William Sewall

Born: April 13, 1845 in Island Falls, Maine
Died: March 15, 1930
Buried:

William Sewall son of Levi and Rebecca Sewall, was born in Island Falls, Maine, on April 13, 1845, making him the first child born to the town’s early settler families. When William was 11 years old, he went to school in New Limerick for an undisclosed amount of time. Later, at the age of 16, he was taught by his sisters, and this was the extent of his traditional education.

After his early schooling career was complete, he took 4 years to learn about the timber industry. By 1865, he was ready to start his own timber industry that would become his livelihood for most of his life. Because of his chosen career path and experience in the North Maine woods, William met and guided Theodore Roosevelt on his first expedition hunting which later led to them becoming best friends. This friendship lasted for the rest of Theodore’s life ultimately granting each other many opportunities. One opportunity included but was not limited to William traveling to the Badlands of North Dakota to help Theodore build Elkhorn Rand and take care of it.

What made William so skilled at taking care of Elkhorn Ranch was his past experiences housing and guiding visitors of Island Falls with his wife. The two would take responsibility for those who entered the town, giving them a place to stay, cooking, cleaning, showing them around town and doing whatever else they needed. Many people could say that William lived his life to the fullest. William lived the life he wanted to live.

William continued helping people until his death on March 15, 1930 in Raymond Rockingham, New Hampshire.