USA > Maine > Knox County > Warren > Annals of the town of Warren; with the Early History of St. George's, Broad Bay and the Neighboring Settlements on the Waldo patent > Part 34
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In 1827, after a careful examination, it was estimated that 12,700 gallons, at the average cost of $1, were consumed in this town alone. A society for the suppression of intemper- ance in Massachusetts, began to call attention to the subject as early as 1812. The earliest society of the kind in this vicin- ity, was formed in Thomaston (Rockland) in December, 1823. The beneficial effects of this, and the growing evils of the vice, induced the town, April 3, 1826, to adopt strin- gent measures, for suppressing the illegal practices of retail- ers and innholders. But the acknowledged impotency of the law in reforming popular abuses, led to the formation of the Warren Temperance Society, as mentioned above. This, at first, consisted of Rev. Mr. Sheldon of the 2d Congregational, and Rev. Mr. Bartlett of the Baptist, society, Oliver Cope- land, Thomas Burton, John Burton, William H. Webb, and Hector Copeland. Its pledge went no farther than to abstain from the use and sale of ardent spirits as a beverage. This was then called total abstinence ; and many who believed themselves friends of temperance, hesitated to subscribe to it, considering it an abridgment of personal freedom, and a stig- ma upon one of the creatures of God. It was not till the disuse of ardent spirits had shown how needless such stimu- lants were, that the society, some years after its formation, passed a vote disapproving the use of wine, The society had to encounter the dead weight of long established custom ; the habits and appetites engendered, and the love of merri- ment and hilarity excited by stimulating drink ; and the con- tempt of self-complacency, which regarded the movement as a relic of asceticism. It steadily persevered, however, in- creased in numbers and in favor, and, by the aid of the Rev. Mr. Bartlett at first, and Rev. Mr. Cutter afterwards, who both entered into the cause with spirit and efficiency, made a sensible, though unequal, progress in extending the principles of total abstinence, in lessening the number of retailers, and banishing the use of spirituous liquors. The revenue received from licenses, fell off from nearly $80 in 1828, to $24 in 1830, $18 in 1831, and 0 in the two succeeding years.
In 1841, a new impulse was given to the cause of temper- ance by the society of Washingtonians, then formed ; that of the Temperance Pioneers which sprang up partly in rivalship, but soon effectively co-operated ; the Ladies' Temperance Union, which embraced nearly every woman in town ; and the Cold Water Army, a juvenile association, animated by the same spirit as their seniors. By the united efforts of these different societies, the last blow seemed to be given to
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the power of intemperance, and, September 6, 1841, the town voted " that the selectmen be requested to grant no licen- ses, except for medicinal purposes, and under such rules and regulations as they may think proper." On the 3d of April, 1843, the town voted that the selectmen be requested to grant license to one person only, to sell spirituous liquors at one place only, and for medicinal purposes only, the person to be selected at their discretion. To this measure some oppo- siton was manifested, and the vote ordered to be taken by polling the house. On marching out, however, for the pur- pose of being counted, so great and manifest was the majority in favor, that the count was given up, and, we believe, no at- tempt has since been made to obtain license for selling, for any other than medicinal purposes. The last stock of liquors at the village, that of E. W. Hawk, was purchased and destroyed ; the last sticklers for a moderate use of alcohol and individuality of action, gave up their opposition ; and, in 1842 and '43, cordially united with every body else on the 4th July in celebrating the double triumph of freedom and temperance by public addresses and processions, and by pic- nics elegantly furnished by the ladies and freely offered to all.
For a few years past, these Societies have remitted their efforts ; and the more secret not to say selfish ones of Free Masons and Odd Fellows, whose " shine, like lamps in sepul- chres, illumines but themselves," have taken their place. The Segotchet Division of the Sons of Temperance was organized in the town, subsisted some years, and celebrated the 1st of May, 1850, by a pic-nic given by the ladies, enlivened with appropriate songs and sentiments.
The anniversary of independence has been frequently celebrated here during this period, by public dinners, pic-nics, and other demonstrations of joy ; and orations were delivered by M. H. Smith, Esq. in 1827, by J. T. Leavitt in 1829, by Rev. R. Woodhull in 1842, and by E. Reed, Esq. in 1843. Exhibitions of sacred music have at different times been given by the vocalists of the place, and public discourses delivered on the subject by Rev. D. M. Mitchel of Waldo- boro', by Dr. Daiken of Hope, and others.
