USA > Massachusetts > Biographical history of Massachussetts; biographies and autobiographies of the leading men in the state, 1911, vol 7 > Part 17
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LLEWELLYN POWERS
Llewellyn Powers was the oldest son of this family, and with his full inheritance of industry, thrift, and self-reliance led the way toward the accomplishment of its ambitions, and gave help and encouragement to all the younger sons. As the schools in that remote district did not afford much opportunity, his education was largely self-acquired. By himself, he mastered higher mathematics and the rudiments of Latin and Greek. After some years he took an opportunity to attend St. Albans Academy for two terms, and later he went to Waterville Academy, which is now Coburn Clas- sical Institute. There he formed a life-long friendship with Bart- lett Tripp, afterwards Minister to Austria. Together they accom- plished the almost incredible task of completing their preparation for college in a term of fourteen weeks, and in the fall of 1857 they were matriculated without conditions in Colby University. They left college at the close of their Sophomore year, however, and Llewellyn Powers went to the Albany Law School in Albany, New York, where he was graduated in 1860. He was admitted to prac- tice in the State of New York, but in December, 1860, he returned to Pittsfield and was admitted to the Bar of Somerset County, Maine.
At this time the northern part of the State of Maine was being opened for settlement, and, true to the spirit of his fathers, Llewel- lyn Powers set out for the new country. He arrived late in Decem- ber, 1860, at Houlton, Maine, a typical frontier town with its gar- risoned fort and accompanying lawlessness,-straggling rows of houses and shacks that seemed scarcely able to withstand the invet- erate winter, with a strange population collected from everywhere, who had little in common except their faith in the country and their determination to make it prosper. Although the appearance of this far-away settlement was not inviting and would have discour- aged a less sanguine character, to Llewellyn Powers it spoke of the future, and he accepted its promise and opened a law office there.
Senator Burleigh says of his coming to Houlton, "I first made the acquaintance of Llewellyn Powers in 1861, when after his graduation from the Albany University Law School he came to Houlton, the shire town of the great county of Aroostook, to enter upon the practice of his profession. I was living at the time in an adjoining town, where I was born. Very well do I recall the appearance of Mr. Powers at that time, and the rapidity with
LLEWELLYN POWERS
which he impressed his strong and masterful personality upon the community. Young, affable, of splendid physique, alert of body and of mind, an indefatigable worker, he brought to his labors rare qualities of leadership and the elements that win success in the practice of the law. ... His own pioneer training stood him in good stead and specially fitted him for the leadership in the com- munity with which he had cast his lot. The great county of Aroos- took of that day was only in the early stages of the splendid devel- opment that has since been achieved there. A large part of its splendid domain, now covered with rich and fertile farms, was then a virgin forest. All over it men were engaged in the slow, laborious work of reclaiming the wilderness to the uses of hus- bandry. Among these hardy, industrious people Mr. Powers soon won the distinction of admitted leadership, both at the bar and in its political life."
In his practice of the law, he was successful from the beginning. In his first case he had for his opponent one of the oldest and ablest lawyers of the vicinity, but he won the issue, and thereby became well known throughout the country. Within two years he had attained a most enviable standing at the bar and enjoyed a large practice. In 1864 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the County, which was then strongly Democratic. As he was a pronounced Republican, this was largely a personal victory, and showed that he had already obtained that confidence and respect of the people, regardless of party, which marked his whole political career. He served in this office for six successive years with notable success. In 1869, while still Prosecuting Attorney, he was appointed by General Grant Collector of Internal Revenue for the Aroostook district, and held the office for four years. In 1873 he declined reappointment and went to the Legislature for three con- secutive sessions. There he earned the reputation of a wise and far-seeing legislator, and was looked to by his fellow members as a leader on all the important questions of the time. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee he exerted a marked influence on the lawmaking of that period. He drew and reported from an evenly divided committee the bill for the abolition of capital punishment, and after a long struggle, succeeded in having it made law. He vigorously adhered to the prohibition policy of his party and worked fearlessly for the enforcement of the law, although he
LLEWELLYN POWERS
doubted the wisdom of making the statute so stringent and the penalty so severe as to lose the support of the people generally.
