USA > Maine > Franklin County > Industry > A history of the town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine > Part 41
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I felt so much better in cutting off my whig blinders, that I immediately cut off the blinders from my horse, thinking a horse would feel better looking out every way, as well as a man. I had great success on my circuit. There were three instances of receiving one hundred converts into my society a year.
1 once cured a rumseller and drinker in this wise : He came into my meet- ing requesting prayers. He kept a little shop, sold rum and was a great cus- tomer himself. I called upon him. He was leaning on his counter, partly intoxicated ; I inquired how it was with him, he said he was a great sinner ; I said, "There is no doubt of that, but," said I, " the rum is what is destroy- ing you." "Oh," said he, "my heart. my heart." " Yes," said I, "and your head, too. I will buy your rum and give you the first cost." I urged the subject so hard that he rolled out the keg, set it up on end, took out the fau- cet and kneeled down to give himself up to the Lord. I slyly tipped the keg down and let it run, when he opened his eyes and cried out, "wasting, wast- ing," which were the first words of his prayer. He sprang up. I rolled the keg out of doors, and called for a boy to bring an axe to knock in the head ; he said it had not been measured-" never mind," said I, " guess at it and be sure and guess enough." New rum was only thirty-five cents a gallon. This was a long time before the Maine law was in force, but the principle was the same.
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Said some of the rummies in the place, " If Allen is sent here to preach the gospel, why does he not attend to his preaching ? What is he down here kicking rum out doors for ?" I told them that the rum must be kicked out before the gospel can take effect there. That man bought no more rum but became a christian and at length did well.
On one circuit there was a good revival and many converts. When the presiding elder came he was late, but took for his text, "Feed my lambs." He was rather dull at this time, and preached an hour and twenty minutes. When he closed I arose and said that in order for lambs to do well, three things were necessary: First, feed in season : second, give them a little at a time: and third, give it to them warm.
"Now," said 1, "if they cannot eat such food as they have had given them to-day, it must be their moral appetite is poor." When the elder came down from the pulpit he said to me. " You knock a man down, and then try to raise him up again, will you?"
I was on a Christian Commission in the army, being appointed a chaplain in a hospital at Camp Stoneham, where was an old surgeon who had used other chaplains with insolence. I was informed of this. and I was told that probably he would use me in the same manner. When I arrived there he immediately began his insolence, first by inquiring where I was from. I told him from Maine, away down east. He commenced questioning and insulting me. 1 let him run for a spell when I could discover the chuckling of the inmates of the hospital in seeing the old surgeon handling the old chaplain so. When the proper time arrived I said to him. " I got well acquainted with a man away down east that minded his own business ; he got along nicely and 1 think of taking the same course here." This brought down the house at the old surgeon's expense. He could make no reply, but became my personal friend. Sometime after I called at the office of the surgeon-in-chief of the station, who said to me, " What do you think old Haveling, the surgeon, says about you?" I told him I did not know and neither did I care. .. Well," he says, " we have got an old gray-headed chaplain at the hospital, but he is no fool ; he used me up short warp," and then told him the story.
In our ministerial associations the ministers take great liberty in criticising each other's preaching, etc. When they came to me they said, " There is no use in trying to straighten him, he is like a rickety cart, he will roll and kill a snake and then whip back again and roll on." "I think," said 1, "that is better than to roll so smoothly as to kill no snake at all." In one of these meetings there was a Baptist minister present. The subject of Methodist polity and economy was up for discussion. When the Baptist minister was called upon to give his views in regard to it, he spoke favorably, and at length said he thought there was too much machinery attached to the Methodist economy.
It came my turn to speak next, when I said, " There is a good deal of machinery attached to the Methodist economy, but it does not take quite so much water to run it as it does the Baptist." They all laughed at me.
In one instance a reformation commenced ; a man became very much en-
GENEALOGICAL NOTES. 485
raged with me in that his wife had become a penitent, and unbeknown to me had threatened to whip me if I came to his home. Next day I went there, but as he saw me coming over the hill, he retired to his barn. He had heard that 1 followed people up, as he told me afterwards, hence he took a pitch- fork, saying to himself, " I have left my house, but if he comes to the barn there will be a fight." His wife became a christian and was baptized. He was angry, but said to me, withal, that I might come to his house if I would not quarrel with him. Said he, " It will be altogether according to how you begin with me." " Oh," said 1, " I will begin clever with you." Next day I went and found him in a rage against these professors, saying they were all a miserable pack of hypocrites. Said I, " Would you not like to have real pure religion yourself?" " Yes," said he, " if I could have the good old-fashioned religion such as Saint Paul had." Said I, " That is the right kind ; let us pray for it." 1 knelt down and said, " Oh Lord, give this man that good old-fash- ioned religion such as Saint Paul had ; for Christ's sake. Amen." His wife told me afterwards that he sat looking into the fire after I left and said, "What a fool that was! just as though there was more kinds of religion than one." He, however, became a penitent and was converted and became one of my warmest friends. There has been in other instances threats to whip, but I did not get it.
