Governor Palin’s Maine ancestry
10/16/08 | 41 comments

Governor Palin’s Maine ancestry


Before spreading out across the country, vice presidential candidate’s ancestors lived, farmed in Abbot
By Roxanne Moore Saucier
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTOS BY BRIDGET BROWN

When Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin visits Bangor today, she’ll be campaigning a scant 50 miles from where her maternal ancestors lived for more than four decades in the 19th century.

James Gower, a land agent who sold many pieces of land in the Piscataquis County town of Abbot, was Palin’s great-great-great-great-grandfather, according to U.S. Census records.

Although Palin could not be reached for comment on her heritage this week, her mother, Sarah “Sally” Heath of Wasilla, Alaska, was fascinated to hear she had ancestors from Maine — and that the home of one of them was still standing.

“It’s so interesting,” Heath said by phone Wednesday evening after a brief account of the Gowers’ move across the country. “I never paid attention to it; I never asked my parents when I was a kid.”

She said the only tidbit she knew from centuries ago was that “the family had a spoon that came over on the Mayflower.”

A genealogy search by the Bangor Daily News of the major party candidates indicated Palin has the only ancestral ties to Maine.

In Abbot, Kaye Roberts Sakahara owns one of the properties that was originally sold by Palin’s ancestor, James Gower.

“The Roberts land on Leeman Road that my brother and I now own was first sold by James Gower, as was other land in the area,” Sakahara said recently.

Gower was doing business in town at least as early as 1822, when he bought a sawmill and built a gristmill to go with it, according to “A Centeseptquinary History of Abbot, Maine 1827-2002,” compiled by Abbot residents Wayne Bennett, Donna Runnels, Sakahara, Alice Hescock Weymouth and others. He received the warrant for the first town meeting in Abbot in 1827.

James Gower and wife Susannah also had lived in Industry and Farmington before moving to Abbot, a short hop compared to the moves some of their 12 children would make to Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

Among James’ children who lived in Abbot as adults were sons Robert, Davis and Cornelius, Palin’s great-great-great-grandfather.

In 1850, Cornelius and wife Abigail were farmers in Abbot, raising children Clara, Abba and C. Albert, according to federal census records. Their property was valued at $2,000.

Two years later, Palin’s great-great-grandfather was born in Abbot, Arthur Collins Gower, but by 1860 Cornelius had moved his family to Winslow and another farm.

In the 1870 census, Cornelius by then had given up farming to become a lumberman in Ann Arbor, Mich. Seventeen-year-old Arthur was listed as “at college.”

A decade later, Arthur was a druggist still living with his family, though he did take a bride, the German-born Mary Schmolz, before the end of 1880, according to a Web site by Robert Battle on RootsWeb.

With the 1890 census mostly destroyed by fire, it’s 1900 before we find the Gowers in the census again.

Arthur and Mary lived in Wisconsin at that time, raising Ralph, 18; (James) Carl, 17, Palin’s great-grandfather; Ruth, 13; and Arthur, 4, in the town of Lafayette. Two other children had died, they told the census taker, and Arthur was now a farmer.

James Carl Gower, born in 1882, and wife Cora (Strong) were the parents of Palin’s grandmother Helen Gower, born in 1910 in Wisconsin.

In the 1930 census, Helen was listed with husband C.J. Sheeran on South Garfield Street, Pocatello City, Idaho.

Sheeran, who had been born in Washington state to parents from Minnesota and Wisconsin, was then a salesman for an electric company. His roots went back to Vermont.

Battle’s Web site lists the Sheerans as the parents of Palin’s mother, Sarah “Sally” Sheeran, who married Charles R. Heath.

Palin herself was born in Idaho, but a June 1964 clipping from the Tri City Herald in Washington state cited by Battle dates the Heath family’s move to Alaska as later that year: “In Alaska — Mrs. C.J. Sheeran of Richland has gone to Skagway to lend her help to her daughter and family, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Heath, while they get settled in their new home.”

So Gov. Palin’s Gower line made it from Maine to Alaska in little more than a century, but who’s left in the Pine Tree State?

No doubt Palin still has lots of cousins here, though many of Maine’s Gowers come from a Down East line that originated in Tennessee rather than James Gower’s father, Robert, who emigrated from England.

