USA > Maine > Oxford County > Buckfield > A history of Buckfield, Oxford County, Maine, from the earliest explorations to the close of the year 1900 > Part 25
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CAPT. THOMAS S. BRIDGHAM.
Thomas S. Bridgham, son of Sydenham Bridgham, the fourth native of the town to practice law here, was born Nov. 25, 1836. He was a school boy with Jolin D. Long. Edward L. Parris and others of later note in the old village schoolhouse on Loring's Hill. He fitted for college in the academies of Hebron, West- brook and Bethel and entered Tufts College in 1855, remaining
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about a year. He then continued his studies in Bethel, went West for a short time and returning to Buckfield, began the study of law with Sullivan C. Andrews, Esq., with whom he remained about a year. He finished his legal studies with Judge Howard and Sewell C. Strout, Esq., in Portland, where he was admitted to the Cumberland Bar in 1859. He then opened an office at Bryant's Pond, where he married Martha H .. daughter of Hon. James H. Farnum. He subsequently followed his profes- sion in Windham and Mechanic Falls and on the breaking out of the Civil War became a recruiting officer. He enlisted in 1863 as a private in a Maine regiment, but was soon appointed by Gov. Andrew, a second lieutenant in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in which he served until his discharge, Aug. 16, 1865. Return- ing from the war he engaged some years in business pursuits in Buckfield and Portland, after which he resumed the practice of law in his native town.
In politics Mr. Bridgham has been a life-long democrat and prominent in the councils of his party, having served several years as state committeeman and in state and national conven- tions. He was elected representative to the Legislature from Buckfield in 1880 and under President Cleveland's first adminis- tration, he received an appointment in the Portland Custom House, where he remained over four years, holding the office of weigher and gauger and inspector. He returned in 1891 to Buckfield, where he has since remained in the practice of his pro- fession and the pursuits of other business. For several years he has been a large owner in the brush factory. He has been prom- inent in local public affairs, serving the town many years as one of its selectmen. He owns and occupies the law office formerly built and occupied by Ilon. George D. Bisbee, and till its recent sale, resided in the old family mansion built by his grandfather, Dr. William Bridgham. He belongs to the orders of Masonry and the G. A. R. and is a member of the Episcopal church. In 1815 he was appointed by the President one of the Board of Man- agers of the Soldiers' Homes.
FREDERICK R. DYER, ESQ.
Frederick R. Dyer was born in Oldtown, Me., Oct. 3, 1873 and is the only child of William H. and Catherine ( Noonan) Dyer. He is ninth in descent from Deacon Thomas Dyer, the
Frederick R. Dyer
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immigrant ancestor who came to America in 1632 and settled at Weymouth, Mass. The name is of English origin, derived from occupation. The family coat of arms is a plain shield sur- mounted by a wolf's head. A reproduction appears on a tomb- stone in the Copp's Hill burying ground. Boston.
Thomas Dyer was admitted to the rights of a freeman in 1644 and was an innkeeper in Weymouth and one of the leading citizens of his day. He was deacon of the church there and closely connected with Dea. John Whitman, the first deacon of the church and the first military officer and magistrate in that town. He was a representative to the General Court in 1646. Dea. Dyer married ( 1) Agnes Reed, who died Dec. 4, 1657 and (2) Elizabeth (Adams) Harding. He had ten children, all by first wife. He died Nov. 3. 1676 and his estate was valued at over 2000 pounds-a property greater in purchasing power then than thirty to forty thousand dollars would be now.
The line of descent from Dea. Thomas Dyer is as follows : William, ninth child born about 1658, married Joanna Chard ; Christopher, second child born about 1701, married Hannah Nash and settled in Abington; Lieut. Christopher, third child born about 1735, married Ruth Hunt ; Asa. youngest of six children, born July, 1773, married in 1801 Mehitable Chamberlain and set- tled in Skowhegan, Me .: Joseph, the youngest of eight children, married Dorcas - and had one child, Frederick, born in Hollis, Dec. 22, 1805, married Sarah K. Darrah and settled in Oldtown ; William H., a mechanic and millwright, the oldest of three chil- dren, born June 9, 1846, married Catherine Noonan of St. George, New Brunswick. She was born June 30, 18.46 and died Feb. 8, 1896.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the Canton, Me., schools and graduated at Hebron Academy in 1894. He entered Colby College where he remained two years, then began reading law in the office of Hon. O. H. Hersey at Buckfield and was admitted to the Oxford Bar in 1897. Two years later he com- menced active practice at Buckfield village and at once took high rank in his profession. He represented the town in the Legisla- ture of the State in 1907 and was elected State's Attorney for Oxford County in 1912.
