USA > Maine > Biographical encyclopedia of Maine of the nineteenth century > Part 51
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Never idle himself, Mr. Webster has never permitted the accumulations of his lahor, frugality, and business ability to remain dormant. In their investment he has sought to make them contribute most to the development of the natural resources of the State, and to the general welfare and prosperity of the laboring element. Among the other various enterprises in the State in which he is extensively intcrested may be mentioned the Milford Land and Lumber Company, at Milford, Maine ; the Bodwell Water-power, at Oldtown, Maine (a corporation controlling the largest water-power in New England) ; the Lumber and Ship-building Company, at Jonesborough, Maine ; etc., etc.
Mr. Webster's public spirit and characteristic benevolence have done much for the sea- girt town in which he has so long resided. The fishery hamlet of 1851 has become one of the most prosperous villages in the State, and its prosperity and growth is almost wholly due to the husiness inaugurated by Mr. Webster and the firm with which he was connected ; while to his public spirit and generosity may be attributed much of the happiness and com- fort of its inhabitants. Generous and benevolent by nature, and with the memory of his own early struggles ever fresh in his mind, he finds no more satisfactory employment than in laboring for the well-being and prosperity of those about him engaged at the same trade at which he, early in life, gained a livelihood, and in contributing of his means, without stint, to every public and private measure for the promotion of that object.
His early liking for the rod and gun has never left him, and their use affords him the same keen enjoyment as in the days of his youth. From his rare love of nature, and his taste for fishing and hunting, his townsmen have reaped the larger benefits. Their
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natural resorts for pleasure have been beautified, and the facilities for the sport of his earlier days, to which he clings so tenaciously, and in the enjoyment of which all are allowed to share, have been yearly improved at his expense.
His townsmen, all of whom are his friends and neighbors, have not failed to appreciate his worth, and to manifest their regard for his virtues and abilities. Prominent in Masonic circles himself, his brethren of the craft found no more fitting name for their island lodge than that of the friend and neighbor they loved and trusted. They have conferred upon him every important position within their gift as a town, making him their Representative to the State Legislature in 1859, securing his election to the State Senate in 1872, and his re-election to the same position in 1873. All of these positions he filled, and in all of them he served, with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents.
Moses Webster was married, December 16, 1841, to Lydia Maria, daughter of Jesse and Polly (Harwood) Baker of Manchester, New Hampshire. Two children constituted the fruit of their union : Henry Kimball Webster, born in Hudson, New Hampshire, May. 12, 1845. Educated at Gardiner and Bucksport, Maine, and Andover, Massachusetts, and graduated at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, January, 1865. Died at Vinalhaven, Maine, January 31, 1869. He was a young man of excellent promise and fine business abilities and capacity, with a gentle disposition which endeared him to all. Lucie Ellen Webster, born in Pelham, New Hampshire, October 8, 1848. Married, first, John S. Miller of Manchester, New Hampshire, who died May 27, 1878; second, Frederick S. Walls of Belfast, Maine.
OCKE, JOSEPH ALVAH, of Portland, born in Hollis, York County, Maine, December 25, 1843, is a descendant in the sixth generation from John Locke of Hampton (now Rye), New Hampshire, who came from Yorkshire, England, in 1644,-it is believed,-and first settled at Dover, New Hampshire, where he became a land-owner. Through both his father, Stephen Locke, and mother, Lucinda Clarke, daughter of Charles Clarke of Hollis, Mr. Locke is a descendant in the fourth generation from Sarah Pepperell, daughter of Andrew Pepperell, the accomplished and beloved niece of Sir William Pepperell.
In his early childhood Mr. Locke's parents removed to Biddeford, where he fitted for college, graduating from Bowdoin College in 1865. He taught in the high-school, Portland, Maine, the first two years after graduation. While teaching he was pursuing his law-studies, and then entered the law-office of Davis & Drummond (Judge Woodbury Davis and Hon. Josiah H. Drummond) ; was admitted to practice in the State courts
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Josephet, Locke
Metropolitan LABlishing & Bugreway Co. Costen.
