USA > Maine > York County > Parsonsfield > A history of the first century of the town of Parsonsfield, Maine > Part 9
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JOHN ARTHUR CRAM,
Brother and classmate of the above, was born July, 1848. He, too, fitted for college at Limerick and Westbrook, and received the honors of Bowdoin in 1873. Like his brother, he also commenced teaching at seventeen, and prosecuted it at intervals up to the time of his graduation, when he assumed charge of the Wells Free High School. But after two terms he faltered in health. Although a man of strong constitution, and of marked athletic skill and power, yet long and per- sistent application to study and teaching had brought on pulmonary trouble, which, with brain fever, ended his earthly life on the nineteenth of July, 1874. He was a successful teacher, a young man of the highest integrity and honor, and in his death all felt that bright prospects were blasted.
ANDREW J. EASTMAN,
Only son of Andrew J. and Sarah J. (Frost) Eastman, was born in Parsonsfield, July 23, 1846. Both his parents died while he was yet very young, but he had the benefit of Christian homes, in the interval between childhood and manhood. His, however, was the old story of struggle and vicissitude ere he could set foot within college walls. But his wish was at length gratified. He took his prepar- atory course at New Hampton, N. H., matriculated at Bates College in 1870, and received his Bachelor's degree in 1874. He then entered the Theological Depart- ment of the same college, and graduated therefrom in 1877, thus completing ten years of continuous study. He had previously united with the Paige Street Freewill Baptist church in Lowell, Mass. His first pastorate was at Steep Falls, Standish, Me., where he was ordained November 1, 1877. In the spring of
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1878 he accepted the call of the Freewill Baptist church in Grafton, Mass., from which he went in December, 1880, to take the charge of a new interest in the city of Worcester, ten miles distant. After a time, finding the strain here too much for his strength, he felt obliged to resign, and in April, 1882, accepted a call to Pittsfield, N. H., where he remained three years. In April, 1885, he was invited to Ashland, N. H., where he is still [1887] pastor.
FRANKLIN PIERCE MOULTON
Finished his college course at Bates in 1874, since which, according to trust- worthy information, he has filled the chair of Ancient Languages at New Hamp- ton, N. H., with great ability. The training he gives in his department is excep- tionally thorough.
ALVAH PRAY MOULTON,
Brother and classmate of the above, upon leaving college returned to Parsons- field, of which he has always remained a resident. His time has been mainly given to agricultural pursuits. These are all the data the writer has been able to gather, and all, therefore, he is able to give.
ALANSON B. MERRILL,
An alumnus of Bates, of the class of 1877, died in the year following. He is characterized by his instructors as having been a fine scholar, and a " young man of great worth."
HARRY L. STAPLES
Was born September 21, 1858, and graduated at Bowdoin in 1881. He taught the Free High School of his native town one year, and spent the autumn of 1882 at Princeton, N. J., in the study of Physics, under the instruction of Prof. Cyrus F. Brackett. In June, 1883, he entered the Portland School for medical instruc- tion, and from that time he has devoted himself to medical studies at Portland and Brunswick. He has given quite special attention to the Natural Sciences, and has taught them for considerable periods at Mrs. Caswell's school in Port- land. If he turns his thoughts and researches largely in that direction, he can hardly fail of achieving eminent success.
FRANK HERBERT PEASE,
A son of John A. and Sarah R. Pease, was born in East Boston, Mass., July 16, 1858. When he was two years of age his father returned to his native town, and settled on the old family homestead in South Parsonsfield. Here the son enjoyed the advantages of such schools as his immediate neighborhood furnished, and also, for a time, of the better facilities offered by Parsonsfield Seminary. His preparation for college, however, was prosecuted and completed at the Nich- ols Latin School, Lewiston, where he graduated in 1877. After taking his Fresh -
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man studies at Bowdoin, and spending further time in earning money to defray expenses, he entered the Sophomore class at Tufts College, Massachusetts, in the fall of 1880, and graduated therefrom in 1883. While in college, he won the prize for the best translation of English into Latin, and was on the editorial staff of the " Tuftonian" for two years; besides which, he was for a time col- lege correspondent of the Boston Journal and the Boston Globe, and contrib- uted short poems to the Portland Transcript and the Boston Transcript. He also, by request of the committee, wrote an original hymn for the Parsonsfield Centennial celebration.