And Cornelius’ relatives who remained in Abbot when he left apparently didn’t stay, either.

His father, James Gower, died in Farmington in 1855 and is buried there. His mother, Susannah, was living with Davis and his family in 1860 in a big farm on Davidson Road, an extension of Back Road in Abbot.

The 1860 census asked for many specifics about family members, including whether the person was blind or deaf or a pauper. Susannah was listed as “insane,” though probably, at 79, what she actually had was age-related dementia. She died a few years later.

Just up the unpaved road from the farm, on the left, is the small Blanchard Cemetery, where Susannah Gower is buried. Her stone faces the back of the small graveyard and is etched with the simple inscription:

Susannah,

Wife of James Gower,

Died

June 10, 1864

AE 83

Below the inscription are engraved these words:

Thou art my hope, O Lord

Thou art my trust from my youth

Two years after her death, Davis Gower sold his farm and moved his family to Winslow.

But the farm where Susannah lived with her son’s family is well-known as the house of “Miss Davidson,” longtime teacher and principal Faith Davidson at Abbot Elementary School.

The house at 12 Davidson Road has been owned for 11 years by Donna and Charles Runnels, who have it up for sale. Donna Runnels, a member of the Daughters of Union Veterans who grew up in Wisconsin, wrote a history of the property for the 2002 Abbot history.

Runnels has absorbed every bit of history she could find on the New England-style farmhouse.

“I’m pretty sure the house is older than 1856,” she said, the year that Davis and Susan Gower bought it from Davis’ sister and husband, Mary and Thomas Croswell, for $2,000.

“I think the cemetery was part of the farm,” Runnels said, “because the land went all in that direction, to the north.

“That cemetery began as a family cemetery,” she said. “The oldest stone I could find was October 18, 1829, Sarah Blanchard, wife of Josiah. She was 33. The next oldest stone was 1832, Horace Gower, the son of Robert and Rosamond Gower.”

The original part of the house in Abbot, Runnels explained, is the portion that is closest to Davidson Road.

“We’re quite sure there was a center chimney with two rooms to the front and two rooms to the back, and upstairs two bedrooms had fireplaces,” she said.

“It was a typical big house, little house, ell-barn type of thing,” Runnels said. “I would bet that the farm across the road was built by the same builder. His staircase is identical to ours.” That farm belonged to James and Mary Brown for many years.

The Runnelses now live in a newer home in another town, a fact that makes Donna Runnels really appreciate that the farm in Abbot was “such a well-built house.”

The barn on the back of the building is a replacement for the one that burned in 1963, Runnels said. That barn was full of hay, she has been told, and it was the efforts of the Guilford Fire Department that kept the entire house from being destroyed, too.

The journey of Gov. Palin’s Gower ancestors in Maine and across the country is interesting to Runnels.

Hearing of the famous connection to the house she lived in, “I’m very surprised,” she said. “It makes it very interesting to me because I did all the research in that house. It’s interesting to me, too, that part of the family ended up in Wisconsin,” where Runnels is from.

But the connections are strictly historical, Runnels will have you know: “I’m still not voting for her.”

For more on Sarah Palin’s Maine relatives, read Family Ties on Monday, Oct. 20, in the Bangor Daily News. Robert Battle’s Web site on Palin’s maternal ancestry is at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/palin.htm.

Governor Palin’s Maine ancestry

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHER

Robert Gower of Norwich, England

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

James and Susannah Gower of Farmington and Abbot

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

Cornelius and Abigail Gower

of Abbot, Winslow and Michigan

GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

Arthur C. and Mary Gower of Wisconsin

GREAT-GRANDPARENTS

[James] Carl and Cora (Strong) Gower

of Wisconsin

GRANDPARENTS

C.J. and Helen (Gower) Sheeran

of Idaho and Washington state

PARENTS

Charles and Sarah “Sally” (Sheeran) Heath

of Idaho and Alaska

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Comments
41 comments on this item
On 10/16/08 at 12:35 AM, eveningrain wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Gee do we really want to advertise that she has roots to Maine? It's bad enough we have to claim Georgie Bush, Jr.