In 1876 he was nominated for Congress. The contest was very bitter and he was subjected by certain malignant enemies to the extraordinary kinds of personal abuse that often characterized polit- ical contests of former times. Throughout it all, however, he was staunch and fair, never allowing the injustice of his opponents to bring forth retaliation in kind or to change in any way his own gentlemanly manner of conducting a campaign. An interesting contemporary view is contained in a letter from President Gar- field to Hannibal Hamlin, who was Vice-President under Lincoln, for many years a Senator from Maine, and afterwards Minister to Spain.
"Houlton, Maine, September 10, 1876. "DEAR SENATOR :
"I have had four very enthusiastic meetings in Aroostook, and I think there will be a full vote to-morrow. I am very glad I stayed over and spoke at Houlton; for it would have been a serious thing to have disappointed the people in this vicinity. It was really surprising to see what enthusiasm the people here exhibit in reference to Powers. The abuse he has received will help him in the long run. He is a live man and a noble fellow. I will drop you this note as I pass through your city to-morrow, to let you know how your Aroostook province is behaving. And I hope to hear from you at Bangor, that you will go to Ohio and aid us in our fight.
"I am, very truly yours,
"J. A. GARFIELD. "Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, Bangor, Maine."
The prophecy was true : he was elected by a good majority and went to Congress as Representative from the Fourth District of Maine. He was renominated in 1878, but was defeated, with most of the other Republican candidates, by the so-called Greenback wave that rolled over the State in the election of that year.
After this defeat, which was the only one he ever received, he devoted himself to his profession exclusively, and during these years he was the recognized leader of the bar of Aroostook County. He
LLEWELLYN POWERS
went again to the Legislature of 1883 and 1884. In the latter year he lost his wife, who was Jennie C., daughter of Benjamin Hewes of Levant, Maine. He then largely gave up his practice and spent some time in travelling. In 1886 he married Martha G. Averill, daughter of Luther E. and Eliza L. (Garvin) Averill of Lincoln, Maine, and shortly afterwards made his home in Brook- line, Massachusetts.
In 1887 he was admitted to the Suffolk Bar and began practice in the wider field. Here, as among the people whom he had left, he was recognized as an able advocate and an erudite lawyer. His shrewd commonsense, sound judgment, knowledge of human nature, and wide experience in public affairs made him a most successful advocate before the jury. His oratory was earnest and direct, and carried home to his listeners the conviction of his sincerity. He established a considerable practice in Massachusetts, but after a few years he heard that his return to his native State would be welcomed.
It was with a deep feeling for the people who had for so many years honored him with their suffrage that he went back to Houlton, in 1891, and in the following year was elected once more to repre- sent the town in the State Legislature. At the next session in 1895, having been returned without opposition, he was chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives, and in the memorable campaign of 1896 he was elected Governor by a majority of over forty-eight thousand votes, the largest ever given a candidate for any office in the history of the State. He was Governor during the Spanish War and his administration at that time, as throughout, was marked by rigid conservatism and fearless action.
Senator Sutherland of Utah once said of him: "It is a trite thing to say of any citizen of the Republic that he is patriotic. That is the normal attitude, thank God, of all our people. It is equally a trite thing to say of any properly constituted man that he is humane. That is the common attribute of our modern civil- ization. But a good many people who are patriotic in sentiment and humane in feeling are neither in practice when the practice entails personal sacrifice. Governor Powers believed that love of country was not a mere abstraction, but a deep and holy sentiment for which one should be willing to give his time and strength and property and, if need be, his life. When war was declared with
LLEWELLYN POWERS
Spain he was the Governor of his State. He was urged to call a special session of the Legislature in order that an appropriation might be made to equip and supply a regiment of volunteers for service in the field. This he declined to do, because of the great expense an extra session would involve, but instead he went into his own pocket and paid out of his personal means the great sum which was required to properly equip the troops and send them to the front. That the Legislature at its next regular session promptly reimbursed him detracts in no measure from the generosity and patriotism of his act. There was no legal obligation on their part to do so, and most men would probably have called the Legisla- ture together instead of taking upon their own shoulders the bur- den and responsibility which he assumed without regard to the con- sequences."