Mr. Pease is now (1887) Principal of the Sawyer Grammar School in Dover, N. H. The school consists of three hundred pupils and eight teachers. He is the youngest, but by no means the least promising, of the sons of our goodly town, who are fain to own some college as their Alma Mater.
Of the thirty-five known college-bred men of Parsonsfield, all save.one have now passed in review before the reader. It is matter of sincere regret to the writer that, in the case of several of the foregoing sketches, the materials at hand were so meager. He can only say that he has tried to make the most of such means as were reasonably attainable.
It is, perhaps, the crowning glory of the men, a mere glimpse of whose lives we have just caught, that they were not sent to college. They went, indeed, but went of their own motion, went because of an inward craving that could be sat- isfied in no other way. As a class, it was not their fortune, or rather misfor- tune, to have rich fathers ready and eager to put them through college, and into professional life, without any severe testing or tasking of the best that was in them. On the contrary, their fathers, for the most part, were hard toilers upon such acres as they chanced to possess, and could ill afford to dispense with the aid of their sons upon the farm, to say nothing of paying the expenses of their education. And so the sons were fain to take the matter into their own hands, being only too thankful if they might gain simple consent to leave the paternal roof portionless, and fight the battle as best they could. And they did fight, some of them against fearful odds. Manual labor morning and evening, self- board, resolute and hard toil during vacation, alternation of teaching and study, anything that could help them toward the coveted end, was eagerly and heroic- ally resorted to. And so, as commonly in such cases, victory came at length. They were picked men in the sense of having successfully encountered the severest tests to which they could well have been subjected. Let me not be misunderstood. They make no boasts; they claim no prescriptive rights, arro- gate to themselves no superiority. Honor enough for them is it to be accounted sons, on an equal footing with all the other sons, of the dear mother on whose honored brow we, today, place her first centennial crown. The American col- lege is no close corporation, no nursery of class distinctions, no aristocratic excrescence upon the body politic. Born of an imperative need of society, it is
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of the people, and for the people, always and pre-eminently. It is founded by the people, endowed by the people, and is the heritage of the people, and of the children of the people, to the latest generation.
Upon many minds there seems to be an utter misapprehension as to the ten- dency of a really liberal education. The knowledge that " puffeth up" is never genuine. It is but a name, a bubble, a pretence. Puncture it, and lo, it turns* to nothingness. One fruitage of true knowledge, on the contrary, is humility. It takes the conceit out of a man as almost nothing else can, - tends to make him introspective, modest, unpretentious, - to show him how little he knows as compared with what remains to be learned, and so to stimulate him to higher attainments and nobler achievements. Now the college, in proportion as it is true to its mission, works toward this beneficent end, and hence is a blessing beyond all price. Let it, then, have its, true place as a mighty agency in the world's progress, and, under God, in the world's regeneration.
[Dr. Ricker has omitted to make any extended mention of himself, but a just tribute is paid him by Dr. Wm. B. Lapham, of Augusta, a life-long friend, which sketch appears with his portrait, in Part III, to which the reader is referred .- J. W. D.]
GEO.K.WALKER & CO. BGSIGN
C. J Bracht
PROF. CYRUS FOGG BRACKETT. A.M. M.D. L L.D.
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THE PROGRESS OF PHYSICS DURING THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS.
It is apparent, on a moment's reflection, that a mere enumeration of the achievements of science in any given department, and for any given period, would be of little value. To be of real service to his reader, one must exhibit, as points of departure, the several disciplines constituting the subject-matter treated of, as they were at the commencement of the period under consideration. No hesitation will, therefore, be felt in stating, as occasion shall seem to demand, the views which have prevailed in earlier times concerning the matters dis- cussed. This will have the double advantage of giving a clear view of the results reached at the commencement of our period, and at the same time of making the reader familiar with the use of such terms as are necessary to set forth subsequent progress.
