Louds or Muscongus: What's In a Name?

by
Charles Francis

It is a good sized island as Maine islands go. It sits off Round Pond and to the
north of New Harbor. Some folks call it Louds Island, others Muscongus. It seem
s a matter of personal preference or locality. There is no question that the isl
and is in Muscongus Bay. Back around 1950 and well before that, Round Pond resid
ents seemed to prefer calling the island Louds. Folks in Friendship tended to ca
ll it Muscongus. Of course, the preferred name depended on the individual talkin
g.
A fair number of folks living in Round Pond used to have a connection to the Lou
d family. They preferred Louds Island. In Friendship there were relatives of the
MacMurphy clan. They had a tendency to use the name Muscongus. There are a lot
of MacMurphy headstones on the island. The stones date from the early 1800s. F
or the most part the family settled there after the Louds.
There are a few other peculiarities about the name for the island under discussi
on. You can find maps that have the name Loud's Island. And you can find some wi
th the name Muscungus. The same is true for the historic record. But then there
are references to New Harbor as New Harbour.
This narrative is intended to raise questions, not answer them. It centers on Wi
lliam Loud. It deserves a follow-up, a sequel. If there is follow-up, it should
be written by Kimberly Merrill. Merrill is a direct descendant of William Loud.
Merrill probably has more connections to the general Muscongus Bay region than a
ny person living today. Besides William Loud, Merrill is descended from Jesse Hu
mphrey. As of this writing she has a Humphrey genealogy chart with some 2000 nam
es. The great percentage of those 2000 names relate to the Muscongus area.
Kimberly Merrill's research into her family history leads to a number of interes
ting points regarding the generally accepted biographical information on William
Loud. Those points raise questions as to Loud's position in the Muscongus Bay a
rea back around 1745 and a bit later. They also raise questions as to how Loud c
ame to call the island bearing his name home.

Early accounts of Louds Island, those of over 100 years past, almost always allu
de to William Loud as acquiring the island or a portion of the island from Thoma
s Drowne, son of Shem Drowne. The acquisition is presented as straight out purch
ase. Kimberly Merrill has evidence of Loud as a squatter on the island. She also
has Loud running afoul of the commander of Fort Frederick at Pemaquid Harbor, C
aptain John North.
So who was William Loud and what kind of a man was he?
General accounts of William Loud have him deserting a ship at the time of the gr
eat expedition to Louisburg in 1745. He was an officer, possibly an ensign. The
ship was one of the fleet sent to Cape Breton Island by Governor Shirley. The pu
rpose of the expedition was to wrest the fortress that has been called â The Gibralta
r of the Northâ from the French. The expedition was successful.
William Loud probably didn't take part in the capture of Louisburg. He might hav
e been engaged in a far more lucrative pursuit, piracy. Loud may have been cruis
ing the Maine coast and further afield capturing sundry vessels he happened to e
ncounter. The word piracy is used here because there is no evidence that Loud ev
er had the legal authority to act as a privateer. Therefore, even if the ships h
e captured were French, it was still an act of piracy.
There is no question that William Loud acquired title to lands on Muscongus Isla
nd from Thomas Drowne. The transfer happened in 1777. Shem Drowne died in 1774.
Now, however, it would seem Loud may have been living there as a squatter well
before that transaction took place.
Kimberly Merrill has discovered an account of William Loud helping John North su
rvey Pemaquid. Following that employment, Loud was living on Muscongus illegally
and illicitly. The latter point relates to him cohibitating with a woman not hi
s wife.
John North was the commander of Fort Frederick in 1751. He remained there until
1758, when he moved on to Fort George in what is now Thomaston. (While North was
at Fort Frederick, he had a son, William. William North went on to hold a numbe
r of important political and military positions, including US Senator from New Y
ork and Adjutant General of the United States.)
It seems that when John North learned William Loud was living in sin on Muscungu
s Island, he decided to investigate the facts of the matter. North could have ev
icted Loud. He possessed the authority. He didn't though. It seems Loud was able
to ingratiate himself with his friend â Johnnyâ . That's how Loud is said to have greete
North when the latter came ashore.
William Loud's Muscongus Island purchase from Thomas Drowne was a straight forwa
rd, above-board transaction. Thomas Drowne had a fair claim to the island throu
gh his father Shem, a silversmith and Baptist preacher. The Drowne claim stemmed
from the Muscongus Patent or grant.
The Muscongus Patent dates back to 1630. That year the Council of New England gr
anted Beauchamp and Leverett land from the west of Penobscot Bay to Waldoboro or
the mouth of the Muscongus River. The Muscongus River referred to what we now k
now as the Medomak. Neither Beauchamp nor Leverett or their heirs ever came to M
aine. Eventually the grant passed to the Twenty Associates, one of who was named
Jonathan Waldo. Jonathan's son Samuel consolidated much of it, hence the design
ation Waldo Patent. Shem Drowne acquired a section of the Muscongus Patent from
another of the associates, Nicholas Davison. Davison's section included Muscongu
s Island. This all would seem clear enough except that there is another line of
property succession. That line involves John Brown
John Brown is often credited with negotiating the first legally executed deed in
New England and possibly in all of America. However, there is also an argument
that the deed is a forgery. Regardless, the deed gave Brown claim to Damariscott
a and Bristol. It was executed in 1639. The grantee was the Indian Robin Hood. B
rown gave Robin Hood a hogshead of corn and thirty pumpkins for his title. It is
not all that clear if Muscongus was part of the transfer. With this point, we r
eturn to William Loud.
Which is the better name for the island where William Loud made his home, Muscon
gus or Louds? Muscungus seems to have an older claim. But then there is current
practice, be what it may. That point aside, this writer is particularly interest
ed in what Kimberly Merrill may turn up about William Loud as an individual.
Disclaimer: The author wishes to state that he is a descendant of William Loud.
Kimberly Merrill is his cousin. Both are also descended from Simeon Humphrey. Si
meon Humphrey married Elizabeth Loud. The author is also descended from John Mac
Murphy, one of the first of that family to acquire land on Louds or Muscongus Is
land. Lydia MacMurphy, daughter of John, married Emmanuel Francis. Emmanuel was
 the author's great-great grandfather. Family tradition has it that Emmanuel Fra
ncis once owned a portion of Loud's Island.