H. M. Harlow
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in 1868, and in the U. S. courts the year following. He settled in Portland, where he has since continucd in the active practice of his profession, forming a copartnership in 1880 with his brother Ira S. Locke, under firm-name of Locke & Locke. In 1876 Mr. Locke was elected on the Republican ticket one of the five Representatives in the State Legis- lature from Portland, for the session of 1877. He was re-elected to the House for the session of 1879, being the only Republican Representative elected from his city, and was the Republican nominee for Speaker of the House, but was defeated by the combined vote of the Democratic and Greenback Representatives. The following year he was elected to the Senate from Cumberland County, being the only one of the four Republican Senators from his county whom the Fusion Governor and Council of 1879 were not able to count out. Here he took an active part against that memorable count-out, and on the reorgan- izing of the Senate by the duly elected Senators was elected its president; being the youngest man that ever occupied the chair. He was returned to the Senate of 1881, and re-elected its president. In 1883 he was elected a member of the Governor's Council, which position he still holds.
Mr. Locke, in addition to a large and increasing practice in his profession, has taken a deep interest in the local affairs of his city, and in matters of education. He was for several years a member of the School Committee of Portland; has been for seven years on the Board of Trustees of Maine Wesleyan Seminary and Female College, and the last four years its president.
In 1873 he married Florence E., daughter of Joseph H. Perley, Esq., of Portland, and has two children living-Grace Perley, born October 21, 1875; and John Richards, born July 10, 1880.
ARLOW, HENRY MILLS, M.D., ex-Superintendent of the Maine Insane Hospital of Augusta, Maine. Born in Westminster, Windham County, Vermont, on the 9th of April, 1821. He is the eldest son of Eleazar and Ruth (Owen) Harlow of the same town, On the father's side he is descended from Sergeant William Harlow, who emigrated from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1637 or 1638. Eliphaz Harlow, a great-grandson of William, was born in March, 1716 ; resided in Taunton, Massachusetts, where, as Sheriff of Bristol County, he had charge of the jail for many years. His eldest son, Eleazar, was born at Taunton in 1740, and married Rhoda Alexander of Northfield, Massachusetts. Levi Harlow, their son, was born at Westminster, Vermont, in 1767; and was married, first, to Elizabeth Ranney, and after her decease to Peggy Hitchcock. Eleazar, his eldest son by the first wife, was born in June, 1797, at Westminster, Vermont ; married Ruth
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Owen of Ashford, Connecticut, in 1820; and by her was the father of Henry Mills Har- low. Ruth Owen was a grand-daughter of Chief Justice Daniel Owen of Providence, Rhode Island. Her ancestors were of Welsh origin, of aristocratic social status, and bore on their coat of arms a chevalier in full armor, between three lions rampant and one lion passant. The Harlows occupied similar position in England. The Essex branch of the family had for their crest three crescents resting on the heads of three lions.
During the minority of Henry Mills Harlow he worked upon the paternal farm when not in attendance upon the district-school. Passing from the latter to institutions of higher grade, he studied at the academy in Ashby, Massachusetts, and also in the Burr Seminary at Manchester, Vermont. In the winter seasons he himself imparted useful knowledge as a school-teacher. Selecting the profession of medicine, he began the study of its theory and practice, when at the age of twenty years, under the tuition of Dr. Alfred Hitchcock of Ashby, Massachusetts. In 1842 he attended medical lectures at the Har- vard Medical School. In the winter of 1843 he prosecuted his studies under the direction of Professor Rush Palmer of Woodstock, Vermont, and attended medical lcctures in the same placc, and also in the Berkshire Medical School at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 1844 he graduated, with the customary diploma, from the latter institution. The study of nervous diseases particularly attracted the young physician, and became his specialty in medicine soon after his graduation. Receiving the appointment of assistant-physician to the Vermont Asylum, which was then under the superintendency of Dr. William H. Rock- well, at Brattleborough, he entered upon the duties of his post, and discharged them for upwards of twelve months. The proffer of a similar position in the Insanc Hospital of Maine was then made to him. Dr. Harlow accepted the invitation, and assumed the office thus tendered on the 30th of May, 1845. Dr. James Bates held the office of superinten- dent. The relations between that gentleman and Dr. Harlow werc of very pleasant character, and uninterruptedly continued until the Ist of February, 1851, when Dr. Bates resigned. Dr. Harlow was then appointed acting-superintendent until Junc, 1852, when he was chosen superintendent. This office he has since retained to the present time.
