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| Illus. from the publication, "Ye romance of old York" by Herbert Milton Sylvester |
Phebe Littlefield Heard was a second generation colonist in 17th century New England. Her father, Francis Littlefield, was born in Hampshire on the southern coast of England. He migrated to the colonies in the 1630's. Francis married a Maine native, Rebecca Rust, in December of 1646 in Wells, Maine which is just a couple miles down the coast from Kennebunkport. Phebe was born in 1670, one of several children. She married Captain John Heard in April of 1690. By 1697, Phebe and John had three girls and one boy under the age of 7-- Dorcus, Phebe, Shua and James. They were living in the vicinity of the village of Eliot, Maine.
The following excerpt was written in 1906. Like the picture above, it is taken from the book, "Ye romance of old York" by Herbert Milton Sylvester. Eliot is in York County, Maine. The passage describes the final moments of 10th great grandmother, Phebe Littlefield Heard.
This was old Quamphegan, better known in these hurrying days, as South Berwick. It was here that church service was first inaugurated, for John Mason sent over with his pioneer colonists (which was in 1631), a communion set, also a "great Bible and twelve Service Books." The service was of the Episcopalian order, and I have no doubt but the service of the Church was read, and that the laborers joined in saying of the responses and the creed with bowed heads and an accompanying reverence. As early as 1640 fines were imposed for such violations of the Sabbath as occurred, which may be taken as an indication of the sanctity with which this day was thus early clothed.
This, in 1668 was known as the parish of Unity. Stackpole concludes that the first meeting-house here was built about 1659; but the service seems to have been of a somewhat desultory character, as this parish was presented to the court four separate times in as many years, "for not providing a minister."
It was from this old church that Captain Frost was returning on that summer morning of 1697, in company with Dennis Downing, John Heard and his wife Phoebe. They had reached a point in the bridlepath of those days, opposite a huge boulder, which was about a mile away to the north from the Frost garrison house. The sharp reports of three guns broke the silence. Captain Frost and Downing were killed instantly. The Heard woman, although sorely wounded, tried to regain her saddle but was unable to do so. Falling back into the path, Spartan-like she urged her husband to ride for the cabin and place the children in safety, which he did, notwithstanding the savages chased him and shot his horse under him just as he got to the garrison. He saved his house and his children. Heard was a great Indian fighter, and the Indians were desirous to obtain his scalp. They lurked about his place to finally come across him in the woods. Heard ran and the Indians gave chase. He remembered a hollow log in the woods and made for that, into which he crept, thereby evading his pursuers. He had killed his dog, so he might not be betrayed by that faithful animal, and while thus concealed the savages came to the log. Here they sat down to get their wind, and he listened to what they would do to John Heard when they caught him.
The body of Frost was decently buried, and the night after these ghouls of the woods had opened the grave and taken the body to the crest of Frost's Hill and impaled it upon a stake. Such was their hatred of the man who helped to plan and carry out the trick which has come down in history as Waldron's Ruse. This boulder still cleaves to its pasture side and is known as Ambush Rock.
Major Charles Frost was a well known leader and Indian fighter in his day. At the time of the ambush he was the highest ranking military officer in Maine. According to the Eliot Historical Society, the heavy granite stone used to mark his final resting place and secure his remains from further desecration is the oldest grave marker in the state.
Waldron's Ruse, mentioned in the passage, refers to a deception carried out by Richard Waldron (militia leader) and Charles Frost during King Philip's War (1676) where about 400 Indians were convinced to pitch a mock battle with the militia. After the Indians had fired their guns, they were quickly forced to surrender their weapons to a fully armed militia. The Indians were marched to Boston and those not executed were sold into slavery. Most were shipped to the Caribbean. The remaining Native population in the Colony were set on revenge.
In 1897, the village of Eliot created the Eliot Historical Society with the intent of commemorating the 200th anniversary of the ambush. A ceremony was held. Songs were sung; speeches and poems were read. In 1915 a bronze plaque was placed on the boulder at the site of the ambush. The plaque lists the people killed during the ambush, including Phebe Heard. In 2018, a full 321 years after the event, the boulder is still marked and the story is still told.
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| Ambush Rock as it appears today |
--Lineage from Phebe Heard--
Phebe Littlefield (1670-1697) who married John Heard (1667-1751)
[mother of]
Shua Heard (1694-) who married Nathan Bartlett (1691-1775)
[mother of]
Phebe Bartlett (1721-1805) who married John Dennett (1716-1787)
[mother of]
Phebe Dennett (1744-1799) who married Henry Sherburne (1737-1823)
[mother of]
Samuel Sherburne (1770-1819) who married Ursule Rose DuBois (1768-1824)
[father of]
Eugene Amedee Sherburne (1802-1860) who married Margaret Newton Lindsay (1816-1852)
[father of]
Charles Brashear Sherburne (1841-1913) who married Patience Elizabeth Young (1841-1892)
[father of]
Annie Eliza Sherburne (1876-1915) who married Nathaniel William Sentell (1866-1936)
[mother of]
Annie Lou Sentell (1903-1990) who married William McGinty McBride Sr (1899-1963)
[mother of]
William McGinty McBride Jr (1929-2016) who married Marjorie Catherine Keller
[father of]
John Sentell McBride who married Karen Nell Cochran
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