by chief Polin May, 1756; Chief Polin being shot and killed soon thereafter. 

My fourth great grandfather Eleazer Chase was of Windham and alternately also shown as from New Marblehead. Eleazer’s second wife was Mary Brown, widow of Ezra Brown. Eleazer’s first wife was Janet Elder, also shown as from New Marblehead/Windham. Eleazer and Janet are my ancestors. 

From the book, “History of Buckfield” on page 559, Eleazer Chase married Mary Brown soon after her husband was killed in an Indian raid. Janet Elder had passed away just before this time. I never knew it was actually Chief Polin himself who was responsible for the deadly raid and was himself killed in the same skirmish. 

Eleazer Chase had moved to Windham from Massachusetts specifically as a soldier to defend the Windham garrison, already being well known as a scout and a bounty hunter, infamous for retaliatory raids against the Native Americans. 

My third great grandfather Isaac Chase (Eleazer and Janet Elder Chase’s son) married Lois Smith, whose mother was well known as half Abenaki from North Massachusetts. For a period of time Eleazer, the infamous American Indian fighter, lived in the same log cabin in Windham with his son Isaac and his wife Lois, well known for American Indian blood. 

This certainly shows how complicated relationships and alliances were. Both Isaac Chase and his father Eleazer Chase fought in the Revolutionary War; Eleazer way past the age when it could have possibly been required of him. Eleazer was also a veteran of the French and Indian war.

Thank you again for the fascinating article,

John A Dow

Windham, Maine