I'm sure her relatives were nice folks - but that was longgggggg ago! I say let's leave it as her ties are to Idaho....lol

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On 10/16/08 at 1:23 AM, Johninphilippines wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Leave a dead horse dead. enough is enough of this search mission about Sarah Palin. Is this all someone has to do is dig up someone's ancesteral history, when, I'am sure, there is more news to report on and more things to do with someone's time?

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On 10/16/08 at 1:24 AM, Johninphilippines wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Is this all that there is to report on? I'am positive that there are other stories a lot more interesting, than some time-consuming story that really makes no difference to anyone or anything.

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On 10/16/08 at 1:25 AM, Johninphilippines wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Sorry for the double-posting.

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On 10/16/08 at 2:34 AM, MurphyL wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

WHO REALLY GIVES A CRAP............OTHER THAN SHE AND MCCAIN ARE FULL OF IT NOW

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On 10/16/08 at 4:22 AM, garysavard wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I thought this was an interesting story. I find any geneology related information interesting. A sample of life back in another time.

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On 10/16/08 at 7:40 AM, centralmaine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Has anyone bothered to do such an in depth look at Obama? Maybe someone could help him locate his birth certificate.

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On 10/16/08 at 7:51 AM, Sunnyside wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm disappointed that this is the front page, above the fold story today in our daily newspaper.

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On 10/16/08 at 7:59 AM, mrclam wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

She comes from a long line of inbred moose killers.

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On 10/16/08 at 8:04 AM, sunnie1959 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

centralmaine, you keep spreading internet hoaxes about Obama's birth certificate. People have seen it, examined it, and this is such a non-issue.http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn227/Polarik/BO_Birth_Certificate.jpg

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On 10/16/08 at 8:04 AM, Elizabethann wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It might be interesting. The apple usually doesn't fall far from the tree. We could also do Obama's family tree. My family tree is really interesting. Explorers, scientists, artists, musicians. It's a good reminder for our kids. When they are told they come from "good stock" they push harder when times get tough. Builds character.

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On 10/16/08 at 8:05 AM, SteveyDee wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

That's not very nice old bearded one.

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On 10/16/08 at 8:27 AM, pseym4 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Who cares! It's over Rover! After last night's debates, I couldn't care less if Donald Trump was Sarah Palin's father. " Sarah, I am your father"... hahahaaha

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On 10/16/08 at 8:33 AM, skyhawk wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Don't care where she came from but know where she is going after election. BACK HOME!! Take good care of the babies up there , it's cold up there , brrrrrrrrrr.

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On 10/16/08 at 8:57 AM, TruthNow wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am sick of all the attacks on Gov. Palin.

Obama is fortunate to have the news media supporting him. He just waited and they attacked and destroyed Palin for him. In 2008 America saw the complete collapse of non-partisan journalism.

Yes, Obama will win because the news media wants it. But the American people have lost because we can no longer depend on the news being reported fairly and objectively.

When will the news media investigate Joe Biden as thoroughly as Palin?

When will Biden’s record in Congress and personal history appear on the front pages and the lead story on TV news networks?

Biden has been in Congress 35 years. There must be a ton of dirt to throw on him. Why haven’t the news media gone dirt digging on him like they have Palin?

When will the news media investigate Obama as thoroughly as Palin? We still don’t know the truth about Bill Ayers, Tony Rezko, Rev. Wright, Father Michael Pfleger, James Cone, Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, and Obama’s recruiting and training workers for ACORN, and his connection to the John and Richard Daley Political Machine in Chicago.

When will the news media send lawyers, reporters, and staff to Chicago, and all over Illinois, and to Delaware like they have to Alaska?

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On 10/16/08 at 9:00 AM, franseamans3 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Wow! What a lot of vitriol! Why use your God- given time and talent spewing hatefulness? Whatever will be, will be.

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On 10/16/08 at 9:10 AM, Saltoria wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm glad youleft wing nuts aren't at the rally holding hate signs and showing how ignorant some Mainer's are! Now, go back to fighting, I have work to do!! Havre fun!

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On 10/16/08 at 9:25 AM, readtome wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

mrclam, That was about as ignorant a comment as I've read lately. Have you ever been to Abbot? I have relatives who also came from Abbot, and none of them are inbred. Don't you know how popular moose hunting is in this state? Just because somebody likes to go hunting, doesn't mean they are inbred. I can't believe how much Sarah Palin has been attacked.

