USA > Maine > Piscataquis County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 19
USA > Maine > Aroostook County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 19
USA > Maine > Hancock County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 19
USA > Maine > Washington County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 19
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 19
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Benjamin B. Leavitt, born in Eastport, Me., November 6, 1798, grew to manhood in his native town. After being employed for some time as a clerk, he went into business for himself and conducted a general store until 1845. In 1843 he was elected State Senator from Washington County, and in 1845 he was appointed Surveyor of the Port of Eastport, an office which he held for four years. He then retired and spent the rest of his life in ease and quiet, dying July 28, 1881. His wife, Harriet Lamprey Leavitt, who was born in Kensington, N. H., June 21, 1802, died July 16, 1840. They were the parents of four sons and three daughters, of whom two attained maturity ; and the subject of this sketch is the only survivor.
Having attended the town schools of East- port for the usual period, Samuel D. Leavitt was fitted for college at Dummer and Franklin Academies. In 1858, however, relinquishing his idea of a collegiate course, he applied him- self to the study of law in the office of Bion Bradbury, of Eastport, and in 1861 was ad- mitted to the Washington County bar and to practice in the United States courts. Within the same year he enlisted in Company A, Fif- teenth Maine Regiment, and afterward served in the Civil War with the rank of First Lieu-
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tenant until the latter part of 1862, when he was honorably discharged. Then, returning home, he at once took up the practice of law, and followed it continuously for several years. In 1864 he first became interested in insur- ance, which he has since made his chief busi- ness. To-day he represents fourteen leading insurance companies. His present large clientage is the result of a steady increase, and his agency is the leading one in this locality. For over twenty consecutive years he has been a director of the Frontier National Bank. He is also the president of the Gas and Electric Company of Eastport and of the Eastport Water Company. Taking quite an active part in politics, the General was a Representative in the State legislature of 1872-73, Adjutant-general of the State of Maine in 1879, chairman of the Board of Selectmen in 1883, Custom Collector for the Passamaquoddy District from 1886 to 1890, first Mayor of Eastport in 1893, and again the Mayor of Eastport in 1898, and was elected to the legislature in 1898. Prominent in Masonry, he is a member of Eastern Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M., of Eastport ; and of East- ern Royal Arch Chapter, St. Bernard Com- mandery, and the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Maine Society of Sons of the Revolution; to Post Mead, No. 40, G. A. R. ; to Maine Commandery of the Loyal Legion; and to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston.
In 1860 General Leavitt was married to Emily C. White, a native of Londonderry, N. H., and a daughter of Reuben and Rachel
(Corning) White, born October 4, 1836. Of the General's four children, the only survivor is Amy W., who, born September 15, 1879, is now a student at Vassar College. The others, snatched away by the hand of death in the bloom of childhood, were: Harriet L., Benja- min B., and Samuel D., aged respectively twelve, eight, and six years. General and Mrs. Leavitt have a beautiful home in East- port, and are among the most esteemed resi- dents of the town.
,DWARD P. BLANCHARD, a promi- nent resident of Blanchard, Piscata- quis County, son of Jacob and Rachel (Pack- ard) Blanchard, was born in this town, September 8, 1857. He is descended from Thomas Blanchard, who came from England in 1639, landing in this country on June 23 of the same year. He and his second wife, who accompanied him and who was previously the widow Agnes Barnes, of London, settled in Braintree, Mass. Their grandson, John, born March 27, 1660, married Abigail Phillips. John's son, Nathaniel, born May 19, 1701, who died in North Yarmouth, August 15, 1773, married Hannah Shaw, who died in the same place about the year 1770. Nathaniel's son, Ozias, born July 31, 1742, had a son, Jacob, who was the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Jacob Blanchard, born July 2, 1784, was drowned in Falmouth, July 5, 1815. The maiden name of his wife was Miss Abigail Pratt.
Jacob Blanchard, Jr., father of the subject
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of this sketch, was born in Cumberland, Me., January 28, 1812. In March, 1833, he went to Blanchard, where his brother Daniel, who was a farmer, had settled on new land. (The town was not named for this family. The first settler here was a Thomas Chase, who took a claim in 1814.) Jacob Blanchard was a carpenter, and worked at his trade here dur- ing his active life. Still living, he is one of the oldest men in the town. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and he has taken an ac- tive part in town affairs, and served as School Supervisor. He has been Deacon of the Con- gregational church since the society was organized. His wife, Rachel, whom he mar- ried in 1836, and who was born in Hebron, Me., May 13, 1815, died October 25, 1892. They had a family of seven children, four of whom are living, namely: Abbie, the wife of Lindley H. Folsom, of Greenville; Phœbe M., the wife of Alvin D. Sturtevant, of Blanchard; Ephraim P., who is mining in Boulder, Col .; and Edward P., the subject of this biography.