There was a man in my congregation who had gone far astray from the path of virtue and rectitude, but without contrition or repentance would fre- quently speak of his persecution, but withal would say that a tree which had many clubs under it bore the best apples. I told him the rest of the story, that it was not always so, for sometimes there was a hornet's nest in the tree ; -rather personal, yet a true application. One day I was in a missionary con- cert when the meeting became dull. I took occasion to tell them the cir- cumstance that was related to me of some seamen on board a craft, when they expected every moment to be lost. One enjoined upon another to pray. Said he. "I can't." "Well," said he, "sing." The answer was, " I can't sing." " Well." said he, " then let us take up a collection, for I think we ought to have religious exercise before we go down !" So I thought we ought to have some religious exercises if it was no more than taking up a collection in a missionary meeting-before we go down.
I have attended now 376* camp-meetings-all interesting, and with so many interesting incidents that I dare not enter upon them lest I weary your patience. Suffice it to say that I have obtained a title which answers my pur- pose better than a D. 1). But titles are of very little consequence.+
* The figures here given are those of the editors of the Lewiston Journal. Elder Alten died while attending his 376th camp-meeting, while this sketch was prepared some years pre- vious to his death .- IF'. C. H.
t The sobriquet Campmeeting John Alen was not acquired, as many supposed, simply from his fondness for attending those gatherings, but was first used to distinguish him from another minister. of the same name, though of a different denomination. When Elder Allen was spoken of, people would ask, " Which Allen? " when the reply would be, " Why, Campmeeting Allen."-IN. C. H.
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Thus closes the interesting autobiography of a man whom the Boston Globe aptly styles "the most popular if not the most famous clergyman in America." Reared amid scenes of privation and want. he was obliged at the age of ten years to work early and late through the busy season of the year without shoes or hat -- a home-made woolen cap taking the place of the latter. If he attended the training of the militia or the gen- eral muster. the only holidays known to the early settlers, he was required to take a stint each day until the lost time was made up. He says, "I remember well when I had my first suit of gray clothes. felt hat and thick shoes. Oh, how proud I felt !" His first silver dol- lar was earned when a small boy by raising some water-melons which he sold on a public holiday. A man came along and offered him a silver dollar for his change ; accepting the offer, he went home feeling as rich as Creesus with so much money in his pocket. His disappointment can be better imagined than described, when the discovery was made that his precious dollar was a base counterfeit and he was again penniless. About the time he became of age he was employed to teach a term of school in the town of Prospect, in what is now Waldo County in this State. So doubtful was he of his ability to give full satisfaction. that he would agree to teach only for one month, and that on trial. At the expiration of the month he was so well liked that he was retained for the remainder of the term. He taught the same school for three winters in succession, and was earnestly requested to accept the position the suc- ceeding winter, but declined.
Ile married. Oct. 20, 1820, Annah Hersey, daughter of Capt. Nathaniel and Lucy (White) Hersey, by whom he had a family of four children. After his marriage he continued to teach in Farmington. Phil- lips and Strong, during the winter, for a period of nearly ten years. He made a profession of religion June 29, 1825, at a camp- meeting near the residence of Rev. John Thompson, as has been previously stated. Here. to use his own language, he "went in a swearing Universalist and came out a howling Methodist." The next year he received an exhorter's license and at once began the work of the ministry, in which he has since been so signally successful. He was admitted to the Maine Methodist Conference in 1835. After joining the Conference he baptized 530 converts on seven circuits, or an average of a fraction over seventy-five for each circuit on which he was stationed. Ilis seventh circuit was In- dustry, where a sweeping reformation resulted from his preaching. After laboring on circuits for twenty-two years he became an evangelist and traveled extensively in Maine, Massachusetts, and other New England States. Many singular experiences have occurred in the life of this
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remarkable man which, could they be collected, would form an interest- ing volume. He was once requested to visit a family where the husband and wife did not live in the utmost conjugal felicity. After much per- suasion the belligerent couple were induced to kneel with Elder Allen while their case was presented to the All-wise Arbitrator. In the course of his prayer. Elder Allen asked "that the woman might become a lov ing, faithful, obedient wife, in all things submissive to the will of her hus- band." This was too much for the aggrieved husband ; he could no longer repress the emotions of his troubled bosom. Springing excitedly to his feet and wildly flourishing his arms, he shouted, "That's just what I want, Elder, that's just what I want, but d-n her, she won't." The ridiculousness of the situation for the nonce nearly upset Elder Allen's equanimity. but instantly recovering his accustomed composure he said, in a tone, the sternness of which precluded the slightest delay, "Kneel down, sir." The excited husband obeyed the command in silence and the prayer was concluded without further interruption.
