USA > Maine > Piscataquis County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 39
USA > Maine > Aroostook County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 39
USA > Maine > Hancock County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 39
USA > Maine > Washington County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 39
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 39
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Left fatherless at the age of nine, William Downs was then obliged to seek employment with a view to help in the support of the fam- ily. After a time his earnings were sufficient to provide the family with a comfortable sub- sistence. In 1850 he went to California, where he profitably labored in the mines for two and a half years. Upon his return he bought a farm in Dover. Seven years later he sold that property and moved to Sebec, where he occupied for a time the farm now owned by Mr. Chase. In 1863 he purchased his pres- ent farm, which on account of its elevation he considered more favorable to his wife's health. Containing four hundred acres, it is considered the largest farm in the town. It is desirably located and well adapted to dairy purposes. His annual crop of hay averages seventy-five tons, having reached as high as ninety tons. He keeps from fifteen to twenty Jerseys, graded and full-blooded, besides sheep and other stock; and he is constantly
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engaged in improving the fertility of his land. Since the place came into his possession he has erected spacious barns and a good stable, while the buildings as a whole are among the best in this locality. In politics he is a Re- publican. He has served with ability as a Selectman for six years. Having been ap- pointed by Governor Robie one of the man- agers of the experimental station at the State Agricultural College in Orono, he was elected treasurer by the board, and subsequently held that position until the station was abolished.
In 1850 Mr. Downs married for his first wife Samantha Lambert, of Dover, who died in 1860, His second marriage, which took place in 1862, was with Elzada Ball, of Sebec. He is the father of eight children, four by each union. Those of his first wife are: Lizzie, who married Mason Norton, and resides in California; Charles H., who resides in Minneapolis, Minn .; Nora, the wife of William Pratt, of Foxcroft; and Ella, who married Everett Adams, of Bangor. The children of his present wife are: Eva, who married Ellis Pratt, of Foxcroft; Lillian, the wife of Charles Currier, of Sebec; William H. and Edward Downs, who are living at home. Mr. Downs is a member of Piscata- quis Lodge, F. & A. M., of Milo, and was formerly connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was the first to introduce the Patrons of Husbandry in this county by organizing Piscataquis Grange, of which he was Master for five years; and he was elected Master of the county grange for three years in succession. Firmly believing
in the order as a beneficial agent to farmers, he labors diligently to sustain the interest in its meetings.
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UTHER B. CROSBY, M.D., a popu- lar physician of Brownville, was born in Albion, Kennebec County, Me., September 8, 1833, son of Luther and Ethe- linda (Getchell) Crosby. The grandfather, Robert Crosby, was a New Hampshire man by birth and one of the early settlers of Winslow, Kennebec County, where he spent the re- mainder of his seventy years of life. He was a millwright, and built the first mills in that section.
Luther Crosby, born in Winslow, followed farming mainly, but was also interested in milling, lumbering, and brickmaking, in com- pany with his brother. In Albion he bought and cleared a farm, on which he thereafter re- sided. He also owned a good farm on what is known as Lovejoy's Pond. In religion he was a Congregationalist, and he contributed quite liberally toward the support of church work, and especially to the building of the church edifice at Albion. In the days of the slavery agitation he was a strong abolitionist. Later he was a Republican. He died in 1862 at his home in Albion, aged seventy years. His wife, Ethelinda, born in Sidney, Kennebec County, Me., died at the age of sixty-three years. They were the parents of eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Those who reached mature years were: Jonah, Alphonso, Atwood, Ethelinda, Eveline,
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Martha, Sarah, Luther B., and Augustine. Jonah Crosby died in Sidney, Me., aged sixty-four years; Alphonso, who was a quar- termaster at New Orleans during the Civil War, died at sixty-seven; Atwood, a physi- cian and a member of Company G, Third Maine Regiment, died in Waterville, Me., aged forty-two years; and Ethelinda, who married a Mr. Eaton, died in Exeter, Me., aged sixty years. The children now living are: Eveline, the wife of Ezera Pray, of Al- bion, Me .; Martha, the wife of Samuel Fuller, of Augusta, Me .; Sarah, the wife of Henry Lancaster, of Pittsfield, Me .; Luther B., the subject of this sketch; and Augustine, who lives in Benton, Kennebec County. The last named, who also served in the Civil War with Company G, Third Maine Regiment, was shot at the battle of first Bull Run.