Edward P. Blanchard was educated in the schools of Blanchard and Foxcroft Academy. In his early manhood he tried various lines of business. Since 1889 he has very success- fully carried on a general store in Blanchard village. A Republican in politics, he was appointed Postmaster in 1889, and has now been in office seven years. He has been a Selectman for four years, and was chairman of the board for two years. Almost continu- ously since he came of age he has been a mem- ber of the School Committee, and he is now
Supervisor of Schools. Also for one year he was Town Clerk. An esteemcd Mason, he is a member of Doric Lodge of Monson. He was married August 28, 1882, to Viola Hus- sey, who was born September 7, 1860. They have four children - Edith M., Lizzie A., Stanley H., and Carlisle F.
APTAIN GEORGE WESCOTT, a retired ship-master of Castine, Han- cock County, was born upon his present farm, August 27, 1830, son of Cap- tain Joseph and Sarah (Dyer) Wescott. This farm was originally cleared from the wilder- ness by William Wescott, the great-grand- father of Captain Wescott. William, a na- tive of York, Me., came here as a pioneer, and bought a tract of two hundred and fifty acres when settlers were few and game abun- dant, while the only means of transportation was by water, and a tribe of Indians inhabited the neighborhood. Upon a site about ten rods distant from Bagaduce Point he built a dwelling that was his home for the rest of his life. He married Elizabeth Perkins, a daugh- ter of a neighboring settler.
Joseph Wescott, son of William and a na- tive of Castine, for some years followed the sea in the foreign trade; and he served in the War of 1812 as Captain of a company. Hav- ing inherited the homestead, he built the present spacious residence, which is one of the best in town. He died in 1831, and was buried in the old family cemetery upon the farm. His wife was before marriage Lucy
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Stover, of Penobscot. Captain Joseph Wes- cott, the father, was born and reared at the homestead. Like most of the young men of his day, he took naturally to seafaring. In due time he became a master mariner, and was engaged in the foreign trade for some years. After abandoning the sea he settled at the homestead, and built another house on the premises, which he occupied for the rest of his life. He lived to be eighty-three years old. He served as a Selectman for many years, and was one of the first abolitionists in Castine. Sarah, his wife, became the mother of eight children, five of whom are living, namely: George, the subject of this sketch; Mary W., who is now Mrs. Brooks; Clara Emerson ; Frances Dyer; and Martha W. Wescott.
George Wescott was educated in the com- mon and high schools of Castine. Having begun to follow the sea at an early age, he worked his way aft to the quarter-deck, and subsequently commanded vessels engaged in the East India trade until his retirement in 1870. He served in the Civil War for one year as First Sergeant of Company I, Twenty- eighth Regiment, Maine Volunteers, with which he participated in the sieges of Port Hudson, Donaldsonville, and other engage- ments. Since he succeeded to the home farm, which contains one hundred and five acres, he has conducted it energetically. Recently he made some improvements in the old residence built by his grandfather.
By his marriage with Mary Avery, Captain Wescott became the father of four children - George F., Elisha D., Mary J., and Paul W.
George F., who resides in Buffalo, N. Y., married Mary E. Bent, and has three children - Otis B., Mary E., .and Marion. Elisha D., now residing in Portland, Me., married Josephine Crawford, and has one daughter, Ruth A. Paul W., also a resident of Port- land, married Annie C. Pennell, and has one son, Allen Wescott. Captain Wescott has served acceptably as a Selectman and a mem- ber of the School Board. Politically, he is a Republican, and his first Presidential vote was cast for J. C. Fremont in 1856. He is a comrade and Past Commander of Charles L. Stevens Post, No. 76, G. A. R.
ESSE BARBER, of Abbot, Piscataquis County, a prosperous merchant, Trial Justice, and a Civil War veteran, was born in Grafton, Grafton County, N. H., Oc- tober 14, 1835, son of Robert and Sarah (Ford) Barber. His great-grandfather, Peter Barber (first), served in the French.and Indian War. This ancestor while so engaged was taken prisoner by the savages and sold to the French, who conveyed him to France, and held him a prisoner for eight years. After his release he returned to Salisbury, N. H., where he lived until his death. Peter Barber (second), the grandfather, who was a native of Salisbury and served in the Revolutionary War, settled as a pioneer in Grafton, and re- sided there during the rest of his life.