The wit and originality for which he was noted were inherited, it is said, from his maternal ancestors. Perhaps no anecdote better illustrates the richness of his humor than the following, which he was fond of relating : "One day," said the veteran preacher, "I was going to a ride with my wife. She was quiet and retiring-like-very serious minded. I was helping her into the carriage when she said. . John, I ain't so buoyant as when I was a girl.' . No,' says I, 'and I ain't so gallant as when I was a boy.' "
After a long and faithful service in the ministry he retired and set tled in the quiet village of Farmington, Maine, though he continued to preach occasionally up to the time of his death. Though small in stat- ure, Campmeeting John Allen was a man of commanding appearance, one who would attract attention in any place. His erect figure was usually clad in a suit of black, and the black tile and white cravat which he invariably wore gave him a decidedly clerical appearance. A cleanly- shaven face revealed a striking physiognomy, and the sparkle of his clear blue eyes bespoke the underlying current of quaint humor. His step was elastic, and even in the last years of his life he seemed to depend but little upon the assistance of his walking-stick. He served as chap- lain in the Legislature for two years. On one occasion during chaplaincy he prayed for the legislators after this wise : " Oh Lord, enable them to condense and to be able to stop when they get through."
His wife died June 24, 1875, and he again married, Jan. 9, 1876, Mrs. Sarah Ann Fellows, daughter of Enoch and Sarah (Cummings) Whittier. She was born in Athens, Me., Jan. 9. 1814. and died in Farm-
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ington, April 29. 1881. While making preparations to close up his affairs in Farmington for the purpose of going to live with his daughter, Mrs. Lothrop, of Boston, occurred the disastrous fire of Oct. 22, 1886. In this fire he lost two houses. all his household goods, private papers, etc. Disposing of his real estate, he went to Boston and resided with his daughter as he had previously planned. Early Monday morning. Aug. 29, 1887, he left Boston to attend a camp-meeting at Epping, N. H., but through some inadvertence he was carried past the station at which he wished to stop. He then changed his plans and kept on to the East Livermore camp-ground. After his arrival he seemed for a time much fatigued by his journey, but soon recovered his customary good spirits and nothing serious was apprehended even up to the hour of his death.
Tuesday forenoon he seemed brighter and took part in the meetings during the day. At night he ate no supper. In the evening prayer-meet- ing he spoke to considerable length. On this occasion he seemed to feel that the end was very near, and his remarks were mostly to that effect. Wednesday afternoon he seemed bright and cheerful and chat- ted pleasantly with those around him. His death, which occurred at 5 o'clock P. M., in the cottage of John Worthley, was so easy and sudden that those in the room hardly noticed it. He was sitting in an arm- chair when he drew a long breath and fell back dead. His face looked as natural as life, and it seemed as if he had just fallen asleep. The last sentence he uttered was, " I shall be ready to go to Boston to-morrow morning." But a few hours previous to his death he executed the nec- essary legal papers for placing a $300 memorial window in the new Methodist Church, at Farmington, then in the process of erection. Not long before his death he said to a friend, " I had as lief die on the East Livermore camp-ground as any place in the world." And there the gracious Father permitted him to breathe his last. There, too, were held the last sad rites of burial before the mortal remains of the camp- meeting saint were brought to Farmington for interment. His funeral. on Friday, September 2d, was attended by a large concourse of relatives and friends. Long before the appointed hour every available seat was occupied. The forenoon trains brought large numbers, while a constant stream of carriages came from all directions until between three and four thousand people had gathered to pay their last respects to the departed. The funeral services were conducted in an impressive man- ner by Rev. George C. Andrews, of Wilton. AAmong the opening exer- cises was the reading of the twenty-third Psalm, which had been a great favorite with the deceased during his lifetime. Agreeably to a promise
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made to Elder Allen, Rev. Dr. Cullis, of Boston, preached the funeral sermon. In an eloquent address Dr. Cullis paid a glowing tribute to the memory of the venerable divine. After the services the remains were brought to Farmington, where, in the gloom of the fast-fading twilight, the mortal remains of Campmeeting John Allen were consigned to their last resting place, in Riverside Cemetery, there to await the coming of the resurrection morn.