Luther B. Crosby spent his boyhood on his father's farm in Albion. After completing the course of the district school he attended the academies in China and Benton, and fitted for college at Waterville, Me. Having en- tered Colby University in 1855, poor health rendered him unable to graduate. Some time later he engaged in teaching, and also took up farming. In 1862 he enlisted in the Seventh Maine Regiment, Company F. He took part in the battle of Mechanicsville, and at the battle of Williamsburg he was detailed as camp guard. After he was honorably dis- charged in 1863, he returned to Maine, and took up the study of medicine under the di- rection of his brother, Atwood Crosby. He also attended the lectures of the Maine Medi-
cal College at Brunswick and those of the Harvard Medical School, graduating at the former in 1868. In that same year he located in Brownville, where he has since been in ac- tive practice, and now enjoys a large pa- tronage.
Dr. Crosby has been married three times. The first time was in 1857, when he wedded Lois G. Hanscomb, of Benton, Me., a native of Albion and a former schoolmate of his. She died in 1865, leaving five children, namely: Edgar H. Crosby, a graduate of Colby University, who was a teacher at Woodford's, Me., and was accidentally killed at Deering Crossing, Me., January 31, 1898; Alice M. Crosby, a teacher of drawing in Hallowell, Me .; Fanny, the wife of Frank Hamlet, of Hallowell; Nathaniel H., a grad- uate of Colby University, now engaged in the practice of medicine in Monson, Me .; and Lois, the wife of Levi Johnson, of Brown- ville. The second marriage was contracted in 1869 with Maria Parsons, of Buckfield, Me., who died in 1889, having had two children : Minnie, now the wife of E. A. Chase, a drug- gist, of Brownville; and Byron, who died at the age of four years. Dr. Crosby's third marriage united him in 1890 to Miss Helen Wilkins, a native of Brownville and a daugh- ter of the Rev. Isaac Wilkins, who was also a practising physician. The Doctor voted the Republican ticket until ex-President Cleve- land's first election. Since then he has voted with the Democratic party. Under President Cleveland he held the office of United States Pension Examiner. At one time he served
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the town on the School Board. He is a Mason of Pleasant River Lodge at Brownville and a comrade of Sampson Post, G. A. R., of Milo, Me. Both he and Mrs. Crosby are members of the Congregational Church of Brownville, Me.
ILLIAM B. BROWN, a rising young lawyer and the Postmaster of Hartland, Somerset County, was born in Skowhegan, April 18, 1866, son of William McClellan E. and Sophia (Grover) Brown. The father, who was born in Buxton, Me., July 5, 1818, went to Guilford, Piscataquis County, when ten years old, and completed his education at the Foxcroft Academy. He studied law, and, after his admission to the bar in 1839, located for practice in Solon, Me., where he resided for fifteen years. He then settled in Skowhegan, where he was as- sociated with J. D. Brown for fifteen years. Thereafter he continued in business alone for the balance of more than fifty years. He was one of the best known lawyers in this part of the State. Taking an active part in public affairs, he served as superintendent of schools for many years; was a Representative in the legislatures of 1856 and 1857; Collector of Internal Revenue from 1865 to 1870; and United States Pension Examiner under Presi- dent Garfield. In politics he was an earnest supporter of the Republican party. A Mason in good standing, he belonged to the Blue Lodge and to the commandery in Skowhegan. He was also connected with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. Sophia, his wife, who was born in Pittsfield, Me., February 12, 1847, became the mother of five children, namely : Delle HI., who died in 1868; Will- iam B., the subject of this sketch; Lucy, the wife of Fred A. Morrison, of Boston, an ex- press messenger; Hclen B., the wife of Hcr- bert H. Haynes, who is connected with the American Express Company in Bangor; and Grace D., the wife of Forrest E. Leavitt, a foreman in a shoe factory of Haverhill, Mass. A professional singer of reputation, Mrs. Haynes is now pursuing an advanced course of study in Paris. William McC. E. Brown died April 17, 1895, and his widow was again mar- ried to George. E. Washburn, of Skowhegan.
