ALFRED — A fascinating tale of a quirk in the apparently otherwise smooth operation of county government more than 200 years ago happened after an election where the incumbent York County Register of Deeds William Frost, of York, lost.

Frost, a Revolutionary War veteran, was among more than eight candidates for the post. Jeremiah Goodwin of Alfred, according to a historical memorandum written June 10, 1816, earned a plurality of about 300 votes countywide, and was declared the winner of the April 16, 1816, contest.

Frost had first been elected Register of Deeds 30 years earlier, on April 12, 1786. But incumbents are not always returned to office, and what happened next was a bit unusual – and it is all laid out in the memorandum, located along with thousands of other documents, at York County Court House in Alfred.

In the days after Goodwin was declared the winner, Frost refused to return records books and files “stating it was injudicious and inconvenient,” according to the 1816 memorandum.

The document outlines that the Court of Sessions ordered the high sheriff of the day to “repair to the office of Wm Frost, esquire, the (former) register of deeds, and take possession of the books of record and the files and papers belonging to the office” and deliver them to the newly elected register, Goodwin, in Alfred.

“The History of York County Maine,” by WW. Clayton, indicates the high sheriff in 1816 was Ichabod Goodwin of Berwick.

All of the books except one were seized, and eventually, Frost relinquished the last one; there were 93 in all, along with numerous files and record books.

Recognizing the value of old documents – some dating back to the early days of the county, which was formed in 1636 – has led York County Commissioners to authorize, in several phases, a program to sort, document and preserve them. Earlier this year, the board authorized Phase 4.

Paige Lilly of Lilly Archival, who has been helping sort, categorize and safely preserve the historical documents, said the work will include a collaboration with the Maine State Archives on a pilot project to digitize, in color, some county records. Initially, the collaboration will focus on documents pertaining to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2025 – honing in on the period from about 1770 to 1800. Other initiatives include planning for preservation of 3,000-5,000 pages of commissioners’ case and docket files from around 1830 to 1970s. As well, a guide to historical York County records has been prepared and once finalized, is to be made available to the public, online.

While some are interested in the history itself – others seek to examine the records to help them answer questions of today.

Historical records can have an impact on current property concerns, from beachfront locales to property located on abandoned or discontinued roads, said Registrar of Deeds Nancy Hammond. Surveyors, woodlot managers, employees of the Maine Forest Service and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife have all entered through the deeds registry door, looking for information, she noted.

“They’re relevant on a daily basis, particularly with road issues,” said Hammond, noting the January storms that heavily damaged a road in Wells and pointing to a 1946 plan in the county’s files that showed details about the roadway. “It is very relevant and a very pressing need.”

The vote by York County Commissioners to proceed with the next phase was unanimous.

As to Frost, he had served in the American Revolution as ensign, lieutenant, commissary of issues and surveyor general, and had been stationed at Fort George, Fort Ticonderoga, and Valley Forge, among other locales. As well as his 30 year tenure with the Registry of Deeds, Frost had also served as York County treasurer from 1787 to 1812.

Frost was born May 26, 1747, and died June 2, 1827, in York Village. He is buried in the Old York Cemetery, also called Old Parish Cemetery, at the corner of York Street (Route 1A) and Linsday Road.

Jeremiah Goodwin, who served in the War of 1812, was first elected York County Register of Deeds in 1816 and served several terms, until 1836, according to York County records. As well, he served as Alfred postmaster for 27 years, according to an online family history. In 1832, Goodwin was a delegate from the York congressional district to the Democratic convention in Baltimore that nominated President Andrew Jackson for re-election. The Maine State Archives notes Goodwin, of Alfred, served as treasurer for the State of Maine for the year 1839.

Born in Kittery July 1, 1785, during the latter years of his life he lived in the Great Falls section of Somersworth, New Hampshire, where he died on July 31, 1857.

In addition to his role as York County sheriff, General Ichabod Goodwin, born in 1743, was “a loyal patriot throughout the Revolutionary War and a staunch Federalist thereafter,” according to an article by Paula Bennett for the Old Berwick Historical Society. In 1775 and 1776, Berwick chose Goodwin to attend the Provincial Congress in Watertown, Massachusetts, to deliver a petition for the body to consider the vulnerable position of the seacoast region and to pledge support to their fellow citizens in Boston. An early assignment was to dispense money to citizens of York County in exchange for guns and ammunition. In 1787, he was elevated to the rank of major general of the 6th Division Militia of York, Maine, according to the Bennett article. Documentation in 1789, shows him as presiding over the meeting of his fellow citizens to review the draft of the new Constitution of the United States. As well, he served as president of the committee to determine if York County should separate from Massachusetts. Later he was involved in the War of 1812. He died in 1829, and is buried at Old Fields Cemetery in South Berwick.

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