Jason Mariner was born 14 November 1824 in Lincolnville, Maine.  He was the next to the youngest son of Deacon Joseph and Abigail (Heal) Mariner.  Jason had four brothers and one sister  He was the grandson of J. Naler and Ruth (Higgins) Mariner.  Naler and his sons were among the early settlers in the upper part of Lincolnville, Maine, in the section of the town called ‘Millertown’, coming from Bath, Maine.  Philip Mariner, also son of J. Naler and Ruth (Higgins) Mariner settled in Searsmont, Maine, having many descendants in that area. 

Rev. Jason Mariner, was a Circuit preacher in the North Montville area, with Elders John Colby, Moses McFarland and Ebenezer Knowlton, among others.  He was often accompanied by his elder brother, William, to Montville.  It was in North Montville, that William Mariner met and courted Sally Maria Jackson, daughter of William and Sylvia (Jackson) Jackson.  They married on 7 Jan. 1845, and returned to the family farm in Lincolnville to reside with the elder Mariners.

In 1850 Jason was attending the Whitestown Seminary in Onieda County, New York, studying to become an ordained pastor.  The days were long and arduous at Whitestown, rising at 4 a.m.  The students were required to work at least three hours a day, and less than four hours per day.  They worked in the fields on the farms in the summer and harvest time, and in a factory making farm tools, including buckets and pails during the cold weather.  Jason boarded with a Tilton family while in Whitestown.

Rev. Jason Mariner and John Lamb went to West Camden, Maine, which became Rockport, in the Rockville section of the town, to start meetings at the church circa 1851.  Crowds from all around came to the church after Rev. Mariner was given a unanimous call to become the pastor.  The large congregation required that a larger and better church be built in a more suitable location.  The Rockville Baptist church, formerly called West Camden Freewill Church, was built, and was dedicated on the 27th of Nov. 1851.  Rev. Ebenezer Knowlton of South Montville gave the dedication sermon. Rev. Mariner was a spellbinding preacher who talked many a parishioner out of a $50 donation for a pew.  At that time, $50 was a large sum of money.  Purchasing a pew was a fund-raiser to support the church.  It entitled the donor a deed to said pew, for him, his family, his heirs, etc.  The pew belonged to the family, where they faithfully sat week after week.  Families came from miles around to hear Rev. Mariner, on foot, horseback and by wagon.

In the Allen Goodwin records [of Palermo and Montville, Maine, on file at University of Maine, Orono], Goodwin wrote: “Dec. 16, 1853 - The committee of J. Mariner and Wm. Small, a committee to visit the one church in Montville, reported that they found the Church in a low state, yet wished to retain their organization.”

The Free Will Baptist conference held ‘Quarterly Meetings’ all over the area, as far away as Vassalboro, Jackson, Dixmont and Plymouth, Maine.  A monthly conference was held in each newly-formed church.  In Aug. 1853, the church members in Montville met at the schoolhouse for regular Meeting. Among those listed were Elder William Mariner and his wife Sally.  In Jan. 1856, Rev. Jason Mariner, his elder brother, William Mariner, his wife, Sally, and her parents were among those who were present at the dedication of the new North Montville Meeting House.

The Mariners were members of the Temperance movement, which preached ardent abstinence from drinking alcohol of any form.  Members were required to sign a Temperance pledge, promising to abstain from the drinking of any alcoholic beverage.  They believed that alcohol attributed to corruption of morals, including family and spousal abuse, and inability to work.  Most of the women of the local churches were ardent Temperance Society supporters.

Rev. Jason Mariner married on Thanksgiving Day, 20 Nov. 1855, in the Free Will Baptist Church in Camden by Rev. William H. Littlefield to Adelaide Horatia [called Adelia] Carter, who was born 1 March 1835 in Camden, Maine, probably the daughter of Joseph and Lowly E. (Fish) Carter.  Their children were Lola Abigail, born 17 Aug. 1856 in Camden, Me., Julia Alice born 12 Sept. 1858 in Corinth, Maine; and Albert Scott born 17 February 1861 in Rockland, Maine.