Of the wild animals which in early times were the cause of so much excitement among the people, the present period furnishes little to be related. A solitary bear, probably a young one, first seen in Thomaston, was, Aug. 8th, 1828, pursued to a hollow under a shelving rock on S. Andrews's land below Warren village, and shot by Geo. Andrews and others. In March, 1833, a wild-cat or loup-cervier was
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started in the woods by B. Andrews when on the point of treading upon it, and killed by a blow from his musket. From the account of bounties paid, $1 each, it appears that another was killed the same year, four the year following, and five in 1835, since which we know not that any have been destroyed, though they and their tracks are often dis- covered near Mt. Pleasant and the Rocky hills. During the decp and drifted snows of March, 1829, a stray deer, weigh- ing about 200lbs., was killed in Thomaston by Lincoln Levensaler. This was the last of these beautiful tenants of the forest, slain in our vicinity ; though, a few years later, two carabous made their appearance and were shot at in Warren and its vicinity. In the summer of 1849, also, a common deer was seen by Arthur Andrews at the Rocky hills ; and, June 19th, 1850, two such were observed early in the morn- ing feeding in G. Andrews's field. They soon bounded off to the woods, but were afterwards once or twice fallen in with during the summer. Seals, formerly so abundant, are still met with in the lower river, and sometimes above the Narrows and even the ripplings in Warren. In Oct. 1826, one was observed in the river near T. Spear's ship-yard, driven ashore, and killed, yielding three gallons of oil. Several were seen at Andrews's point in 1849, and one was observed the day after the bark Wm. Henry was launched, sunning himself on the launching ways.
Whilst a bounty of eight cents each for the destruction of crows was paid by the State, this town received in 1831, $33,68 for 421; in 1832, $11,68 for 146; in 1833, $6,64 for 83 ; and in 1834, $6,56 for 82 of these birds.
With regard to losses by fire, this town has, thus far, been highly favored; the following being all, it is believed, that have happened in this period of 30 years. On the 28th July, 1825, the dwellinghouse of James Hall took fire, as was supposed, by a spark from the chimney, and, before the men could be called from the field, was too far consumed to be saved ; though most of the furniture was preserved. On the night of March 22, 1827, the dwelling- house occupied by Nat'l Gardner was burnt with its contents, in consequence of ashes placed in a wooden vessel. The family barely escaped as they rose from their beds, with the loss of all their clothing. A school-house standing near Dr. Buxton's, in which C. A. Mclellan was employed as teacher, was consumed in the night of Feb. 1, 1832, by fire kindled, as some thought, by design. In 1831 or '2, the saw-mill at D. Patterson's took fire in the night, probably from friction,
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and was destroyed. On the evening of Dec. 21, 1833, the barn of Joshua Spear caught fire from a candle taken there by the children at milking, and was burned. On the 18th Dec. 1835, the dwellinghouse of Wm. Spear, deceased, oc- cupied by his family, was burnt to the ground by means of ashes, and most of its contents, including a large quantity of wheat and other grain, destroyed. A barn, belonging to the family of Isaac Libbey deceased, was, Aug. 23, 1840, struck by lightning and consumed, as elsewhere noted. The store of Joshua L. Patterson, with his stock of goods, was destroyed on the night of Jan. 30, 1843, by fire supposed to have been communicated from the stove. The dwellinghouse of Asa and Jesse C. Dunbar, with most of its contents, was consum- ed June 5, 1844, by fire supposed to have been dropped by a lad when carrying coals to the smoke-house. It was discov- ered early in the night, when the family were so sound asleep that it was with difficulty they were awakened by some teamsters, and all, ten in number, providentially res- cued. In Aug. 1847, a small, unfinished building designed for a dwellinghouse, belonging to John Copeland, took fire in the night from some unknown cause and was consumed. On the 19th Nov. 1849, the Knox house at the upper falls, then in a state of decay and used only as a shelter for a cow, took fire in a rainy night and burnt down. From the fact that a wan- ton injury was done the same night to the locks near by, it was supposed to be the work of an incendiary. On the 16th Aug. 1850, the barn of Allen Young, Jr. was struck by light- ning and consumed, with all his hay and most valuable farm- ing tools. Voluntary contributions were for a long time re- lied upon to make up the losses sustained by fire ; and few except the more costly buildings and stores were insured. But in 1828, the Thomaston Mutual Fire Insurance Company was organized ; the facilities it offered induced many of our citizens to join it ; and the practice of insuring has now be- come general.
