George Cleeve (–after November 1666) was an early settler and founder of today's

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

. He was Deputy President of the Province of

Lygonia Lygonia was a proprietary province in pre-colonial Maine, created through a grant from the Plymouth Council for New England in 1630 to lands then under control of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The province was named for his mother, Cicely (Lygon) Gorges ...

from 1643 until the final submission of its Maine towns to

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 ...

authority in 1658.

Life and career

Born about 1586 in Stogursey,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

shire, England, Cleeve came to what is now

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

in 1630, settling first in Spurwink, Maine (near today's

Cape Elizabeth Cape Elizabeth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 census, Cape Elizabeth had a population of 9,535. ...

), and at Falmouth (today's Portland) in 1633. In 1637, Sir

Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the m ...

granted Cleeve and associate Richard Tucker at Machegonne (Portland Neck) that included the area of today's downtown Portland. His career was both contentious and litigious, engaged in frequent land disputes and vying with Gorges'

Province of Maine The Province of Maine refers to any of the various English colonies established in the 17th century along the northeast coast of North America, within portions of the present-day U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the Canadian ...

for jurisdiction over the area north of

Cape Porpoise Cape Porpoise, Maine is a small coastal village in the town of Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, and was the original English settlement of the town. It is northeast of Dock Square and southwest of Goose Rocks Beach. The village occupies the ma ...

. He is known to have convened provincial courts at Casco in 1644 and Black Point in 1648. Under Massachusetts governance of the area, he was Commissioner for Falmouth (from 1658) and Representative to the General Court, 1663–1664. Cleeve married Joan Price on 7 September 1618. Their daughter, Elizabeth (born 1619), married in 1637 Michael Mitton.

Death

Cleeve died sometime after November 1666, according to the last known record of his life. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Portland.

References

*Noyes, Libby, Davis, ''Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire'' (Genealogical Publishing Company reprint, 1996) *James Phinney Baxter, ''George Cleeve of Casco Bay'' (Gorges Society, 1885) *W. Williamson, "History of Maine", Volume I *Robert C. Anderson, ''The Great Migration Begins'', bio. entry. 1580s births Year of death missing Politicians from Portland, Maine People of colonial Maine People from Sedgemoor (district) People of pre-statehood Maine English emigrants {{Maine-politician-stub Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Portland, Maine)