Oct. 8, 1829: Gov. Enoch Lincoln, Maine’s sixth governor, dies in Augusta at 40, becoming the state’s first governor to die while in office.
Lincoln’s chief claim to fame might be his role in determining that Augusta would become Maine’s capital and that the State House would be built there on Weston’s Hill, but he also is noted for the unexplained disappearance of his body. Lincoln’s remains, buried with a few other Maine notables at a monument in Augusta’s Capitol Park, have been missing since the 20th century. Nobody has been able to explain their disappearance.
Lincoln, a Massachusetts native who moved in 1812 to Fryeburg and in 1817 to the town of Paris, was the son of one Bay State governor and the brother of another. He considered himself more poet than politician. He also railed against slavery and predicted accurately that its continued existence would bring about a civil war.
Joseph Owen is an author, retired newspaper editor and board member of the Kennebec Historical Society. Owen’s book, “This Day in Maine,” can be ordered at islandportpress.com. To get a signed copy use promo code signedbyjoe at checkout. Joe can be contacted at: jowen@mainetoday.com.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