Mr. Dyer has the too rare gift of orderliness and promptness -is a close student of the law, a safe counselor and gives great promise of future distinction. He married in 1900, Miss Lena H., daughter of Edwin and Lola ( Record) Maxim of Buckfield.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
PHYSICIANS.
For several years after the settlement of Buckfield it was without a resident physician, and the people were obliged to send to other towns for medical attendance. Probably the first physi- cian to practice here was Dr. Daniel Childs, who was born in Woodstock, Conn., Oct. 8, 1747. He received his medical educa- tion in France, was married in 1777 and moved to Turner, Me., in 1781, settling on Lower Street. He was moderator of the first town meeting and was a prominent citizen of that town until his death in 1802. He was a skilful physician, having a great repu- tation for success in treatment of bilious colic. His field of prac- tice embraced the settlements in Buckfield which he often visited.
DR. SAMUEL FRINK.
Dr. Samuel Frink was probably the first resident physician in Buckfield. He was a native of Rutland, Mass., and the son of Dr. John Frink, a man of prominence, who practiced medicine and held many offices in that town, and was a member of the con- vention to frame the Constitution of Massachusetts. The son, Samuel, came to Buckfield about 1797, but we are led to infer that notwithstanding the prestige of his father and the desirability of a local physician, his settlement here was not warmly welcomed ; for it appears from what is related in the annals that he had come into town without the consent of the town authorities and with others was served with notice to leave town, after the custom of excluding new comers who might become town charges. He seems, however, to have satisfied the authorities in this respect and settled on land purchased for him by his father of Rutland, on which he resided during his stay in town. This land was the homestead lot occupied by the late Dr. O. R. Hall. The tax lists show the name of Samuel Frink till ISHI, when it is presumed that he returned to Massachusetts. He settled in Paxton in that state, where he died March 31, 1846, aged eighty-two years.
DR. EBENEZER TAYLOR.
Dr. Ebenezer Taylor was in practice in Buckfield from 1801 to 1804, when he moved to Farmington, where he was regarded as a good physician and was well patronized.
Dr. William Bridgham
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DR. WILLIAM BRIDGHAM, JR.
With clatter of hoofs and their echoes replying, Rides the sturdy old doctor, his figure erect. Whatever the season, no summons denying, With cheer for the living and ease for the dying, His hope-giving presence time long will reflect.
Dr. William Bridgham, Jr., was the next physician to settle here. A man of positive character and great energy, he wrought a notable record of usefulness which is prominently interwoven with the annals of the town. He was born in Plymouth, Mass .. Nov. 26, 1780, and was the son of Dr. William and Anna ( Han- mond ) Bridgham, who early moved from Massachusetts to New Gloucester. Me. He became familiar with medicine under his father's instruction and subsequently continued his studies with an apothecary in Portland and a physician in Dover, N. H. He was an apt student and after concluding his studies, he com- menced practice in Sumner, Me., boarding with Squire John Briggs. But after remaining there a few months he became dis- satisfied with his prospects and settled in Buckfield in the year 1803, where he passed the remainder of his life. That year he married Hannah Bradbury of New Gloucester, by whom he had four daughters and three sons.
When he came to Buckfield he was more than penniless, as he had a borrowed horse and bridle and was five hundred dollars in diebt, which was a large sum for those days. There soon came a time when creditors took measures to arrest him for debts which he could not then satisfy. Arrest then meant imprisonment, and while evading the officers of the law they suddenly withdrew their importunities, and he was left unmolested. It appears that he had an unknown patron and warm friend in Benjamin Spaulding, the second, who, discerning the sterling qualities of the young physician, quietly assumed his liabilities and gave him his own time for payment. This confidence was not misplaced, for the doctor was soon able to discharge all his financial obligations, and his life-long gratitude and veneration was bestowed on kind- hearted "Uncle Ben." who had befriended him in his time of need. The doctor's career was one of prosperity. He soon dis- tanced all his competitors and acquired large property and emi- nence in his profession. He was an industrious man, often
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spending the day with his hired men clearing land and attending to his professional labors at night.
