Abraham Somes (March 14, 1732 – September 7, 1819) was an American soldier and pioneer who was the primary founder of settlements on the scenic

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

, which is now part of

Acadia National Park Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, and ...

in present-day

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Personal life

In 1761, Somes, a

cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

by trade, brought his wife (Hannah Herrick) and family from

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

, to the island, along with James Richardson and Richardson's family. Somes obtained the land for development on grants from Francis Bernard, the governor of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

; who, in 1761, still maintained an interest in securing the property for

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

. Somes chose to establish a village at the north end of the

fjard A fjard ( sv, fjärd, ) is a large open space of water between groups of islands or mainland in archipelagos. Fjards can be found along sea coasts, in freshwater lakes or rivers. Fjard and fjord were originally the same word with the general mean ...

which cuts through the center of the island. It would later be named after him as

Somes Sound Somes Sound is a fjard, a body of water running deep into Mount Desert Island, the main site of Acadia National Park in Maine, United States. Its deepest point is approximately , and it is over deep in several places. The sound almost splits the ...

, and it is the only natural

on the east coast of the United States. Abraham named his settlement

Somesville Somesville is the earliest village of the town of Mount Desert on Mount Desert Island in southeastern Maine. It is located on the north end of Somes Sound. The village was established by Abraham Somes who was the first settler on the island.Hart ...

and it would develop into an important trading location that largely allowed for the rest of the island to be permanently colonized in the years following the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, Abraham Somes served as a 1st Lieutenant in Ezra Young's 7 Co., 6 Lincoln Co., regiment of the Massachusetts militia. He also served in Capt. Daniel Sullivan's Company of Volunteers in 1779. After fulfilling his duty in the military, Abraham returned to Somesville, where he lived out his days. He had 13 children.

Death

Somes died on September 7, 1819, aged 87. He is interred in Brookside Cemetery in

Mount Desert Mount Desert is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,146 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1789, the town currently encompasses the villages of Otter Creek, Seal Harbor, Northeast Harb ...

, Maine,Abraham Somes
- Find A Grave as are both of his wives.

References

;Specific ;General

- Rootsweb

- Snip.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Somes, Abraham 1732 births 1819 deaths Massachusetts militiamen in the American Revolution People of Maine in the American Revolution People from Mount Desert Island