Robert Barber, who was born in Salisbury, August 18, 1793, resided in New Hampshire for the greater part of his life. In his
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younger days he served as Sheriff, and was a Captain in the State militia. He was the pioneer carpenter and wheelwright of Monson, to which he moved in 1844. He also fol- lowed farming until he moved to Solon, where he remained for five years. After that he re- sided in Monson until his death, which oc- curred when he was seventy years old. He was a member of the Calvinist Baptist church. The first of his two wives was Sarah, a native of Canaan, N. H., who died at the age of fifty- six. Of his nine children, three are living, namely : Lucy C., who is now the Widow Tay- lor, and resides in Monson; Peter, a resident of that town; and Jesse, the subject of this sketch. The others were: Sarah, Clara, Dor- othy, Robert, Arvilla, and Albert.
Jesse Barber resided in Grafton until he was nine years old and afterward in various places before reaching manhood. After ac- quiring a common-school education he learned the shoemaker's trade, and followed it for some time. He was later employed as clerk at hotels in Greenville and East Corinth, Me., and was otherwise occupied until 1862. Then he enlisted at Abbot as a private in the First Maine Cavalry, Company M. After participating in the battle of Rappahannock Station and several minor engagements in the vicinity of Richmond, he became disabled, and was honorably discharged October 5, 1863. Upon his return to Abbot he resumed shoemaking, at which he continued until 1868, when he established himself in the mercantile business, which he has since car- ried on successfully. His stock includes gro-
ceries, hardware, and boots and shoes, and is always of a superior quality. In politics he is a Republican. He has served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen for six years in succession ; was Constable, Collector, Town Agent, and a member of the School Commit- tee during 1893; was Postmaster for twenty- one years; has been Trial Justice and Justice of the Peace since 1874; and was County Commissioner from 1883 to 1891.
On October 29, 1859, Mr. Barber married Laura W. Davis, who was born in Appleton, Me., May 6, 1841, daughter of James G. and Lucy A. Davis. Mrs. Barber is the mother of one son, Harrison Taylor Barber, born June 23, 1873, who is now a clerk in the office of the assistant superintendent of the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad in Brownville. A Mason in good standing, Mr. Barber is connected with Kineo Lodge of Guilford and the chapter in Dover. He is also a comrade of Leeman Post, No. 82, G. A. R., of Abbot.
LMERIAN E. BOSWORTH, a well- known farmer and carpenter of Corn- ville, Somerset County, was born December 16, 1844, in the nearby town of Solon. He is a son of Tilson H. Bosworth, who, born and bred in Solon, in early life removed to Machias, Washington County, where he worked at the carpenter's trade. Tilson H. also followed his trade and carried on farming to some extent in various places in Maine, including the towns of Solon, Mad- ison, Athens, Brighton, and Skowhegan, to
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which he went accompanied by his family. His last days were passed in the village of East Madison, where he died in June, 1891, aged seventy-four years. He was the owner of a good estate in Madison at the time of his demise. His wife, born in Bethel, Me., whose maiden name was Esther Burke, died in East Madison in May, 1892. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Will- iam, who died at the age of two years; Cul- len, also deceased; Almerian E., the subject of this sketch; Alma, now the widow of Har- rison Stewart, living in Madison; Mellen, who is a painter and a resident of Madison ; Manderville, who owns and occupies the old home farm in Madison; Elden, who is em- ployed in the United States service and lives at Hot Springs, Ark .; and Adolphus, who died at the age of eight years.
Almerian E. Bosworth has been self-sup- porting since he was a lad of fifteen years. On November 2, 1861, while yet in his seven- teenth year, he enlisted for the defence of the Union in Company I, Fourteenth Maine Vol- unteer Infantry, under Colonel F. S. Nicker- son and Captain James B. Hill. With his comrades he was present at the engagement at Baton Rouge, La., fought on August 5, 1862, and at several others of minor importance. An injury received in one skirmish confined him to the Marine Hospital at New Orleans for two months. On April 3, 1863, he was honorably discharged from the service at Bon- net Carré Bend, La., and returned to the home of his parents, who were then living in Athens, Somerset County. In 1866 Mr. Bos-
worth went to the Pacific coast, and spent the following five years on a California ranch, working at the carpenter's trade, in which he was proficient. Again returning to Maine, he worked at his trade in Solon until his mar- riage, when he settled on his present prop- erty in Cornville, known as the north half of the Kincaid farm. Since then he has made improvements on the estate of an excellent character, erecting new buildings and other- wise adding to its value. He has eighty acres of land, and carries on general farming to a considerable extent. He also devotes a large part of his time to his trade, his known skill as a carpenter causing his services to be in constant demand.