For many years he lived as befitted his means in the humble home to which he first brought his bride, but after acquiring in- dependence, he erected in 1817, on the commanding site between the two roads diverging northward from the village. the large square house, known as the old Dr. Bridgham house, which be- came a home of comfort and a mansion of hospitality. His pro- fessional and business interests increased till he became one of the most wealthy citizens of the community, but later he suffered heavy losses through investments in the Buckfield Branch Rail- road and expensive litigation associated therewith, which serious- ly reduced his property and weighed heavily upon his declining years.
The mission of the old-time country doctor was one of mani- fold dependencies and in notable contrast with that of his suc- cessor of modern times. He had no convenient drug stores stocked with anesthetics and prepared specifics, no trained as- sistants or hospitals to which he could take patients in critical cases ; but he was the sole rel ance, not only the faithful family doctor, but the compounder and dispenser of medicine, the syn- pathetic friend, often the tender nurse and not infrequently the spiritual comforter in seasons of death and affliction. Dr. Bridg- ham was a conspicuous type of this class. When he commenced practice in Buckfield the country was comparatively new and sparsely settled with few roads which in many places were noth- ing but paths. H's professional visits were performed on foot and horseback with his supply of medicines in h's saddle-bags. He was an expert rider and his erect figure moving along the rough ways was a familiar one to all the country round. From far and near, in sunshine and storm, he answered all summonses, his presence an inspiration in every household. For more than sixty years he was a prominent citizen of the town and a physi- cian of wide renown. He was always active in municipal affairs, served as postmaster and in 1828 represented the town in the Legislature. He was a great lover of rural life, owned extensive tracts of land and cultivated a large farm. lle was a man of san- guine temperament and impressive individuality, quick of temper, but kindly of heart : in religion, a strong Universalist, in politics, a life-long Jefferson democrat. He was an ardent Freemason.
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having received his degrees at Topsham in 1806. He died Nov. 13, 1864, at the age of eighty-four years and was buried with masonic honors by Nezinscot Lodge of Turner.
DR. SAMUEL FRYE.
Dr. Samuel Frye was in practice here in 1810. but probably was not long a resident here as his name only appears on the town records of that year. He acquired some reputation as a specialist, but little is now known of his personal history and the preservation of his record in town is due less to his personality as a physician than to his litigation with Dr. William Bridghan which has come down to us as a famous lawsuit.
This legal controversy was one of absorbing interest to the whole community and became notorious through the whole county.
When Dr. Bridgham, young, zealous and ambitious, settled in the village he was received as a politic move, into partnership by Dr. Frink, but their total incompatibilty of temperament rendered this union of short duration and the growing popularity of the younger man and the corresponding decline in the practice of the elder bred a state of ill feeling between them. This feeling was intensified as time went on and was evidently communicated to Dr. Frye on his settlement in town some years later. At any rate the two were united in implacable opposition to Dr. Bridgham, hoping, no doubt, to displace him in popular estimation, but they found in him an antagonist all ready and eager to accept the gauge of battle.
Dr. Frye, it appears, acquired for a time quite a reputation for breaking up fevers. Finally one of his patients, a promising young girl in the Lowell neighborhood, died from the effects, it was said, of his giving her mercury and a reaction followed. Dr. Frye claimed that Dr. Bridgham started this talk and sued him for slander, claiming damages at one thousand dollars. He em- ployed a noted lawyer, Gen. Samuel Fessenden. and Dr. Bridg- ham's lawyers were Albion K. Parris and Judge Stephen Emery.
The declaration in the writ was carefully drawn and in part as follows:
"Whereas the said Frye is a good. true, honest and just citizen of this Commonwealth, and is a physician of regular standing
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and qualified to do business as a physician in said town of Buck- field, and has the reputation of a good physician as aforesaid, yet the said Bridgham, well knowing the premises, but maliciously contriving to defame the plaintiff. and to bring him into disgrace in his said professon of a physician and wholly to destroy his business did on the 5th day of September, 1810, in a certain dis- course of and concerning the plaintiff as a physician, with certain good citizens of the town of Buckfield and in their presence and hearing, and otherwise falsely and maliciously say, speak and publish the following false, scandalous and defamatory words, that is to say :
"'She ( meaning one Miriam Gammon, who was a patient un- der the care of the said plaintiff, who was her physician) was poisoned to death by mercury,' meaning that the said plaintiff had poisoned her, or words to that effect."