In religious as well as in medical circles Dr. Harlow has been and still is prominent and useful. In 1835 he united with the West Parish Congregational Church of West- minster, Vermont, and remained in connection with it until 1846, when he transferred his membership to the South Parish Congregational Church of Augusta, Maine, of which in 1877 he was made one of the officers.
Of medical science in New England, Dr. Harlow has for many years been one of the principal exponents. Since 1852 he has been a member of the National Association of Medical Superintendents of Hospitals for the Insane. He has also been a member of the New England Psychological Association from the epoch of its organization, and in 1879
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served as its president. In 1861 he was chosen president of the Maine Medical Society, and held the office for the constitutional term of one year.
The professional reputation of Dr. Harlow rests mainly on his long and eminently successful management of the State Hospital for the Insane. Under his efficient super- intendency its history is the record of continuous and valuable improvements. In. 1870 the last wing of the building was added, and the outbuildings removed to a distance sufficient to guard against all danger from fire. In 1875 the unfinished chapel was con- verted into an edifice for the accommodation of about thirty mild patients. Its entire cost was about $20,000. Important changes and improvements of the premises were effected in 1872 and 1873. In 1874 an effective system of utilizing the sewage for the benefit of the farm was established, and an additional supply of water for the chapel building secured. A chapcl and kitchen were next added by means of an appropriation in 1875, and cost about $25,000. A park or airing-court for patients was also created. In 1876 a reservoir containing 1,500,000 gallons was constructed ; and hydraulic works that convey an ample supply of water to all parts of the buildings were completed in 1877, at a cost of about $15,000. Perfect ventilation of the entire establishment was also obtained in the same year, and a new Chickering grand-piano was purchased and placed in the chapel. In 1878 a spacious barn was erected, and the Hoyt farm of 214 acres was united with the hospital property. The erection of gas-works for the institution followed in 1879, and cost from $4000 to $5000. Provision was also made for the comfort and pleasure of the patients by the construction of a green-house. In 1880 the trustees established a complete telephone system between all the wards of the hospital and the Augusta Exchange. In 1881 a new pavilion for the accommodation of female patients was built on the east of the main structure, at a cost of about $30,000 ; and in 1883 an appropriation of $30,000 was made by the Legislature for the erection of another pavilion for male patients. Dr. Harlow's thought, feeling, and energy are all embodied in these invaluable improvements.
In February, 1862, Dr. Harlow tendered his resignation of the commanding post he had so long and honorably occupied. That resignation was accepted in March by the Board of Trustees, with the stipulation that it should not take effect until a suitable suc- cessor should be chosen. Such a successor has not as yet been found, and he still remains in charge. Referring to his long term of service,-thirty-two years,-the trustees stated in the Annual Report for 1882, that " but few, if any, superintendents in our country have held so long a service in one hospital ; and, we may add, but few have made so honorable a record. . .. In his arduous and responsible duties he has ever labored for the best in- tercsts of the hospital, and the welfare and comfort of the unfortunate ones committed to his charge. By his upright and Christian life, by his courteous and gentlemanly bearing toward all, he has succeeded in securing the good-will and esteem of his associates, and of those with whom he has had to deal."
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Fully five thousand patients have been under his eare. In their treatment, laxatives, tonies, and sedatives have been chiefly relied upon. Stimulants, hypnoties, and nareoties have only been employed as a last resort. His moral methods have not been less judieious. Using his own words, "First and foremost in the latter treatment stands the law of kind- ness and gentleness, mingled with firmness on the part of those who are either in their immediate or remote eare." Hard good sense distinguishes all his theories of the manage- ment of the insane, and eminent sueeess no less characterizes their praetieal application. " Employment, either in working, recreation, or amusement," he regards as one of the great auxiliaries in the restoration of deranged mind to normal condition. When his inestimable serviees can be spared from this grand eleemosynary establishment, and his wish for retirement to private life be indulged, he will earry with him a larger share of pub- lie esteem and kindly remembranees than many publie officials are able to acquire.
Henry Mills Harlow was married in October, 1852, to Louisa S., daughter of William A. and Susannah (Stone) Brooks of Augusta, Maine ; a lady deseended on the paternal side of the house from Captain Thomas Brooks, who emigrated from England to America in 1636, and on the maternal side from the Rev. Daniel Stone of Augusta. Five ehildren were the fruit of their union. Four of these, named Aliee Wardwell, Henry Williams, Mary Brooks, and George Arthur, are now living.