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On 10/16/08 at 9:28 AM, jaygee wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I'm proud to hear of Sarah's Maine ties.

Meanwhile, everyone needs to watch the following before Election Day:

http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=RfIV1ntYggc

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On 10/16/08 at 9:40 AM, MisplacedMainer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

http://www.factcheck.org/

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On 10/16/08 at 9:41 AM, concerned15 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

readtome....I agree that it is ignorant to call folks inbred just because they love moose hunting. If that is what they what to do then who cares... what affect does it have on your life, my life, or anyone else who is on this comment board? What I dont agree with is your complaint as well as others on here stating that they cant believe how much Sarah Palin is being attacked. If she could hold her own in a debate, answer a question without seeming that it is completely scripted, or form a thought that makes me feel safe that she will be president if McCain is elected maybe I would maybe be okay with her. But let's face it even though she is trying to appeal to the "joe six packs" of america (which by the way is highly insulting to those of the midwest) it's not working. More and more americans are seeing through her bullshit. This election has been so hyped up and both parties are not running clean campaign's. The effect of media on this campaign is more present than ever before. Please anyone who is looking to elect McCain/Palin for the simple reason that they see Palin as a great woman that really rings true with what they want for you kids and your family in this country please really think it through. She is so young and cant answer a single question about forgein policy. It terrifies me that if McCain is elected being that he is in his early 70s that she may be president one day. And dont tell yourself that its great because she is a woman and it will do so much for politics in this country. Im not against having a woman president it just has to be the right one. Sorry to break it to you Bangor, but Sarah Palin isnt it.

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On 10/16/08 at 9:51 AM, NochigahnehAlnabeh wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Interesting.

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On 10/16/08 at 9:55 AM, NochigahnehAlnabeh wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I have ancestors in this neck of the woods too. Goes back about 10,000 years. Wonder if they knew Palin's folks? lol

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On 10/16/08 at 10:10 AM, Noblamegaming wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

True longtime conservatives have recently and are continuing to abandon the Republican Party and/or question McCain's choice of Palin in droves. They include: George Will, Christopher Buckley, Charles Krauthammer, Peggy Noonan, and Kathleen Parker, among many others. They apparently know something that the rest of you have yet to acknowledge. Can you say "reality"?

Sure you can. Gonna take some adapting, but you'll get used to it. We know, after the last eight years.

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On 10/16/08 at 2:17 PM, Mainelyme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

No Bible thumpers to state that we are all descended from Adam and Eve, or their bi sexual son Cain? Okay, we're all descended from Adam and Eve and their bi sexual son. Cain."

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On 10/16/08 at 2:17 PM, Mainelyme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Was that Able?

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On 10/16/08 at 2:30 PM, LawandOrder wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am the owner of the featured farm. I have always been interested in the history of my house, the adjoining Blanchard Cemetery, and the town of Abbot even though I'm "from away". I always wanted to live in an old house that people had been born in and died in. The house on Davidson Road fit the bill perfectly. I enjoyed the story because of the connection to my farm.

I do not support Palin in any way, shape, or form. I have done a lot of research on her. I think she is totally unqualified and unethical. I keep wondering who's taking care of her baby? Not her! Not Todd! Then who? If she is a conservative Christian, how come I've never seen a picture of anyone from her family entering a church? If her morals are so strict, why was she pregnant when she got married? Why does her daughter find herself in the same boat?

For the staunch Republicans, please note in the article that the farm with 55 acres is for sale. If you really like Palin, you should buy it! See MLS Listing #183323290 for more information.

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On 10/16/08 at 3:11 PM, Sassy1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Now Palin (ot Tena Fey) can say her ancestors could see Canada from their house. Waht a foreign diplomat she could be lol.

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On 10/16/08 at 3:12 PM, Sassy1 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Now Palin (ot Tena Fey) can say her ancestors could see Canada from their house. Waht a foreign diplomat she could be lol.