The deaths by casualty and exposure in sickly places abroad, during this period, will be found in their proper pla- ces among the genealogies at the end of the volume, and are . in number as follows : - lost at sea 10 ; died at sea or in dis- tant ports, 24* ; accidentally drowned in our own waters, 9;
* Among the deaths in foreign ports, may be mentioned that of Capt. Lawrence Crawford, at Guadaloupe in February, 1821, which was preceded by one of those mysterious occurrences so common in the popular belief of all nations and sometimes attended with so
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other accidental and sudden deaths, 20; suicides, 6 ; besides many others, probably, whose deaths were either not heard of or not recorded.
The casualties during the first year of this period were, in the opinion of some, augmented in number by the mal- practice of Dr. John G. Lambright, a German, ignorant and unprincipled, but possessed of some shrewdness, who came here about 1819, and remained three or four years, first at Oyster river and afterwards at the Isley house. By marvel- lous stories of his own great cures, and the consequent per- secution he had incurred from the regular physicians, by the gravity with which he inspected urine instead of feeling the pulse, and the oracular manner in which he pronounced one complaint to be a maggot in the spinal marrow, another a hair accidentally twisted around the neck of the bladder, and a third an injury in the spleen from a fall on the ice some thirty years before; by the display of his medical library consisting of a number of odd volumes of English and Ger- man novels, histories, and travels ; and the marvellous powers he laid claim to of stopping blood at any distance from the patient, of arresting a musket ball in its flight, and trans- ferring pain from one person to another, (a power he did not feel justified in exercising, except now and then, from an amiable woman to her brutal husband ; ) by these, together with some real cures effected in part by means of the vapor bath, the use of which he first introduced to the place, he so wrought upon the imaginations of the afflicted and their friends, that his house was soon filled with a multitude of impotent folk, impatiently waiting their turn to be healed of diseases which had hitherto baffled the powers of medical skill. A transient success, either from the power of hope, a change of diet, or the novelty of his treatment, often encour- aged his patients to remain under his care ; and a pretended necessity of sending to New York, Philadelphia, or Ger- many, for some drug of extraordinary power, was a conve-
much appearance of reality, at least to the persons who witness them, as not to be altogether unworthy of notice. On three several occa- sions, once whilst reading in his cabin at an Irish port, again in a twilight walk at home, and lastly on the deck of his vessel beneath the light of the midnight moon, he saw, or believed he saw, the form of a lovely and accomplished girl to whom he had become attached in England, and whom, it is said, nothing but regard for her prevented his bringing home to share his humble fortune here. These appcar- ances had a strong effect upon his mind, particularly the last, which, whether as cause or effect, was immediately followed by the disease which terminated in his death.
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nient excuse for extorting money, or postponing a cure. At length, the shrewd, disgusted at his artifices, began to forsake him ; the feeble, on the arrival of the powerful medicines, to die off; and those whose constitutions maintained a longer contest with disease, to postpone payment for board and medicine till some result should be arrived at. From January to May, 1820, seven deaths occurred at his house, including those of some already pronounced cured. To get rid of others whom by his bargain he could not discharge uncured without forfeiting his claim to remuneration, and who would not render themselves liable by departing without his consent, he resorted to various expedients. The house, which had before some reputation for being haunted, was soon annoyed by strange nocturnal sounds like the falling of bags of meal on the chamber floors ; the outer door opened spontaneously in the night-time even when hasped and buttoned ; unobliter- ated marks of bloody hands were thought to be discernible on some of the inner doors ; and conjecture leaped at once to the conclusion that in former times, when the house was occupied as a tavern, some traveler must have been mur- dered for his money, whose unappeased ghost was still haunt- ing the scene of the outrage. This conjecture was further confirmed by a transient old gentleman picked up by the Doctor, who possessed the faculty, as he affirmed, of using mineral rods, that is, of determining, by the motion of a forked witch-hazel twig, the place where a dead body had been buried, where water might be found by digging, or where silver was concealed. His skill was put in requisition ; the rods inclined to the arch under the chimneys, with such force as to astonish credulous believers, and leave no doubt in their minds that the bones of the victim were slumbering beneath it. Marvellous reports were put in circulation, and such an excitement was getting up, that several of the neigh- bors, to allay it, went in, and, by experiments in presence of the old gentleman, demonstrated the action of the rods to be wholly fortuitous, and, by examining the cellar bottom with a crowbar, satisfied themselves that no bones larger than that of a goose's thigh were to be found there. Having in this way induced some of his patients to leave, and settling with others as advantageously as he could, the Doctor removed, to commence practice at Orrington and other places.