After graduating at the Skowhegan High School, William B. Brown supplemented his education with a business course at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College, Boston, and another course in the higher branches of study in the Maine State University at Orono. Subsequently he taught school for a time. Then after a year spent as Clerk of the Courts in Skowhegan he went South for a season, and played as pitcher and third base man for a base-ball club, belonging to the Florida League. Upon his return he began the study of law, and in due time was admitted to the bar. After practising in Solon for three years he came in 1894 to Hartland, where he has since been located. He is rapidly coming to the front among his legal associates in this locality, and his practice is already large and lucrative.
In politics Mr. Brown is a Republican.
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He is now serving as superintendent of schools, and was recently appointed Postmas- ter. In March, 1897, he married Helen M. Whittredge, of Foxcroft, Me., a daughter of Daniel M. and Maria C. (Russ) Whittredge, the former of whom was a merchant. He is a member of Carrabassett Lodge, I. O. O. F .; and of Parmenas Encampment, of Skowhegan.
EWIS KING, a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of Lamoine, Me., was born October 14, 1827, on the old King estate, a part of which he now occu- pies, the town at that time being called by its original name, Trenton. He came of pioneer ancestry, his grandfather, John King, having been one of the first settlers of this section of Hancock County. His father, the Rev. John King, was pastor of the Lamoine Baptist church for many years. Further parental his- tory may be found elsewhere in his volume in connection with the sketch of another son, Eben H. King.
Lewis King left the district school to fol- low the sea, and before he had attained his majority he had worked his way up from the lowest position on board ship to that of mas- ter mariner. He subsequently learned the trade of a ship-carpenter, and was a vessel builder and master carpenter fifteen years, being associated with his brothers the greater part of the time. He was also in partnership with them in the Grand Bank Fishery enter - prise for seven years. Coming into posses- sion of a share of the parental homestead, he
erected a fine set of buildings on the river road in 1852, and has since resided there, carrying on general farming in connection with his other occupations with excellent suc- cess. Mr. King was Postmaster of Lamoine eight years, and for three years rendered valu- able service to the town as Supervisor of Schools. Politically, he is a strong adherent of the Democratic party. He is a member of the Baptist church.
In 1853 Mr. King married Mary A. King, of Lamoine. She died in early womanhood, leaving one son, John L., who lives at the homestead. Mr. King subsequently married Addie Downs. Of this union one child has been born, Elwood M., who also lives at home.
OUIS C. FORD, M.D., a physician of Milo, was born in Atkinson, Pis- cataquis County, August 11, 1852, son of Caleb and Helen P. (Snow) Ford. His first paternal ancestor in this country ar- rived at Plymouth in 1621, and married a woman who came over on the first voyage of the "Mayflower." His great-grandfather, Joshua Ford, served as a private in a Massachusetts regiment during the Revolutionary War, and afterward settled in Whitefield, Me. Three of Joshua's sons - Abner, Elijah, and Enoch - located in Mayfield, Me. ; and Abner, Dr. Ford's grandfather, later settled in Sebec. Abner, who was a machinist and a millwright, built mills in Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties, and was an enterprising and suc- cessful business man. At one time he manu-
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factured tubs in Sebec. He married Mc- hitablc Hatch, and had a family of ninc children; namely, Caleb, Caroline, David, Lucy A., Eliza, Llewellyn, Melvina, Annette M., and Frank M. All were natives of Sebec except Caleb, who was born in Mayfield. David and Lucy A. died young. Carolinc married the late Thcodore Wyman, of Sebec. Eliza married the Hon. John Morrison, of East Corinth, Me. Llewellyn served in the First Maine Cavalry during the Civil War, and died in Sebec of a fever contracted while in the army. Melvina married Judson Parker; Annette M. became the wife of H. M. Rich- ardson; while Frank M. never married.
Caleb Ford, who was reared in Sebec, after his marriage settled in Atkinson. His natural genius for mechanics found vent in the con- struction of a great deal of mill machinery. He was familiarly known as Captain Ford from his connection with the State militia. Physical disability alone prevented him from participating in the Civil War. He served as a Selectman and legislative Representa- tive, and was a County Commissioner for eight years. In politics he was a Republi- can, and his opinions concerning public mat- ters were considered sound. Helen P. Snow Ford, his wife, who dicd September 3, 1897, was a daughter of Eleazar W. Snow, M. D., late of Atkinson. She became the mother of thrce children, namely: Mary, who married C. O. Hutchinson; Louis C., the subject of this sketch; and Caroline A., who married Frank J. Freeze, of Atkinson.