This and his other public acts were warmly endorsed by the people of the State, and in the succeeding election he was returned as their Chief Executive for another two years. In April, 1901, he was again chosen to represent the Fourth Congressional District of Maine, the Hon. Charles A. Boutelle having resigned his seat by reason of ill health. He was re-elected to the Fifty-eighth, Fifty-ninth and Sixtieth Congresses and had received the unani- mous nomination of his party for another Congressional term at the time of his death.
Governor Powers was a striking figure in the National House. Large and well proportioned physically, swarthy of complexion, his massive head crowned with a shock of raven black hair, he always attracted notice among his fellow members by his distinction of bearing and graciousness of manner. A Republican all his life, the traditions and principles of the party had been woven into the very warp and woof of his character, but although commonly known as a "standpatter," he never hesitated to voice his disagree- ment when a declaration or principle was contrary to his con- scientious conviction. He had a keen sense of justice and with both head and heart decided matters, particularly when they reached down to the firesides of the masses.
On account of his long experience in legal and financial mat- ters, he was appointed to serve on the Committees on Elections No. 1, Territories, and Banking and Currency, and there he brought to the national questions of those times the same studious considera-
LLEWELLYN POWERS
tion and matured judgment that had always characterized his work in public office. The members of the Committee on Banking and Currency continued to consult with him while he was confined to his bed in his last illness, and acknowledged a most valued assist- ance in framing the emergency currency measures that were passed immediately after the business panic of 1907.
His private interests were largely as a landholder. At one time he owned about two hundred thousand acres. For many years he was President of the Farmers' National Bank of Houlton, Maine. He was a director of several other financial institutions in Maine and in Boston. He was interested in the educational institutions of Maine, and served as a trustee of several which enjoyed his patronage. In 1870, Colby University conferred upon him a degree of A.M., and later, in recognition of his distinguished public serv- ices, the degree of LL.D. He was a member of the Masonic Fra- ternity and of the Order of Elks, but in neither of these was he an active member, as his public duties and other concerns absorbed nearly all his time and strength.
He died on July 28, 1908, his widow and the children of his second marriage, Walter A., Martha P., Doris V., Ralph A., and Margaret L. Powers all surviving him. At the time of his death he had been for forty-four years almost continually in the public service, and left a record unstained by any unworthy act, and dis- tinguished for loyal devotion to the interests of his constituents and his country. He was always courageous and independent, fair in his judgment, and strong in his convictions of right. This the people of that northern country well knew, and with pride and affection they gave him their earnest support for more than a generation. There he is remembered, not so much for his success in life, as for his warm, genial manner and kindly nature. His instincts were social. He loved the companionship of his fellow men. As he came and went he had a cordial word and hearty greeting for everyone he met, and few there were who could resist the rare charm of his personality. There was no trace of snobbery or affectation in his character; if he had a weakness, it was his extreme modesty at all times. He was a delightful, kind-hearted man. "He looked out upon life with the spirit of an optimist and from the depths of his own frank and generous nature radiated an atmosphere of hope and cheer upon those about him."
WALTER AVERILL POWERS
W ALTER AVERILL POWERS was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, April 16, 1888. He is the son of Lewellyn Powers and Martha G. (Averill) Powers. His father was a prominent lawyer and citizen of the State of Maine. His extensive law practice led him in 1887 to seek and gain admit- tance to the Suffolk County Bar in Massachusetts. To this tem- porary residence in Boston is due the fact that Massachusetts is the native State of Walter Averill Powers. His father was well known in political as well as legal circles when Walter was born. He had served Aroostook County, Maine, six years, as prosecut- ing attorney and the same district for four years, as United States Collector of Customs. He had represented his district four terms in the Maine Legislature and the fourth congressional district of Maine in the Forty-fifth Congress of the United States. For the remainder of his seventy-two years of life he was much in the service of the public. He was twice elected Governor of Maine 1897-1901 and was United States Congressman from the fourth district to the Fifty-seventh, Fifty-eighth, Fifty-ninth, and Six- tieth Congresses. He did not serve out his last term in the Con- gress, dying July 28, 1908.
