William Hawes

William Hawes (born October 23, 1772) was an American miller. He was one of the first mill owners in North Yarmouth, Province of Massachusetts, in the part of town that became, in 1849, Yarmouth, Maine, where over fifty mills were in business thereafter. He also represented North Yarmouth in the Maine House of Representatives.

Early life Hawes was born in Dorchester, Province of Massachusetts, on October 23, 1772,

Career In 1816, Hawes founded the first cotton rag paper mill at North Yarmouth's Second Falls, and ran it with father-and-son duo Henry and George Cox. It operated on the falls (eastern) side of the bridge and the northern side of the river from 1816 until 1821.

Personal life Hawes lived with his second wife, Susan, at this home (now known as the John B. Russwurm House) in Portland's Back Cove

Then a merchant in Boston, Hawes married Elizabeth Leeds (b. July 30, 1775) on July 13, 1806, in Dorchester. They had two children: Gustavus (1807) and Sarah Elizabeth (1809). At this stage, there were four intertwined bloodlines from the various marriages. He was known to say he "had nine children, and my wife has eleven, and but thirteen all counted."

Hawes was listed on the payroll of the Maine House of Representatives, the lower house of the Maine Legislature, in 1835.

In 1850, Hawes owned a house on Yarmouth's Main Street, where today's First Parish Congregational Church was built in 1867. That house was moved a short distance to 23 Storer Street.