Louis C. Ford acquired his early education
in the common schools and at the Foxcroft Academy. He began the study of medicine with his uncle, Dr. Edwin P. Snow, of Atkin- son, and was graduated from the Maine Medi- cal School with the class of 1877. After residing in Sebec for three years, he located in Milo in 1880, and has since followed his profession in this and adjoining towns.
Dr. Ford has been twice married, succes- sively to Antoinette Perkins, of Atkinson, and Nettie E. Rogers, a daughter of W. S. Rogers, of Bradford, Me. To his first union were born three children - Caleb J., Helen M., and Antoinette. Caleb J. had begun the study of medicine, for which he had a natural inclination, *when he died in 1896. Dr. Ford acts with the Republican party in politics. He is a member of Piscataquis Lodge, F. & A. M., in which his grandfather and father had been made Masons, and the latter had occupied the important chairs. The Doctor is also a member of Dirigo Lodge, I. O. O. F .; of the Ancient Order of United Workmen; and of the order of Foresters.
ENJAMIN F. HILTON, of Starks, familiarly addressed as "Frank," is known far and wide as one of the most prosperous farmers and stock-raisers and the most cxtensive breeder of high-grade sheep and Hereford cattle in Somerset County. He was born February 9, 1832, on the old homestead, son of Benjamin Hilton, Jr. His grandfather, Benjamin Hilton, Sr., a pioneer settler of Anson township, removed
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thither from Wiscasset, Me., at an early day, taking up his abode in the midst of the dense forest, and there cleared a small farm.
Benjamin Hilton, Jr., was born on the homestead in Anson, February 3, 1803, and there grew to man's estate. In 1828 he began his career as a farmer in the town of Starks, where by persevering industry and diligent effort he improved a farm on which he lived until his death on October 2, 1891. He was married July 2, 1829, to Margaret Athearn, who, born May 31, 1805, in Cas- tine, Me., died in Starks, July 23, 1862. They had four children, of whom one died in infancy. The others were: Benjamin F., the subject of this biography; Fidelia, the wife of O. D. Metcalf, of California; and George A., of whom a brief sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.
Benjamin F. Hilton received his early ed- ucation in the district schools of Starks, and on the ancestral homestead obtained a practi- cal knowledge of agriculture in all of its branches. Having remained with his parents until after his marriage, he in April, 1861, removed with his bride to Anson, where he resided for two years. Returning then to Starks, he took possession of his present prop- erty, which contains about two hundred and fifty acres of arable land, and where he has since carried on general farming, dairying, and stock-raising, making a specialty of breeding fancy sheep of various kinds with his son Bert for overseer. He has been quite prosperous in his undertakings, and now owns in addition to his home property three
other farms, one of eighty acres, one of fifty in Starks, and one of sixty-five in Anson. In 1879 he erected his substantial residence, and eight years later further improved his home farm by building a new barn. These build- ings are among the finest and most commodi- ous in the town.
On November 20, 1860, Mr. Hilton was united in marriage with Miss Mary Furber, who was born June 13, 1840, in Athens, Som- erset County. She is a daughter of John and Sarah (Tufts) Furber, respectively natives of Lee, N.H., and Athens. Her parents lived in Athens for ten or more years after their marriage, and then, in 1850, settled in Nor- ridgewock, remaining there for the remainder of their days. The father died in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Hilton have five children, the fol- lowing being their record: Ernest, born De- cember 3, 1861, lives at home; Edward, born April 30, 1864, married Sarah Daggett, and they live on the old Hilton homestead in Anson; Charles W., born November 14, 1866, married in July, 1898, Miss Kate Butler, of Starks; Bert, born April 3, 1870, residing on an adjacent farm, and engaged in stock-raising, married Florence M. Tarr, of New Sharon, and has one child, Everett; and Allen F., born March 1, 1875, is motorman on an electric car in Boston.
Though he takes but little interest in poli- tics, Mr. Hilton usually votes the Democratic ticket. However, he cast his first Presiden- tial vote for Abraham Lincoln. In 1864 and 1865 he served as second Selectman, and held the same position in 1896. He has also filled
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minor local offices. His sons, Ernest and Bert, are members of Indian Spring Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 115, of Madison; and Allen F. belongs to a Boston lodge of Odd Fellows.