MITH, WILLIAM ROBINSON, of Augusta, Maine. Born in Wiseasset, Lineoln County, Maine, on the 24th of February, 1813. His parents were Dudley and Mary (Robinson) Smith of Sanbornton, New Hampshire. Early in the present eentury they removed to Maine, and settled in the town where he was born. The enterprising and resolute character of his paternity was no less strongly developed in himself. At the tender age of eight and a half years he began to learn the art of printing in the office of John Dorr, publisher of the Lineoln Intelligencer. There he remained until 1833, when he entered the office of Ira Berry & Co., publishers of the Augusta Age. In 1835 he contraeted partnership relations with the late George Robinson of Augusta, and purchased the Age. Robinson died in 1840, and was sueeeeded by George M. Weston. Mr. Smith retained his aetive proprietary interest in that newspaper until 1844, in which year he sold it, and retired from the pub- lishing business. During all the years of his connection with the Age, it was the principal Demoeratie paper in the State, held high literary rank, and, although markedly partisan, displayed genuine eandor, vigor, and ability. Whenever the Demoeratie Party has been
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in the ascendant, it has been distinguished as the State paper of that class of political thinkers.
Mr. Smith next embarked in mercantile and shipping pursuits, and continucd therein from 1844 to 1850. In the latter year he received the appointment of Register of Probatc for Kennebec County from Governor John W. Dana, and held it until the close of his term in 1854. While in office the circle of Mr. Smith's friends and acquaintances continuously expanded. In 1854 hc was elected cashier of the State Bank, whose charter he had obtained from the Legislature, and whosc stock was subscribed by his personal friends. This position he maintained until the affairs of the institution werc wound up in 1864. In the latter year he was chosen cashier of the newly organized First National Bank of Augusta. This post he continued to hold until the Ist of February, 1868, when he volun- tarily retired, bearing with him the thanks of the directors, and a generous honorarium of one thousand dollars.
When the Augusta Savings Bank was organized in 1848, Mr. Smith was one of the incorporators, and is to-day the only survivor of their number resident in Maine. In 1857 he was elected treasurer of the institution ; and, with the exception of a few ycars in which his duties as cashier of the First National Bank necessitated relinquishment, has held that relation to the present time. The growth of this institution has been remarkably rapid and healthful. When he assumed the treasurer's office its deposits amounted to $71,000 ; to-day they exceed $4,300,000.
Vitally associated as popular intelligence is with social prosperity, Mr. Smith has fostered both by his beneficent interest in the common-school system of the State. The most liberal appropriations for educational purposes have uniformly received his carnest advocacy. In 1835 he was one of the prime movers in the organization of the Village School District in Augusta ; was clerk of the district until 1845, and has since, for much of the time, been one of the directors. The school-system of Augusta has been perfectcd since the date of his first connection with it, and its superior excellency is largely due to his labors. . In 1851 he was elected one of the trustees of the Cony Female Academy ; has held that office until now, and in association with his fellow-officials crected the beautiful and commodious edifice of the high-school in Augusta.
In religious matters Mr. Smith's opinions are those of the Universalist branch of the Church of Christ, with which he is identified. For many years he has taken conspicuous part in the deliberations of a number of its conventions. With the purely humanitarian organizations of the country he is also associated. Since 1843 he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows ; has served in all the subordinate offices of the Lodge ; been Grand Master of the State, and representative of the Grand Lodge of the State in the Grand Lodge of the United States, for ten consecutive years. Hc has also been for more than twenty-five years the treasurer of the Forest Grove Cemetery in
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Augusta, and has been very efficient in imparting an attractive and beautiful aspeet to this silent "city of the dead." The Lithgow Library is favored with his serviees in similar finaneial eapaeity, as is also the Howard Benevolent Union.
In politics Mr. Smith's views have been as positive and precise as his action has been consistent and courageous. He is a pronouneed Democrat ; has been one of the most judicious and influential of party managers, but has never aceepted any of the modern heresies that have erept into the Democratic ereed. Of whatever derelietions others may have been guilty, he has unchangeably held fast the essential principles of the Democracy.