ELECTRICITY.
The history of electrical science is mainly occupied with the last three hun- dred years. Prior to the beginning of the seventeenth century, only a few apparently disconnected electrical phenomena were known, and such explana- tions of them as were attempted are better suited to illustrate the fruitless meth- ods of the philosophers than to serve any useful purpose for science. More than two thousand years, from the time of Thales, had to pass away before the genius of Dr. Gilbert could lay the foundations of the vast superstructure of electrical knowledge which hosts of subsequent workers have since reared. It was Gil- bert who first distinguished between magnetic and electrical phenomena, and gave a distinctive name to the latter (" Vim illam electricam nobis placet appel- lare.") To Thales and to the Grecian philosophers after him, till the time of Theophrastus, only a single substance appears to have been known which could be excited electrically by being rubbed. This substance was amber (electron), whence the name electricity. About two hundred and fifty years after Thales, Theophrastus discovered another substance having the same property. It was called lynkurion, but exactly what the substance was is not now known.
Aristotle ascribes to Thales a knowledge of the attractive power of the mag- net. It is probable, however, that his knowledge, and that of his contempora- ries, was very incomplete, for it seems quite unlikely that any comprehensive acquaintance with phenomena so striking as those exhibited by the magnet, if it existed at the time of Thales, had been so far lost that Pliny, just after the com- mencement of the Christian era, could have written accounts concerning them so inexact, confused and absurd as those which he has left. Indeed, it was hardly possible that any considerable progress could be made in determining the relations of magnets to each other, and to the earth, before the invention of the compass. Now, however far back a knowledge of this instrument may date among the Chinese, it was not before the twelfth century that it became known
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in Europe. To Columbus, on his first voyage of discovery, must be attributed the first authentic observation of the deviation of the compass from its usual direction, at least among Europeans, for it appears that the Chinese were long before familiar with this occurrence. In 1580, Norman, in England, published a pamphlet, in which he explains the cause of the dip exhibited by the north end of a needle which has been balanced on its pivot before " touched " with the magnet. His explanation was that the attractive point is in the earth itself, and not in the heavens, as had hitherto been supposed. Others before Norman had entertained a kindred idea, if only speculatively. Stories were told of moun- tains of lodestone at the north pole so powerful in their attractions that ships coming near them would either be held fast, by reason of the iron contained in them, or would have their iron bolts drawn out, and so would fall to pieces!
What has been said will suffice to show the condition of this department of knowledge before the time of Gilbert. What he did for its promotion may be sufficiently stated in a few words. He showed that many bodies beside amber can be electrically excited by means of friction. As such, he mentions the dia- mond and other precious stones, glass, sulphur, shellac, and resinous bodies gen- erally. According to him, wood and the metals do not possess this property. Gilbert devised the first electroscope, or means of detecting the presence of elec- tricity. He showed that moisture diminishes or annuls the effects produced by friction, and, since neither moisture nor friction affect the magnet in the same way, he made these circumstances grounds of distinction between electricity and magnetism. He mentions, further, that magnets can act only on magnetic sub- stances, while electrified bodies attract almost all substances presented to them, . provided they be not too heavy. He showed that the earth is a great magnet, and as such, exercises its directive influence upon the needle. He devised and employed, so far as he had occasion, the nomenclature in use today.
Otto von Guericke, born at Magdeburg, 1602, made the first rude beginning of the electrical machine. He noted that the light bodies which are attracted to an electrified surface are repelled after contact, so as to come in contact with some other surface.
In 1670, Boyle showed that electrical attractions can take place in the so-called vacuum. Five years later Newton observed that if one surface of a plate of glass be excited by rubbing, the phenomena of attraction and repulsion of light bodies will be presented by the other surface, the action taking place through the glass. In 1708, Wall, rubbing amber with wool, produced a spark nearly an inch in length, and accompanied by a noise. He compared these with lightning and thunder. In 1720, Stephen Gray noticed that a cork, which closed one end of a glass tube which he was using in some electrical experiments, became elec- trified, and this observation led him to the discovery that electricity can be con- ducted along threads, wires, etc. He also discovered that silken threads, hair, and lumps of resin, do not allow the electrical state of an excited body to be
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communicated to another body through them. There was thus clearly estab- lished the division of bodies into conductors and non-conductors, or insulators, although Desaugliers was the first to recognize this formally.
