William Lithgow

Hon. William Lithgow (c. 1715 – December 20, 1798) was a judge for the Court of Common Pleas of Lincoln County, when Maine was under the jurisdiction of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Lithgow also served in the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia for twenty years before and during the French and Indian War. Biography William Lithgow's family, emigrated from Derry, Ireland, after leaving Scotland due to the fallout from the Jacobite rising of 1689. They arrived in Boston on the ship "Olive", chartered by Robert Temple. William was just three years old when he and his family came to the Americas. From Boston, the Lithgows traveled north to present day Maine, at the mouth of the Kennebec River near Merrymeeting Bay, where William's father, Robert, prospected land in Topsham territory around 1720. However, due to incessant Indian attacks, the Lithgow family was forced to flee, seeking refuge at Fort George in Brunswick, about four miles distance. Like his father, William joined the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia when he was about 19. He was attached to the garrison of Fort George, and then promoted to command Fort Richmond on the Kennebec.