Mr. Bosworth was married December 9, 1875, to Miss Lizzie H. Savage, a native of Madison, born December 26, 1858. Her parents, Edward and Sarah (Rowell) Savage, still reside on their farm in that town. Mr. and Mrs. Bosworth have had four children, namely : Bertha May, born in 1876, who died at the age of fifteeen months; Leland D., born May 12, 1878; Forest C., born July 16, 1880; and Lula B., born July 27, 1885. Mr. Bosworth has always been deeply interested in advancing the cause of education, and has ren- dered efficient service to the town of Cornville as a member of the School Committee, the only public office he has ever held. In poli- tics he is a sound Republican. He is a mem- ber of St. Andrew's Post, G. A. R., at Har- mony, Me. ; of West Runsett Lodge, No. 113, I. O. O. F., of Athens, in which he has passed all the chairs, is now serving as Noble
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Grand for the second term, and is very promi- nent in lodge work, having been a member of that order for thirty years; and of the grange at the village of East Madison, of which he was Master for three years, and in which he exercised much influence.
OSES PRESCOTT, a retired lum- berman of Eastport, Washington County, was born in Pennfield, Charlotte County, N. B., March 19, 1827, son of Jesse and Sarah (Knight) Prescott. The names of several of his ancestors appear upon the roster of the Colonial troops that fought the British at the battle of Bunker Hill. His grandfather, Jonathan Prescott, a native of Maine, spent the active period of his life in Mount Vernon, where he followed the trade of a blacksmith; and he died at a good old age.
Jesse Prescott, who was born in Mount Ver- non, settled in 1812 or 1813 in Pennfield, N.B., where he was engaged in agriculture. An industrious and successful farmer, he was esteemed in the community. He married Sarah, daughter of Joshua Knight, a Loyalist, who at the close of the Revolutionary War moved from Philadelphia, Pa., to Pennfield. Saralı Prescott became the mother of eight children, who all attained maturity. Five of them are still living, namely: Catherine, who married Tobias Mealey, of Monticello, Me., and now resides in Minnesota; Joshua, who resides in New Brunswick; Moses, the subject of this sketch; John, a resident of Calais, Me .; and Jesse Prescott, who occupies the
old homestead in New Brunswick. The others were: Gideon, who died in St. John, N.B., at the age of seventy years; George, who died in California; and Isaac, who died at the age of twenty-two. The father reached the age of ninety-four years and six months, and the mother ninety-three. Both parents belonged to the Baptist denomination.
Having previously attended school as the opportunity permitted, Moses Prescott at the age of sixteen began to work in the woods, receiving for his services eight dollars per month and board. He had been so employed for six or seven years when, in company with his brother Gideon, he engaged in lumbering at New River, N. B. About five years later he formed a partnership with his brother John, and for the succeeding fourteen years the Prescott brothers were successful opera- tors in the lumber regions of New Brunswick. In 1876 Mr. Prescott located in Eastport. An interest in a lumbering concern of Nova Scotia, bought by him and his brother in 1883, was disposed of in 1887. Since that time he has lived in retirement at his home in this city. His long and active career in the lumber industry was attended with good financial results. Among his reminiscences of the period he recalls with pride the fact that for thirty-two years he personally as- sisted in driving the winter's cut of logs from the landings to the booms.
On March 31, 1861, Mr. Prescott married Alice Chaffey, a native of Indian Island, N. B., born April 2, 1832. Her parents, James and Mary (Hurley) Chaffey, are de-
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ceased. Mrs. Prescott is the mother of two children, namely: Catherine, born July 15, 1862; and George D., born May 16, 1864. Catherine is now the wife of Frank Wads- worth, of Eastport, and has three sons - Pres- cott, Edward, and Ronald Wadsworth. George D. Prescott, who is a lumber operator in New Brunswick, married Jessie McLean, and has one daughter, Ethelyn. In politics Mr. Prescott, Sr., is a Republican, and he belongs to Eastern Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M. He worships at the Baptist church, while Mrs. Prescott is a member of the Church of the Disciples.
OHN T. R. FREEMAN, an enterpris- ing merchant of South-west Harbor, Mount Desert, Hancock County, was born in this town, November 28, 1838, son of James and Margaret (Richardson) Clark Free- man. His grandfather, Reuben Freeman, was an Englishman, who came to the island from Cape Cod.