Gray made use of the latter class of bodies to prevent the escape of electricity from other bodies on which he would experiment. Meantime Du Fay, born 1698, was busy with the same matters. He repeated Gray's experiments, and devised others. In the course of his labors he was led to make clear the follow- ing propositions: (1) Every electrified body attracts all non-electrified ones, communicates electricity to them, and then repels them. (2) There are two electricities, opposite in character, the vitreous and the resinous, produced by rubbing glass and resin respectively.
Du Fay investigated the different conducting powers of various substances, and laid the foundation for the invention of the electroscope in use in all our laboratories. He showed the conducting power of flame, and he first drew an electric spark from the living body. This last experiment attracted great atten- tion, and doubtless had much to do with making his name famous, and his opin- ions weighty with his contemporaries. It is true, however, that they did not all readily accede to his theory of two distinct fluids.
A few words here respecting the development of the two types of electrical machines in common use will be of interest. As hinted above, Guericke took the first step. His apparatus was merely a sphere of sulphur mounted, so that it could be turned about a horizontal axis, while friction was applied by holding the hand on its surface. Hawksbee replaced the sulphur sphere with glass, and added a multiplying wheel, by means of which a more rapid revolution could be given it. In 1734, Bose independently hit upon the same arrangement, and added what is now called the prime conductor. In his case this was merely a cylindrical tube of sheet metal, into one of the open ends of which was stuffed a quantity of linen threads, which could rest in contact with the revolving glass, and thus convey the electricity to the metal. These threads were a distinct anticipa- tion of the "comb " which is now always employed, although the reason for this action was not at that time perceived. The machine, so constructed, was so pow- erful that by its use long sparks could be produced, and several substances were inflamed by means of them. Winkler added the "rubber," which could pro- duce friction instead of the hand, and Gordon, in 1742, replaced the glass globe by a cylinder of the same material.
This rapid sketch will be sufficient to show how the cylinder machine, the form and arrangement of which is familiar to all readers, was evolved, and be- came practically complete from the simple beginning in 1671.
Electrical machines now became common, and slight changes were frequently made in their construction. Thus Wilson substituted the metallic comb for the linen thread in the prime conductor, already referred to, thereby greatly increas- ing its efficiency. .
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Attention was now turned to the rubber, that improvement might be made in it, if possible. Oiled silk was tried, with good results, by Canton, in 1751, but as he had noticed that a glass tube which had been dipped in mercury was strongly electrified on being withdrawn, he was led to try what effect mercury would have when applied to the rubber of the machine. He made the applica-" tion in the form of an amalgam with tin. It was sucessful to a degree which led to other combinations, and the result was that another, in 1788, produced the peculiar amalgam, which has thus far proved to be the best. The plate machines of Ramsden and Winter differ in no important principle from the cylinder machines which had preceded them.
During the years of the growth and development of the frictional machine there had been contrived a great many electrical experiments, which were cal- culated to excite the wonder of the uninstructed, and the admiration of the learned. Such experiments were common at exhibitions where money was paid for admission, and in the halls of learning they became the subjects of discussion.
In the latter part of the year 1745, von Kleist, at Cammin, made a discovery, by accident, which led to what we now know as the Leyden jar, or condenser, one of the most important pieces of electrical apparatus; and the same discovery was made in a similar way, at Leyden, by Musschenbrock, in the early part of the following year. Kleist wished to electrify a medicine-glass by means of the electrical machine. In order to this he held the glass in his hand, and brought a nail, which had been placed in it, to the conductor of the machine, so as to receive a spark. On touching the nail with the other hand, as he attempted to remove it, he received a shock. He found the effect greatly increased when the glass contained mercury or some other liquid.