A favorite pulpit of Rev. Mariner was the Lincolnville Meeting House which was built in 1821, where his father, Joseph Mariner, was a Deacon.  Jason was a schoolteacher in Lincolnville. Lucy (Lamb) Bean related in a tale told to Henry Buxton in 1938 for The Bangor Daily News that when she out-spelled all the students in the school, the teacher, Mr. Mariner, said in scorn to the older students, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself to let a six-year old girl from the woods spell you down!”

Free Will Baptist ‘circuit preachers’ were known for traveling wherever the Lord led, often on horseback, or on foot, to preach the Gospel.  Rev. Jason preached all over the State of Maine, as evidenced by the birthplaces of his children.  He was in Belfast, Camden, Corinth, Lincolnville, and Rockland, among other places.  He preached in the Brown’s Corner Church in Northport, in struggling new churches in Montville and Liberty, and in the Rockville Church where he was pastor when the church was built in 1851.  When it is considered that he traveled to all of those places before automobiles, one can realize his dedication to his calling from the Lord. Rev. Jason preached to large congregations wherever he went.

An obituary for Eben C. Oxton of Rockville who died at his home, related, “Many years ago Mr. Oxton experienced religion at the church at Rockville, under Elder Mariner’s ministry.  For several years Mr. Oxton carried on the church affairs and Sunday school.”

Rev. Mariner and his family were in Essex County, Mass. by the end of the 1860’s.  In 1867, they were residing in Haverhill, Mass.  He was residing as a clergyman with his family in Auburn, Me. in 1880.  He later moved to Lynn, Mass., where he lived until his death.  He was Pastor of the Free-Will Baptist Churches in both Haverhill and Lynn, Mass.  He was a Chaplain in both the Merrimack Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons, and the Pentucket Chapter of Royal Arch Masons.

Rev. Jason and Adelia’s daughter, Lola, married in Lynn, Mass. on 2 July 1887 to S. Albert Green, son of James and Mary Green.  Lola died in 1928, and is buried with her mother.  Julia married on 8 July 1889 in Lynn, to Frank R. Benner, son of Jackson and Carrie Benner.  Albert married on 13 Apr. 1896 in Lynn, to Marsha A. Thompson.

Rev. Jason Mariner died 18 November 1891 at the age of 67 years and 4 days, in Lynn, Mass., where he resided with his family.  His death notice in The History of Belfast, Maine by Hon. Joseph Williamson stated that Jason Mariner “was a Free Baptist minister of force and had once resided in Belfast.” Rev. Jason Mariner’s Masonic gravestone is in Union Cemetery in the Millertown section of Lincolnville, Maine with his parents, grandparents and several generations of Mariner [and Mariner] descendants.  Rev. Jason’s wife, Adelia died on 21 Jan. 1910 in Lynn, Mass., where she and daughter Lola are buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery there in Lynn. Thus ended a pious life of a faithful Christian.  Blessed are those who die in the Lord. His worth is known in Heaven.  [I find it strange that Rev. Jason Mariner and his family are not buried together.]

Isabel Morse Maresh has written two articles about the family of Rev. Jason Mariner (Marriner).  The spelling of his family name evolved over time from Mariner to Marriner, not an uncommon thing in our early history. Her tracking of this family's  name evolution is given below.

The surname Mariner and Marriner appear to be interchangeable in the early records.  The early settlers were J. Naler Mariner, who with his sons were early settlers in Lincolnville, Me.  Naler's son, Phillip Mariner settled in Searsmont, Me.  In the early records of that town, Phillip's surname was spelled Merriner.  The Bible records of Joseph Mariner of Lincolnville, Me., and also of Rev. Jason spell their name Mariner.  The gravestone of Rev. Jason, in the Union Cemetery in the Millertown section of Lincolnville, Me. with his parents and siblings, are Mariner.  There are several generations of Mariner and Marriners in the Union Cemetery.  Rev. Jason's brother William and his wife are buried side by side there with matching stones.  William's name on his gravestone is Mariner, while next to him is buried his wife, Sarah M. Marriner.  In the 1880 Census, Rev. Jason Marriner was in Auburn, Maine.  William's only son, Austin Marriner and his only daughter, Annie, spelled the name Marriner.  The spelling 'Mariner' does not seem as popular in modern times as the spelling 'Marriner'.