Children.
i. AMANDA ELVIRA, D. Aug. 8, 1821; m. Mar. 9, 1841, Edwin Norton, son of James Instance and Sarah (Smith) Norton, of Farmington. She is the mother of six children, the youngest of whom, Lillian, has acquired great fame as a vocalist, both abroad and in this country.
ii. JOHN WILSON, b. in Farmington, Me., Dec. 19, 1823. He graduated from the Maine Wesleyan Seminary and subsequently taught for many years in Norwich, Conn. He m. January, 1875, Vannie F. Geyer (b. in Friendship, Me., July 7, 1850), daughter of Francis and Ahnira 1. (Thompson) Geyer. Now ( 1892) resides in Maplewood, Malden, Mass., s. p.
iii. CLEMENTINE ELIZABETH, b. Feb. 15, 1827; m. June 4, 1851, Lewis W. Ilowes, of Belfast, Me .: d. in Cambridgeport, Mass., May 31, ISSO. Three children.
iv. AUGUSTA Cook, b. Aug. 28, 1831; m. July 2, 1854, Capt. John A. B. Lothrop. Her husband d. at Foxboro', Mass., Nov. 15, 1875. She now resides in Boston. Six children.
ZEBULON ALLEN,7 a younger brother of Capt. William Allen, was born in Chilmark, Dukes Co., Mass., in 1764. His wife was Prudence, daugh- ter of Doctor Mathew Mayhew. He was a clothier by trade, having learned the business of an Englishman by the name of Hazleton. Then the work of dressing cloth, now so nicely and rapidly done by machinery, was all done by laborious hand process. It is said that the shears which he used would now be regarded as a curiosity in any museum. In com- pany with Amos Nourse, in 1805, Mr. Allen put in operation the first carding machines ever seen on the Island of Martha's Vineyard. He removed to Industry in 1818, in consequence of misfortunes in business, and settled at Allen's Mills, a short distance west from where Newell P. Luce now ( 1892) lives. After living in town for four years he removed to Farmington, where he died in December, 1837. Prudence his wife died Oct. - , 1842.
Children.
i. JULIA, b. March, 1791; d. in Berkley, Mass., May, 1854.
ji. MYRA, b. September, 1794; m. Dea. James Mayhew, son of Nathan and Abigail ( Boardman) Mayhew, at Chilmark, Mass. She d. in 1871. Five children.
iii. SARAHI MAYHEW, b. July, 1797; m. Adoniram Crane, of Berkley, Mass. She d. in Edgartown, Mass., September, 1874.
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iv. JOSHUA, b. March, 1800; m. Naomi Daggett Sweet, of Farmington. She d. at Augusta, Me., Dec. 10, 1856 .* lle m., January, IS58, Rosaline 1. Crane, of Fayette. Seven children by first and two by second marriage.
V. HORACE, b. September, 1804: m. Mary Macomber. of Wilton, Me. Ile d. June, 1854.
vi. LOUISA, b. November, 1809; m. Leander S. Trip, February, 1834. Ile studied medicine and practiced in that profession some years, but afterwards became a preacher in the Baptist denomination.
SYLVANUS ALLEN,7 brother of Capt. William Allen and son of James and Martha (\thearn) Allen, was born in Chilmark, Dukes Co., Mass., Aug. 27, 1770. His wife, whom he married Aug. 30, 1792, was Kather ine Athearn, daughter of Joseph and Lydia (AAllen) Athearn, of Tisbury, Mass., born Sept. 30, 1773. He came from Chilmark in 1806 and bought of John Patterson the farm now ( 1892) owned by Horatio .A. B. Keyes. While a resident of Industry he was deputy sheriff for several years and likewise a successful school teacher. In 180g he was elected to the responsible position of town treasurer. He sold his farm to his son Freeman in 1817 and removed to Farmington Falls, where he en- gaged in trade with Col. Daniel Beal. Not being successful in business here he went to Nantucket, Mass., where, in 1822, his wife died. He subsequently returned to Martha's Vineyard, and married for his second wife Prudence Cathcart,t daughter of Hugh and Bathsheba (Allen) Cathcart, of Tisbury, Mass. He died in Tisbury in 1853, at the ad vanced age of 83 years.
Children.