Such characteristics as those of Mr. Smith have naturally indueed his elevation to important positions of trust and honor. In every one of these he has illustrated the virtues of probity and faithfulness. Troops of friends surround him. The younger members of society particularly are drawn to him. They know and feel that he is their friend, and therefore resort to him for eounsel and help. In all things pertaining to the welfare of the young he is most deeply interested, and is tireless in effort to gratify their every reasonable desire. Their attachment to him is obvious to every speetator, and in itself constitutes one of the most eonvineing testimonials to the moral and intellectual worth of its object. In the diseharge of his duties as treasurer of a great savings institution his devotion has been unflagging. The many and great interests dependent on his judgment and integrity have been managed with eonsummate prudenee and skill. These faets, together with his unvarying kindness to the thousands who have come in personal eontaet with him, have made his name familiar as a household word in all this section of the State.
The naturally strong and fertile intellect of Mr. Smith has been enriched and fructifed by assiduous culture. He owes very little to seholastic education. The printer's office was his academy ; the press, books, and intercourse with men his university. The literature of the present and of past ages has had in him a diligent and discriminating reader. In all matters related to the welfare of the community in which he lives, and of his native State, he is entirely at home. Of quick perception, keen judgment, and fluent diction, he is an entertaining conversationist, and a foreibly instruetive writer. His kindness of heart is extraordinary ; his public spirit judieious and persistent ; his readiness to aid any. who need assistanee remarkable. His character is one to be revered ; and one that will, in most partieulars, be held up as a model for imitation while the members of the present genera- tion survive. His vein of humor, strong convictions, firmness of purpose, force of will, and, above all, his moral qualities, attraet and hold erowds of confiding friends as with hooks of steel.
On all financial questions Mr. Smith has long held the position of an acknowledged authority in his own State. To banking he has given much thought and attention, Whatever affeets, or might affect, the interests of savings-banks has been with him the subjeet of profound study. He is the author of many of those wise provisions in the
Metropolitan Laviser, S. Engraving Co Postor,
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Maine Statutes which carefully guard these great depositories of popular wealth. His advice is daily sought by those who are seeking to invest their funds, and his clear foresight has preserved many from partial or complete loss. The fame of Mr. Smith is not that of the great warrior nor of the eminent orator, but of the private and public benefactor. It rests on noble character and worthy deeds. His is not the indolent but the active tem- perament ; not the objectless but the worthily ambitious life ; not the manhood that is made or marred by circumstances, but that moulds the circumstances to his will. The outcome of such forces as in here and operate in him is necessarily a symmetrical and excellent manhood, glorified by usefulness to others, and crowned with the respectful love of the Common- wealth. "A good man shall be satisfied from himself" is a truism whose unalterable value the groundlings fail to appreciate, but which men like him brilliantly exemplify. His life has been felicitous, because purposeful, industrious, acquisitive, brave, and daring. Liberal and broad in his views, prompt to occupy advanced ground in every social betterment, ever reaching forward to the attainnient of man's highest possibilities, he reaps as he has sown, enjoys the approval of conscience and popular scrutiny, and will leave behind him a revered memory and an example worthy of emulous study.
William Robinson Smith was married on the 22d of December, 1842, to Sarah B. Cochrane of Bangor, Maine. That most estimable lady still happily presides over his home. Their union has been blessed by the birth of four children, of whom one died in infancy. Two sons and a daughter survive. The latter was married in June, 1883, to Josiah E. Daniell of Newton, Massachusetts. Mr. Daniell is one of the solid, successful merchants of Boston.
ENISON, ADNA CURTIS, of Mechanic Falls, Maine. Born November 15, 1815, in Burke, Caledonia County, Vermont. His father, Isaac Denison, was one of the earliest settlers in that county, to which he re- moved from Stonington, Connecticut, in 1798. His mother, née Electra Newell, was a native of Farmington, Connecticut. One of a family of eleven children,-five boys and six girls,-Adna C. Denison was reared amid the hardships incident to pioneer life in the early part of our century. His education, so far as that was of literary and scientific character, was received in the common-schools. Circumstances, operating on a hardy, resolute, and gifted nature, were still more efficient in developing the powers by the exercise of which he was to achieve marked success in life.
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