James Freeman, the father, born in Pretty Marsh, Mount Desert, learned the trade of a blacksmith in Boston, and afterward worked there as a journeyman for some years. Then, returning to the island, he followed his trade here for the rest of his life, and died in his eighty-seventh year. He was the first to per- ceive and utilize the advantages of Mount Desert as a summer resort; and a party of Bangor people, boarded and entertained for a season by him, were the very first summer visitors to come to the island. He married
Mrs. Margaret Richardson Clark, a widow, whose people were the pioneer ship-builders here. She became the mother of four chil- dren; namely, James A., Joseph W., Julia S., and John T. R. James A., who resides in this town, married a Miss Leland, of Bar Har- bor, and has three children - Charles, Arthur, and Leta. Joseph W. has always resided here. Julia S. married John Crockett, of Rockland, Me., and has had seven children.
The education of John T. R. Freeman began at home. He also attended the public schools of Jamaica Plain, Mass., for two years. After finishing the high - school course in South-west Harbor, he turned his attention to teaching, and followed it for twenty years on the island with the exception of one sea- son spent in Sedgwick, Me. Then at South- west Harbor he started in the ladies' and gen- tlemen's furnishing-goods business, which he has since carried on. It is now generally con- ceded that he conducts one of the best stores of the kind on the island. He also deals in wood and coal, and owns a sardine factory, which he lets for rent.
Mr. Freeman married Ada J. Crockett, of Rockland, a daughter of James and Mary Crockett. He has two daughters - Mary C. and Catherine B. Mary C. married Sylvester Brown, of North-east Harbor, and has three children - Anna, Ada, and Leonise Brown. Catherine B. resides at home. Mr. Freeman was formerly a member of the Board of Select- men and of the School Board. He was also Collector and the Postmaster for twenty-five years. At present he is efficiently serving in
JOHN T. R. FREEMAN.
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the capacity of Town Treasurer. He is well and favorably known throughout the island, and belongs to the Masonic order. In politics he is a Republican, and he cast his first Pres- idential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
OAH H. BURRILL, one of the stir- ring dairy farmers of Canaan, Somer- set County, was born in this town, November 29, 1836, son of Noah and Maria (Hubbard) Burrill. The father came to Ca- naan from Clinton, his native town, and, set- tling upon a farm, resided here until his death, which occurred August 13, 1887. By his union with his first wife, who before mar- riage was a Miss Pratt, of Clinton, there was one son, Hiram P., now deceased. Maria, his second wife, who was born in Concord, Mass., became the mother of seven children, namely: Noah H., the subject of this sketch; Sarah, now the wife of John Drew, a farmer of Canaan; Jane, now the wife of Charles E. Burrill, of this town; Silas P., who is no longer living; Eliza, who resides in Portland, Me., and is the widow of Manley J. Crum- mett; Ella, the wife of Charles Davis, now of Alpena, Mich. ; and Wilson R. Burrill, who is married, and resides in Pasadena, Cal. The mother died June 24, 1892.
Having attended the common schools for the usual period, Noah H. Burrill at the age of eighteen began to serve an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade. Subsequently he worked as a journeyman and contractor in Canaan for some time. In November, 1863,
he went to San Mateo County, California, where he was engaged in lumbering for two years. He went to Pasadena in 1887, and followed his trade there until his return in April of the following year. Some time ago he abandoned his trade, and is now devoting his entire energy to agriculture. After his marriage he settled upon the Burrill farm, where he has resided for most of the time since, engaged in agriculture, stock-raising, and dairying. He owns two hundred and twenty-five acres of good land, comprising till- age, pasture, and woodland. Besides raising the usual crops, he operates a cream separator, and makes considerable butter of a superior quality, which he markets in the adjoining towns.
On November 2, 1861, Mr. Burrill married Lizzie M. Fitzgerald, who was born in Canaan, March 9, 1842, daughter of Ben- jamin and Ora (Emery) Fitzgerald. Mr. Fitzgerald, now deceased, was a prosperous farmer of this town. His wife is now resid- ing here with her son. Mrs. Burrill has had two children: Silas Ellsworth, born August 8, 1862, who died February 3, 1886; and Schuyler Colfax Burrill, who married Maud Agnes Allen, and lived in Canaan. Formerly a Democrat in politics, Mr. Burrill has voted with the Republican party for the past twenty- five years, and has served with ability in some of the town offices. An esteemed Mason, he is a member of Carabassett Lodge, No. 161, of Canaan. He attends the Universalist church. A handsome cabinet standing in one of the rooms of his house, one of sundry arti-
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