Ten years after the coming of Lambright, the community was thrown into a ferment by the fame of Dr. Thomas Don- aldson Raeburn, who in two branches, those of pharmacy and surgery, had served a regular apprenticeship and obtained
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a thorough education, in his native England. On his arrival in Cushing, his story was received with incredulity ; but his reputation soon spread ; and after removing to this town, his house (now that of F. Seiders,) was thronged with patients from all quarters, and his boldness and skill in the most diffi- cult surgical operations acknowledged by the neighboring faculty. Yet his usefulness was impaired by caprice and irregularity, and, after a residence of a few years, he remov- ed to Bath, where he died some years after.
No meteorological register having been kept in the place, we can only give such facts relating to the weather and atmospherical phenomena as were of sufficient interest to be recorded in private diary, or public newspaper.
On the 7th August, 1823, towards evening, a meteoric ex- plosion was heard in the air, preceded, according to the observations of some persons, by a flash of light. At this place, it appeared to begin in the N. W. some 15º or 200 above the horizon, ascended in a southerly direction, declined and was lost in the S. W. It successively resembled strokes on the base drum, the firing of musketry, the sound of a wagon passing violently over a rocky road, and ended like the rumbling of distant thunder. In the borders of Jefferson, Nobleboro', and Waldoboro', stones were at the same time seen to descend to the ground, were found, and presented the usual dark, scoriacious appearance of aerolites. This hap- pened in the midst of a severe drought, which continued through the whole summer, and gave rise to numerous fires in the woods, threatening to desolate the country in every direction. Much damage was done, particularly at Wiscasset and Alna, where a tract ten miles long and three broad, was overrun, and property destroyed estimated at more than $72,000 ; one woman being burnt to death, and another saving herself and children by descending into a well. Great fears were entertained and damage done in other places, till September 18th, when the fires were checked by a rainy night, which afforded temporary relief to the thirsty cattle. It continued dry, however, and on the 21st, became so cold as to produce frost and ice, and September 29th, a shower of rain was succeeded by snow during the whole night. The sufferers at Wiscasset and Alna were generously aided ; and the inhabitants of this town, at a meeting called for the pur- pose October 6th, voted to grant them $300 from the pro- ceeds of the fishery in the two succeeding years ; but before this was executed, on a representation that the donations re-
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ceived were already equal to the losses, the vote was rescinded.
In 1824, the deep snow which covered the earth till Feb- ruary having been dissolved by warm rains, the season advanced so rapidly, that on the 5th of March, half-grown grasshoppers of the larger species appeared in large numbers on sunny declivities. Yet, May 26th, when the wild pear was in blossom and apple buds reddening, the ground was frozen in the morning, and ice appeared on the water. From the cold and dry weather in the early part of the season, the grass yielded less than two-thirds of an ordinary crop ; but, as no frosts happened till Oct. 14th, the corn crop was good. In 1825, after a warm and mild win- ter, during which an extensive influenza carried off many elderly people, the air in March was bland as May, and on the 18th the song-sparrow was trilling his summer strain. May 5th, there was a storm of hail, rain, and snow, lasting all day. July 12th, the mercury stood at 980 ; and the next day a shower commenced in this town, attended with hail and violent wind, and increasing as it proceeded southerly, in Cushing demolished four or five barns, and did much other damage, the hailstones being half as large as hen's eggs. The dysentery extensively prevailed, and carried off great numbers of children. The weather continued hot and dry, grasshoppers abundant, and at the beginning of Septem- ber fires began to rage in the woods. In the course of a week, these fires spread extensively in the borders of this town, Waldoboro', and Cushing, endangering houses and barns, and consuming fences, corn, and other articles. The people near Mr. Hoffsis's and Winchenbach's having become ex- hausted in watching and fighting the flames, numbers went from the village and elsewhere, to aid in defending their houses from the devouring element. In Waldoboro', several houses were deserted by their occupants and preserved with great difficulty. Dec. 12th, in consequence of an application from the towns of Ripley and Harmony, and the plantation of Bridgestown, a town meeting was held here, and a com- mittee appointed to obtain subscriptions and contributions in aid of the sufferers by fire in those places.
