Andover view

According to an 1861 letter written by Silvanus Poor of Andover, Maine, to Dr. Nathaniel T. True of Bethel, Molly Ockett was living at the forks of the Ellis River in Andover with "old Phillip's (an Indian) family," when Ezekiel Merrill, that town's first settler, moved there with his family in May of 1789. According to Poor, "She was probably about 60 years at that time [and] was now too old for the chase, but spent much of her time about the lakes and ponds in this vicinity. She also used to bring in and dry moose meat that was killed by the other Indians in the spring of the year. . . . She spent about half of her time here when she was not trapping, and the remainder in Bethel and vicinity, making baskets, moccasins, wampam [sic], &c. She was industrious and peaceable, and was formerly quite handsome . . . and had a large supply of bracelets, jewelry, &c., but most of it was given away or disposed of before her death."