The declaration continues with two other counts in the usual legal phraseology, setting forth similar language attributed to Dr. Bridgham, relative to the poisoning of patients through the use of mercury by Dr. Frye. The action was tried at the May term, 1811, of the Court of Common Pleas. The plea of the defendant was the general issue, not guilty. "reserving liberty to introduce any special matter of defence." Numerous witnesses were. stim- moned on either side, and the case was thoroughly tried. The verdict was for the defendant, Dr. Bridgham, who recovered judgment for his costs, taxed at $22.15. The case was appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court then held at Portland. It was probably never entered there, as no record of the action appears in that court. Dr. Bridgham's victory was complete. His rivals, Doctors Frink and Frye, both soon after disappeared from Buck- field and we hear no more of them.
DR. JACOB H. CAMPBELL ..
Dr. Jacob H. Campbell was in active practice in Buckfield in 1820. It does not appear of record that he was long a resident of the town, and little can be obtained of his history. He was prominent for his knowledge of anatomy.
DR. SPAULDING.
A Dr. Spaulding was in Buckfield in 1830. He boarded with Dr. William Bridgham, with whom he formed some sort of a temporary partnership. He was favorably regarded by the peo- ple, but after remaining about a year he changed to another locality.
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DR. WILLIAM COMSTOCK.
Dr. William Comstock was of Smithfield, R. I., in June, 1829. He bought a farm on Sumner Hill, Me., in January, 1832, and practiced medicine some years in Sumner. He sold his farm to James S. Barrett and in 1835 purchased of John Taylor the Will- iam Pidgin homestead farm in Buckfield, now the home of Cyrus M. Irish, where he remained in practice till August, 1841, when he went to Massachusetts and established himself in practice. He was a man of refined manners, scholarly attainments and par- ticular in matters of dress and habits. He was popular with the people and enjoyed a large professional business.
DR. CYRUS H. COOLIDGE.
Dr. Cyrus H. Coolidge was born in Canton, May 11, 1800. He was inclined to study and entered Bowdoin College from which he graduated in 1825 in the class with Henry Wardsworth Longfellow. He studied medicine with his uncle, Dr. Cornelius Holland of Canton and after taking his medical degree com- menced practice at Canton Point. He came to Buckfield in 1841, succeeding Dr. William Comstock, whose homestead farm he purchased in 1842. He remained here in active practice about ten years, acquiring a large professional business. He was a man of blunt speech and many peculiarities of character, but was regarded as a very good physician. In 1852 he left Buckfield and went to California, stopping in various places in that state un- til 1860, when he finally located in Nevada. He again removed to California where he died in 1871.
DR. JOHN S. DRAKE.
Dr. John S. Drake, son of John Drake, was born in Buck- field, Nov. 14, 1809. When he was young the family moved to Piscataquis County. He graduated from Bowdoin College. studied medicine and became a practitioner of the Thompsonian School. He returned to Buckfield about 1843 and resided in the house now occupied by Gilbert Tilton. He devoted some of his time to school teaching and while here married his second wife, Amanda Wood, then of Hartford. He remained here in practice till November, 1847, when he moved to Turner and from there
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to Paris in 1852. In 1855 he went West and passed most of his remaining years in the practice of his profession in Illinois and Iowa. Owing to failing health, he finally removed to Santa Bar- bara, Cal., where he died June 3, 1887. He was a man of pleas- ing manners and attractive personal appearance.
DR. WILLIAM PINKNEY BRIDGHAM.
Dr. William Pinkney Bridgham, son of Dr. William Bridg- ham, was born in Buckfield, Sept. 13, 1816. His early education was obtained in the town schools, the Buckfield High School, taught by Cyril Pearl, and Westbrook Seminary. At an early age he chose the practice of medicine for his life work and in fit- ting himself for this profession he was highly favored in the asso- ciations of his youth with so skillful a physician as his father. When bat a mere lad he was a frequent companion of his father on his visits to patients and was present at many consultations of doctors over critical cases, which made a strong impression upon his youthful mind. He made himself familiar with the books in his father's library. making considerable progress in the study of anatomy by himself without the knowledge of any one in the family. He followed his home studies with a course in the med- ical department at Bowdoin, from which he meritoriously grad- uated in 1844. He settled in Canton where he married Miss Del- phina Hayford of that town and practiced his profession about a year. He then returned to his native town, where he soon gained a large professional business, which was largely augmented dur- ing the declining years of his father by calls from families which had so long patronized the elder, which naturally went to the son. With the exception of a five years' settlement in Auburn from 1878 to 1883, he has resided in Buckfield from the date of his settlement till the present time and his active professional life covers about half a century.