Musschenbrock wished to electrify some water, and to have it keep its charge as long as possible. He thought the end would be attained by putting the water in a glass, and causing a wire to dip into it, so as to convey the electricity from the machine. When this was done, and the water, as he supposed, was charged, Cunæus, who was holding the glass, was about to withdraw the wire, when he received a shock. Musschenbrock, on communicating an account of the matter to Reaumur, in Paris, declared that he would not take another shock for the kingdom of France! Gralath, in 1746, showed the necessity of joining the two surfaces of the glass in order to produce the shock. He was also the first to construct a battery of several electrified glasses, which he did in the same year. He did not understand the action of the battery, but ascribed it to the " electri- cal power of water." Musschenbrock wrote to Nollet in Paris, and he it was who, not knowing the prior discovery of Kleist, gave the name " Leyden flask" to the arrangement. Many experiments were now made in France, and the conditions of their success were more clearly brought to light. Monnier pointed out that a flask cannot be charged when it stands upon an insulator; that if a charged flask be insulated one may touch the wire connected with the inner sur-
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face without receiving a shock; that when the charged flask is insulated, and the inner surface is touched, the outer surface is so electrified as to attract light bodies presented to it; and that a charged flask may retain its charge for a con- siderable time. He also attempted to measure the velocity of the transmission of the discharge along a wire.
Watson, in England, made many experiments in the same direction. Recog- nizing the fact that the power of the flask depended on the amount of the sur- faces, which were covered with conducting substance, he might have taken the last step, which was to cover the surfaces of the glass with tin foil. This, how- ever, was done by Dr. Bevis, so far as the outer surface was concerned, but Watson saw the advantage of covering the inner surface as well. Thus was the Leyden jar evolved, as we have it. As in the work of discovering the princi- ples of construction of the Leyden jar, several persons and nationalities were concerned, and the same things were found out independently by several per- sons at about the same time, so was it with the discovery of one of the most striking phenomena connected with it, that of the "residual charge," which may be given by it after it has been completely discharged, and a time varying from a few minutes to several months has elapsed.
The time had now come when the necessity for some clear view of the nature of electrical actions was felt. Hitherto, only vague hypotheses had been held, his own by each prominent worker, as he deemed sufficient to account for what he knew of the wonderful facts. In the earliest times, bodies which could be electrified were supposed to possess a soul which can be aroused by rubbing, and to whose action all the phenomena were referred; later, emanations were sup- posed to proceed from electrified bodies. These were either loaded with moist- ure, which, coalescing, like the drops of water when near each other, about the rubbed body, bring in light matters in the neighborhood (Gilbert), or flying out with great velocity so react on the air as to be swept in by it together with what- ever may be in the way (Hawksbee). Even the great Newton appears to have held the most hazy and unsatisfactory notions concerning it. The Leyden jar, however, offered the means of making progress, and we have our own country- man, Dr. Franklin, to thank for one of the most important steps.
It was Watson's belief that in none of the well known electrical experiments is anything new produced. He held that the friction, or other operation, is but the occasion of the appearance of what had previously existed in another mode. Du Fay had taught that there are two electricities. In opposition to his view, Franklin assumed that there is but one electric (matter) fluid of great tenuity, and identical with fire and light. The particles of this fluid are self-repellent, but attract matter in its grosser forms. The vitreous and resinous electrical con- ditions of Du Fay are explained by Franklin by the assumption that in their natural state all bodies have a certain definite amount of this fluid, and that then they are not electrified, or charged. They may, however, be made to take
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more than their natural amount, or they may be made to part with some of what they possess and thus become positively or negatively electrified. In the case of the Leyden jar, if the inner coating be connected with the machine it will acquire more than its natural amount of electricity; since non-conductors can hold only a certain amount, it follows that an equal amount must be repelled through the ' glass from the outer coating, through the wire or through the hand which touches it, to the earth. If now the jar be removed from contact with the machine there is not a restoration of equilibrium since the non-conducting glass intervenes. But if the outer and the inner coatings be brought into immediate contact equi- librium is at once restored by redistribution, or the jar is discharged. Franklin showed by means of a condenser whose coatings were removable, that the charge is confined to the surfaces of the glass. Also he showed that the outside and inside coatings are in opposite electrical states, as his hypothesis requires.
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