1. MARTHA, b. in Chilmark, 1792; d. in infancy.
11. CATHERINE, b. in Chilmark, 1794; d. Jan. 16, 1794.
iii. MARTHA WORTH, b. in Chilmark, Dec. 22, 1795; m. Thomas Whittier, and d. in ISS1.
iv. -, son, b. in Chilmark, May 10, 1797; d. June 21, 1797.+
1. V. FREEMAN, b. in Chilmark, Aug. 16, 1798; m. (pub. Feb. 20, 1821 ) Martha N. Goodwin, of Litchfield, Me.
vi. LYDIA, b. in Chilmark, Oct. 12. 1799; d. und., in Strong, Me., in 1837.
vii. ACHSAHI, b. in Chilmark, Nov. 10, 1802; d. in Farmington, in 1820, unmd.
viii. LOVINA, b. in Chilmark, May 13, 1805; living in Farmington, unmd., in ISSo.
ix. CATHERINE, b. in Industry, June 25, 1807; m. Dec. 22, 1833, Zadoc Davis, son of Deacon Henry Davis, of Strong, Me. He was b. April IS, 1807, and d. June 10, 1887, at Farmington. Two children. CALISTA, b. in Industry, in 1811; d. April 28, 1811.
* The Allen Genealogy, from which the above date was taken, also gives it as Dec. 10, 1850. + Mr. Allen's second wife is said to have been a cousin of his first wife.
# This does not agree with the record of the family as given in the Genealogy of the Allen Family on page 12, which names only ten children, and the fourth as Freeman, who married Martha Goodwin. The record here given was compiled mainly from the town records of Indus. try, and is believed to be correct.
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xi. SYLVANUS, b. in Industry, in 1814; went whaling and d. off the coast of Madagascar in IS36.
I. FREEMAN ALLEN, S son of Sylvanus and Catherine ( Athearn ) Allen. married Martha Nason Goodwin. daughter of Andrew Goodwin, of Litchfield, Me. She was born Oct. 12, 1798. and died Aug. -. 1855. aged 57 years and 10 months. She was a sister to the wife of Moses Truc. q. v. After leaving Industry he resided in Gardiner and Windsor. and subsequently for twenty years in the town of Madison. After this he resided in Rome, Me., a few years and then settled in New Sharon. where the remainder of his life was spent. He married. Mar. 17. 1857. for his second wife, Malinda Atkinson, daughter of William and Mary ( Blunt) Atkinson, q. 7. He died Sept. 23. 1877, aged 79 years and 1 month.
Children.
i. GEORGE GOODWIN, b. in Industry, Feb. 20, 1823; d. at Matamoras, Mexico, July 8, 1846.
ii. CATHERINE ATHEARN. b. in Industry, June 30, 1825; m. June 28, 1846, George T. Dinsmore, of Madison, Me. He d. at Lewiston, Me .. June 30, 1868. Four children. Resides in Lewiston.
iii. CHARLES FREEMAN, b. in Industry, Aug. 5, 1827: d. while crossing Lake Huron, on board the steamer Cleveland, June 6, 1861.
iv. MARTHA ELIZABETH, b. in Industry, Sept. 28, 1833; m. July 3, 1873. Andrew Jackson Greenleaf, of Mercer. He d. Oct. 26, 1874, and she m. July 15, ISSO, Rev. Otis Andrews, of New Sharon.
SARAH ANN, b. in Industry. Nov. 5, 1835; m. Nov. 14, 1865, Ebenezer Ilumphrey, M. D. Ile d. in New Portland, Me , July 29, ISS2, s. p.
RUFUS ALLEN. it is believed. was not a resident of Industry. although he operated the saw-mill at the outlet of Clear Water Pond for some years. Several of his sons, however. having become prominent citizens and business men in Industry. it is believed that a brief sketch of the father might not be deemed inappropriate. "Rufus Allen." as we learn from Butler's History of Farmington, "was the son of Oliver and Lavina ( Hopkins) Allen, of Winthrop, and grandson of Edmund and Elizabeth (Woodward) Allen of Hallowell." So far as is known, no relationship exists between this family and that of Capt. William Allen. From the author previously quoted we learn that he came to Farmington in 1794 and the same year married Abigail Fairbanks, daughter of Capt. Benja- min and Keturah (Luce) Fairbanks, of Winthrop. She was born Feb. 9. 1776, and died Jan. 12. 1842. He died from the effects of a fall from the tail of his mill Oct. 24, 1836, aged
Children. i. LAVINA, b. in Farmington, Jan. 22, 1795; m. Aug. 6, 1815. William Rice, who was b. April 27, 1794, and d. Aug. 17, 1841. She d. . Aug. II, IS57.
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ii. Bersky, b. in Farmington, Dec. 10, 1897; d. May 27, 1815.
1.
iii. BENJAMIN, b. in Farmington, July 26, 1799 ;* m. April 7, 1823,f Sophro- nia Norton, daughter of Cornelius and Margaret ( Belcher) Norton. g. v.
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