John Libby

John Libby

Male Abt 1612 - 1682  (~ 70 years)

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  • Name John Libby 
    Birth Abt 1602/1612  Broadstairs, Isle of Thanet, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death 9 Feb 1682  Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I5249  Whisperspast | Sipprell
    Last Modified 3 Jun 2011 

    Family Judith,   b. Abt 1618   d. 19 Sep 1678, Maine Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 60 years) 
    Marriage 27 Apr 1635  Lanlivery, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Hannah Libby,   b. Abt 1660, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 9 Jun 1740, Kittery (Eliot), York, Maine Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 80 years)
    Family ID F1980  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 20 Feb 2023 

  • Notes 
    • John Libby came to Maine as a fisherman in the employ of Robert Trelawny, a Plymouth merchant who held a large grant of coast land at Cape Elizabeth where, on Richmond Island, he had established an active fishing industry. John came over on the Hercules" which brought the family of John Winter, Trelawny's Maine manager, and many other fishermen and servants and arrived in port at Richmond Island on 13 February 1636/7, leaving his wife in England (he sent for her to join him here about 1640. It is suspected that John came from the area of Cornwall and that he was born about 1614 even though in 1677 he signed a petition to the governor and council of Massachusetts Bay stating that he was then seventy-five years of age. It seems more likely that he exaggerated his age in an appeal for sympathy and assistance. In the history of Scarborough, he is said to have been "for many years one of the town's principal planters." He was constable in 1664 and his name stands first of the four selectmen in a town grantbearing date 1669. In King's Phillip's war (1675) he lost everything he had except his plantation. Captain Joshua Scattow's diary says; "Eight of nine deserted houses belonging to Libbyand his children "were burned by the Indians 7 September, 1675." Source: Allen Humphries - John did not "colonize" Scarborough. ME. He, and his numerous family, were very influential in the establishment of Scarborough. It wouldn't have existed without the dogged determination of the Libby's, Larrabee's, and several other families who recognized the value of the area and sacrificed a lot (including family members who gave their lives) to make it what it became. But, he didn't hold the "Patents" or "Grants" that were used for colonization.


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