Walter A. Powers was named for his immigrant ancestor, Walter Power, who before 1641 came from Essex, England, to Charlestown, Massachusetts, removing later to what is now Little- ton, Massachusetts. Among his colonial forebears was Captain Peter Powers, who served in the expedition against Louisbourg, and who was also something of an explorer and writer of historical tracts.
The childhood and youth of Walter A. Powers were unevent- ful. He was fond of study and early determined to secure an edu- cation. He had few of the difficulties to overcome which boys of slender means encounter. Possessed of good intellectual abilities he easily mastered the studies of the curriculum of the preparatory
walter a. J owens
WALTER AVERILL POWERS
school and of the college. He fitted for college in the Ricker Clas- sical School, Houlton, Maine, entered Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, in the class of 1906, and gained the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude. He took his course in law at Harvard Univer- sity, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Law in 1909. He began the prac- tice of his profession in Houlton, Maine, in 1908, and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1909.
From 1912 to 1914 he held the position of Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts. He became First Lieutenant of Marines of the Massachusetts Naval Militia, March 27, 1913. November 5, 1915, he was commissioned Captain of the First Marine Company, the largest company in the State's service.
In college Mr. Powers was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He is a member of the order of Free Masons, also a member of the Algonquin Club and the Harvard Club. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Powers is not married.
Among the varied round of relaxations which appeal to him, he finds none equal to reading. Of the many influences which have contributed to start him upon a successful life career, he reckons home first; after that, travel, contact with men in active life; and private study.
Mr. Powers is a man of sound character and a determination to succeed. He has made a most promising start in professional life. His face is toward the future lighted by hope, worthy ambition, and steadfast purpose.
WILBUR HOWARD POWERS
W ILBUR HOWARD POWERS is an exponent of the strenuous life. It seems to be in the blood, for in tracing back his ancestry one finds a marked stream of energy flowing down through the generations. It is interesting to trace the evolution of names as well as of races. The name of Powers was originally Le Poer, and the first ancestor of whom anything definite is known came over with William the Conqueror to England. He was in the Battle of Hastings and his name appears on the roll of Battle Abbey. The name Le Poer was anglicized by William the Conqueror and has been spelt Poer, Powre, Poore, and Power.
Walter Power came from Essex, England, and landed at Salem, Mass., in 1654, and settled in what is now the town of Littleton, Mass.
Elder John White also came from England in 1632, - probably from Chelmsford, - with members of the parish of Rev. Thomas Hooker, and settled in Cambridge, Mass., then called Newtowne. Gore Hall, the library of Harvard College, is built on what was then a part of his home lot. Elder John White was Mr. Powers' first ancestor in this country on his mother's side, and was noted for his religious zeal. He helped to found Cambridge and was elected on its first Board of Selectmen in 1634 and 1635. Later he removed to Hartford, Conn., was one of the founders of the town, was elected Selectman four different times, and was a recognized leader in civic affairs. In 1659, he removed to Hadley, Mass., and was one of the founders of that town and three times elected Selectman. He twice served the town as representative in the General Court of Massachusetts. In 1670 he returned to Hartford at the call of the church to take the position of Elder, - a position of large influence in those days.
His son, Nathaniel White, the next in line of ancestry, had the unique distinction of being elected eighty-five times as representative to the Legislature of Connecticut from Middletown, serving con- tinuously fifty years. During part of this period representatives were elected twice each year.
Wilbur H. tower.
WILBUR HOWARD POWERS
Captain Joseph Taylor, Mr. Powers' maternal great-grandfather, was in all the Indian and Colonial wars, and in the War of the Revolu- tion was aide-de-camp to General Stark. He had many thrilling experiences in these wars.