Modest of demeanor, unpretentious of skill, seeking no honors or emoluments from his fellow men, Dr. Bridgham has devoted all these busy years solely to his profession, never prominently engaging in any other affairs. He has always enjoyed the fullest confidence of the people and has earned a most excellent reputa- tion as a . safe family physician. Physically strong and of an obliging nature, he has always faithfully attended upon the sick
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over a wide field of practice, readily exposing himself to the rains of summer and snows of winter. Though of late years he has had some attacks of illness, yet he is well preserved for a man of liis years, and is now rounding out a life of usefulness and honor in the retirement of his old home, enjoying the universal esteem and respect of the whole community.
DR. GEORGE WASHINGTON TURNER.
Dr. George Washington Turner was the son of George and Betsey Turner of Leeds and the eldest of a family of eleven chil- dren, who lived to reach manhcod and womanhcod. He was born in that town in March. 1809. He was educated in the town schools and academies of neighboring towns, attended medical lectures in Philadelphia, and graduated from Bowdoin Medical School in 1841. He began the practice of his profession that year in Dixfield. He married Luna Smith of Readfield, who died during his residence in Dixfield. From that town he came to Buckfield where he married in 1855 for his second wife, Angerone Howe of Summer and resided in the house now occu- pied by Dr. Arthur E. Cole. After several years of successful practice here he moved to West Summer, where he followed his profession till h's death which occurred Nov. 4, 1859. He had good qualifications for his profession and was a physician of ability and large practice.
DR. CHARLES DANA BRADBURY.
Dr. Charles Dana Bradbury was born in Canton. Me., Jan. 16, 1828. When twenty-one years of age he entered Waterville College and remained two years when he left that institution to take up a course of medical studies which he completed in Ver- mont. He came to Buckfield, taught school extensively and in 1854 married Malona R., daughter of Hon. Thomas Chase, and established himself in the practice of his profession. In his ed- uicaticnal work here he acquired a reputation as an excellent in- structor. He continued in practice here many years, and became considerably interested in local and political affairs, holding sev- eral town offices. He had scholarly inclinations and was a man of extensive reading and wide information. After his marriage
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he resided in Buckfield with the exception of a few years in Woodstock, until his death which occurred Dec. 15, 1892. Ow- ing to poor health in his later years he gave up practice and re- sided on a farm near the village which is the present home of his widow.
DR. CHARLES A. PARSONS.
Dr. Charles A. Parsons, son of Col. Aaron Parsons was born in Buckfield, Jan. 18, 1824. He attended the schools of his na- tive town and received his medical education in Vermont. After his graduation he settled in St. Albans, Me. He subsequently practiced for a time in Wisconsin, but returned to St. Albans. He was in practice in Buckfield in 1860, remaining about a year, after which he had settlements in Hartland and Caribou and lastly in Friendship where he died in August, 1886.
DR. CHARLES BURR BRIDGHAM.
Dr. Charles Burr Bridgham, grandson of Dr. William Bridg- ham, was born in Buckfield, May 1, 1841. He commenced the study of medicine at the age of eighteen with his uncle, Dr. Will- iam P. Bridgham and subsequently graduated from the medical school at Brunswick. On the commencement of the war of the Rebellion in 1861 he enlisted as hospital steward in the Second Regiment, United States Sharpshooters and was taken prisoner at the second battle of Manassas in 1862. He remained in the Confederate lines two weeks and was released on parole, but re- mained a prisoner six months. During this time he came home and continued his medical studies at Bowdoin and Harvard. He was released from parole by exchange and appointed assistant surgeon and later surgeon of the 544th Massachusetts Infantry He remained with the regiment till the summer of 1864, when he resigned on account of physical disability. He returned to Buckfield and established himself in practice, having married, March 22, 1864, Miss Addie M. Williams of this town. At the end of two years he sold his business to Dr. Atwood Crosby and settled in Cape Elizabeth, where he remained two years in com- pany with Dr. John Buzzell. The salt water proving deleterious to his wife's health. he settled in Livermore, where he remained ten years. He then returned to Buckfield, purchased a residence
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