On the 31st of Jan. 1826, during a driving storm of snow which lasted through the day and part of the night, the tem- perature sank from 0 at sunrise to 20° below 0 at six P. M. and 24º ditto the next morning. At Union, the mercury was 28º below 0. In February, the influenza prevailed in all parts of the country ; in the latter part of the month, robins
29
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were seen in the woods, and grasshoppers made their appear- ance. The 15th, 16th, and 17th days of May were uncom- monly hot; the mercury in different places varying from 96º to 1000. An early drought prevailed until July 28th, which, with innumerable legions of grasshoppers, greatly injured the crops ; though the latter part of the season was fine. The measles in the spring, and the dysentery in the fall, were prevalent here, and fatal to several children.
In 1827, the early promise of spring was broken by an extraordinary fall of rain on the 24th and 25th of April, which carried away bridges and saw-mills, and so flooded the roads, that parties and witnesses found it difficult to get to the Court of Common Pleas then sitting in this town. It continued stormy and cold, with some lightning and snow, for nearly three weeks. In the fall of 1828, no frost occurred till Oct. 12th, when ice was formed within doors, the ground frozen for some days, and apples and potatoes considerably injured ; but this was compensated by the warm and summer-like
weather of December. In Jan. and February, 1829, the whooping cough was very severe, and several children in the town died of it. A severe drought prevailed in July and August, during which some 400 acres of wood and un- cleared land were burnt over in the eastern part of this town and in Thomaston. On the 27th of August, there was an earthquake, just before ten o'clock P. M., sufficient to jar doors and windows. The 30th of March, 1831, was distin- guished by a remarkable storm of rain, inundating low grounds, overflowing wharves, entering lime-kilns, carrying away wood and other property on the banks of the river, together with Stirling and Oyster River bridges, and inter- rupting the mail for a day or two. The summer, windy and cool, is notable for the deep pea-green color which, the sun and every object it shone upon, assumed on the 16th and 17th of August. On the 22d of November, much damage was done by a remarkably high tide, said by R. Montgomery, who scored its elevation on Burgess's limestone, to have been 2 feet higher than was ever observed at any other time. The autumn was so mild, no frost occurring till October 28th, and winter set in with such sudden severity November 28th, as greatly to injure the fruit trees, particularly the succulent scions of the apple, then recently grafted for the first, time to any great extent in this town. On the 30th of December, and for several days in succession, there was the greatest run of frost-fish ever remembered. They were hauled away by ox-loads, and large quantities stacked on the shore till
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disposed of for the feeding of swine. The weather contin- ued in its severity till the last of February, 1832, affording three months of uninterrupted sleighing. March was warm ; but heavy rains in May carried away the bridge at the village on the 24th ; and the cold produced ice in the brooks on the 23d, and destroyed martins and other birds.
On the 8th of May, 1833, the day of Rev. Mr. Cutter's ordination, after a warm forenoon, a heavy shower occurred, accompanied with thunder and lightning, which struck in many places in town. A poplar tree in front of Rev. Mr. Huse's house was shivered, as were a small apple-tree near C. Copeland's and a forest tree near P. Oliver's, together with a mast of Capt. J. Robinson's vessel at Andrews's Point, in the cabin of which were several persons who received no injury. The 13th of November was distinguished for one of the most remarkable phenomena ever witnessed in this part of the country. From three o'clock until daylight, a shower of meteors, or shooting stars, appeared in all parts of the heavens, falling like snow flakes. Some observing them through the windows, sprang from their beds supposing their houses on fire. They were of various magnitudes, some not larger in appearance than the smallest of the fixed stars ; others far exceeding the largest. They seemed to move in all directions, continued till daylight rendered them invisible, and were witnessed all over the country as far south as Balti- more. Similar phenomena have been witnessed in other parts of the world, and the writer of this recollects, when a boy, going out on a clear, calm evening, when it was impos- sible to look at any part of the sky without observing one or more of these meteors, but all extremely minute. The origin of these and of meteoric stones is but imperfectly understood.
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