Ezekiel Powers, Wilbur Powers' great-grandfather, was one of the first settlers of Croydon, N. H., was its largest landowner and wealth- iest man, and was a magistrate of the town, under King George III. He invented the side-hill plow, the loop sled, the first sap pan for making maple sugar, and numerous other conveniences to aid the farmer.
Major Abijah Powers, Mr. Powers' grandfather, was a member of the Board of Selectmen of Croydon, N. H., for many years, - chairman several times; he represented the town in the State Legislature three times, and served in the War of 1812 as Captain and Major.
Elias Powers, father of Wilbur Powers, was a farmer and land- surveyor, born May 1, 1808, and died Jan. 29, 1891. He was noted for his truthfulness, fairness, and excellent judgment and was a perfect type of the country squire of the old school. He was a County Commissioner, and Justice of the Peace and Quorum. In one case against the County of Sullivan, he had the unique distinction, under the direction of the Chief Justice of the Superior Court, of stating the facts of the case so clearly that both sides rested upon his evidence, though many witnesses had been summoned on each side, and the case was taken to the Supreme Court on the question of law involved.
The Croydon Centennial states that "the Powerses were distin- guished for their giant frames, great physical strength and vigorous intellects."
From such an ancestry, distinguished in the civic, military and religious life of the country, Wilbur Howard Powers started life with a great inheritance on Jan. 22, 1849, in Croydon, N. H. His early life was occupied with the duties and responsibilities common to a youth brought up on a New England farm. He was early trained to assume responsibilities, and proved worthy of trust. He was ambi- tious to obtain a broad education, and his father promised him one term at an academy, but he at once commenced to fit for college. By great persistency he persuaded his parents to permit him to finish the course, and graduated from Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N. H., in 1871. Some of his relatives and friends thought it a waste of time and money to go to college, and he felt that it was not just to ask his parents to use for his education any portion of their property
WILBUR HOWARD POWERS
which might, otherwise, descend to his brothers and sister; therefore, he preferred to rely wholly upon his own efforts. He found a friend in Ruel Durkee, - the Jethro Bass of Winston Churchill's novel, "Coniston,"-who agreed to finance him to the extent of $1,600, but Mr. Powers was obliged to borrow only $670 from his benefactor, for he earned the rest of his college expenses by his own efforts. He received the degree of A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1875, A.M. in 1880; Boston University School of Law, LL.B. 1878.
From early years he was an omnivorous reader, reading the edi- torials of Horace Greeley in the N. Y. Tribune as early as six years of age. Darwin's "Theory of Evolution" found in him an early and ardent advocate. The great poets and novelists fed his eager mind and stimulated his intellectual activity.
In 1879 - January 22 - he began the practice of law at 13 Pem- berton Square, Boston. From that time on his life has been filled with many and growing activities in various lines of service, pro- fessional, political, social and educational. Only a man of great physical endurance and keen intellectual powers could carry on so many lines of endeavor so successfully as he has. He has been counsel for the towns of Hyde Park, Cottage City, and Wareham, for the Old Colony and New Haven Railroads, for the Golden Cross Society, for the Balch Brothers Company, receiver of the Guardian Endowment Society, and is executor of and trustee of several very large estates. He represented Hyde Park in the Legislature three successive years, 1890-1892; was a member of the Republican State Committee, 1893-1894, and was a presidential elector, casting his vote for McKinley, in 1897; was a member of the first Board of Park Commissioners for Hyde Park, 1893-1900; was a member of the Republican Town Committee of Hyde Park from 1894-1908, serving in the various capacities of chairman, secretary and treasurer, and would have continued a member indefinitely had he not declined to serve; and he was also a member of the School Committee from 1899-1909, serving the last six years as Chairman, when he re- moved to Cambridge.
While a member of the Legislature he had charge of many im- portant measures and probably drafted more bills for the other mem- bers of the House than the rest of the House put together. His conspicuous service made him the acknowledged floor leader on the Republican side of the House in the latter part of his legislative experience.
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