English settlement around the natural harbor of the Piscataqua River estuary began about 1623. Kittery was incorporated in 1647, and today bills itself as "the oldest incorporated town in Maine." It was named after the birthplace of a founder, Alexander Shapleigh, from his manor of Kittery Court at Kingswear in Devon, England. Shapleigh arrived in 1635 aboard the ship Benediction, which he co-owned with another prominent settler, Captain Francis Champernowne,[4] a cousin of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, lord proprietor of Maine.[5] Together with the Pepperrell family, they established fisheries offshore at the Isles of Shoals, where fish were caught, salted, and exported back to Europe. Other pioneers were hunters, trappers, and workers of the region's abundant timber. The settlement at the mouth of the Piscataqua River was protected by Fort McClary.[6]
Funny you should ask, Erica. Just minutes ago I sent Ashley a link to a paper that mentions settlement along the eastern seaboard before the generally accepted dates:
http://www.dnaexplain.com/Publications/PDFs/WhereHaveAlltheIndiansG... (Where Have All the Indians Gone?)
I don't remember the details now but years ago I came across one Kittery family that claimed a maternal descent from a European woman born in the area in something like 1572. It wasn't clear to me even at the time whether the family was supposed to be English or Portuguese, but it was clearly supposed to be early fishermen at the Grand Banks.
Things like that make me a little nervous when people go around "correcting" birthplaces for early European immigrants. In a very small handful of cases they could be accidentally erasing clues to a contrary tradition. Perhaps not a legitimate tradition, but one that should be investigated using conventional means.
BTW, lots of other fascinating papers on that same site:
http://www.dnaexplain.com/Publications/Publications.asp