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On 10/16/08 at 3:52 PM, concerned15 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

law and order I love your comment. It is so true if she is really a hellbent christian and thinks we roamed around with dinosaurs dont you think we would have seen some picture with her and her entire family entering a church showing what great americans they are. Great point. November 4th cant come soon enough because sarah palin will just be a distant memory.

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On 10/16/08 at 5:09 PM, scottcom36 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

C'mon, you loons! It's interesting when someone on the national scene has a connection to our state. If this story was about Barack having Maine roots you libs would be drooling over your keyboards. Instead you just take the opportunity to spew hate. I'd expect that of conservatives, since they're supposed to be humorless grouchy curmudgeons. But I thought liberals were supposed to be tolerant and big-hearted. They are, but only toward people who think exactly the way they do.

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On 10/16/08 at 6:34 PM, sunlover43 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

LawandOrder, Roxanne did a wonderful job with the article on your farm...I remember it fondly growing up in Abbot, riding my bike on those old roads. I have to say though, the absolutely BEST line was yours at the end....“I’m still not voting for her.” WOOOHOOOOW. She needs to go back to Alaska and stay there, as my grandfather W. says.

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On 10/16/08 at 6:35 PM, mariahstorm wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Now, I see it differently.... looks like they followed the money trails.... from owner of sawmill,and grist mill ,farming, to loggers, to trade routes, to gold areas and finally the oil industry...but that is just my view.... this was in abe lincoln's time... do some research into first assassination and that it was covered up then........

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On 10/16/08 at 6:54 PM, hankwilliams wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Let me guess. Someone from the Republican National Committee called the Bangor Daily News with the breathless, breaking news that SARAH PALIN HAS MAINE ANCESTORS! Your breathless reporter couldn't wait to get into print with a story. The BDN kills me. A plane could crash in Indonesia, killing all 527 people on board, and the headline would read: "Man with great aunt in Hermon dies in plane crash." Sarah Palin could be related to Ed Muskie, Margaret Chase Smith, and Percival Baxter and she would STILL be unqualified for the vice-presidency.

A free press has a duty to provide information to the citizenry. Palin is an unknown, hence the (rightful) scrutiny. Biden has a long political record, and gives many interviews. The press has every right to ask Palin tough questions, and as a candidate for national office, she has every obligation to answer them. Instead we get fluff like this. What are the Republicans hiding? They really, really do think we're stupid.

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On 10/16/08 at 7:15 PM, JJHampden wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I and many others enjoy articles on history and genealogy.

Sounds like a few people can't be jealous without showing it.

How petty and shallow.

.

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On 10/16/08 at 11:14 PM, JoeCentral wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I can't ever remember a time when there was so much hate between political parties. Interesting times we live in. I can't see it getting much better. We're in for some rough times ahead.

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On 10/17/08 at 12:33 AM, Cherry wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Sassy1 -- Too freekin funny, that is just what this comment post needed, comic relief, thanks. Now, if everyone else could lighten up and go home and get an enema, or do a bong hit or go on a dingleberry hunt, they would be soooo much better off.

NochigahnehAlnabeh -- "you betcha", Palin's ancestors were probably the whites who introduced your ancestors to the six pack along with raping, pillaging and killing your people. Cheesh, she's doing it to your people in Alaska now, but hey, it's okay, cause her husband is native, enit?

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On 10/17/08 at 8:50 AM, friendly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

There was a James Gower who lived in Calais a number of years ago. (As late as the 1980's and 1990's) Whether or not he came from the line of the English James Gower I do not know. His daughter lives now in Peabody Estates in Princeton. Her name is also Gower.

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On 10/17/08 at 10:12 AM, tonyshaw wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Good Show.............................

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On 10/17/08 at 11:24 AM, concerned15 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

the circus came to town didnt you hear

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On 10/17/08 at 11:53 AM, LawandOrder wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You would think someone from the Republican party staff would have been bright enough to look at the front page of the BDN yesterday since they were in Bangor and see the article--but maybe not! Palin could have used the Maine connection in her "speech" (I use the word loosely). But I'm glad she didn't. That could have pushed undecided Maine voters over the edge to vote for her (pretty sad reason to choose).

By the way, Mrs. Palin, my son is going to Iraq next month, and I don't want John McCain to be his Commander-in-Chief!

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