YRUS D. MORRILL, M.D., a prominent and popular physician of Madison, Somerset County, son of the late Cyrus G. Morrill, was born March 23, 1834, in Farmington Falls, Me. The father, who was also a native of Farmington Falls, began his active business career in that town. Afterward he conducted a carding-mill and foundry in Wilton, Me., for many years, and was a clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington, D.C., for nine years. A stanch Republican, he was active in local affairs, and served for a time as Justice of the Peace. In his early life he joined the Free Baptist church, but was afterward a member of the Congregational church. He married Miss Lucinda Gould, who was born and reared in Farmington, Me. They became the parents of three children, as follows: Martha, who was the wife of the Rev. F. V. Norcross, and died in 1864, at the age of thirty-two years; Cyrus D., the subject of this sketch; and Ella A., the wife of Charles Heaton, who was for- merly a clerk in Washington, D.C., and is now a real estate dealer in that city.
Cyrus D. Morrill acquired his elementary education in the Litchfield and Farmington Academies. Afterward he studied medicine at Bowdoin College, going from there to the University of New York, from which he was
graduated March 4, 1859. During the ensu- ing two years he practised with his uncle, Dr. Sumner Gould, in Madison, Me., receiving inestimable benefit from his association with the older practitioner. Going then to Lin- colnville, Waldo County, he had practised there for a year when, in May, 1862, he en- listed in the Seventeenth United States In- fantry, and afterward served in the Civil War for four months, stationed in Virginia. Then returning to Maine, he located in Foxcroft, and there followed his profession until 1865, when he was recalled to Madison by the fatal illness of his uncle. On the death of Dr. Gould, which occurred shortly after, Dr. Mor- rill succeeded to his practice. The Doctor has now a very large and thriving business, having many patrons, not only in Madison, but in Anson, Stark, Industry, and Norridge- wock.
Dr. Morrill has been twice married. The first occasion was in 1864, when he was united to Miss Maria Flint, of Anson, a daughter of William R. and Electa (Weston) Flint, re- spectively natives of New Vineyard and Mad- ison, Me. She passed away in June, 1893, having been the mother of six children. The latter were: William C., who died at the age of sixteen years; John B., who lived but three years; Walter J., who is now the princi- pal of the high school in Anson; Alice, who died at the age of five years; Martell Flint, who was a clerk in a drug store of Madison, and is now a member of Company H, First Maine Regiment, encamped at Chickamauga; and Ella M., who resides at home. The sec-
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CYRUS D. MORRILL.
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ond marriage was contracted in December, 1893, with Miss Nancy Turner, of Dedham, Me. Her father, the late Isaiah Turner, was a farmer. Her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Trueworthy, still lives in that town. In politics the Doctor is a consistent Repub- lican, and takes an active part in public affairs. He served as Selectman in 1884, and in 1892 represented Madison in the State legislature. Taking a deep interest in Ma- sonry, he belongs to Euclid Lodge, No. 194, of Madison. An active member of the Con- gregational church, he has been the clerk of the society for several years.
EORGE L. EAMES, a prominent farmer, dairyman, and stock-raiser, of Embden, Somerset County, son of Jonathan D. and Mary (Williams) Eames, was born in Madison, this county, November 30, 1835. In early life the father was a butcher and drover. During his later years he was occu- pied in agriculture. He lived in Madison, where eight of his children were born. After- ward he moved to Concord, this State, and thence to Embden, where he died in August, 1876. His wife, who was born in Embden, died in 1890. They had a family of eleven children, namely: Phineas, who resides near Solon Ferry in Embden; Caleb, now deceased, who was the twin brother of Phineas; Jona- than W., formerly a farmer of Santa Barbara, Cal., who returned East in July, 1897, and died in the following October at the home of Phineas; Austin, deceased; Almond, a
farmer, living near New Portland, Me. ; George L., the subject of this sketch; Serena, Martin, and Martin, all three deceased; Ade- line, the wife of William Jacobs, a carriage- maker of North New Portland; and Owen, also deceased.
George L. Eames was educated in the com- mon schools of his native town. He left home at the age of twenty-one to earn his own living, and was engaged in lumbering along the Kennebec River until the spring of 1857. On March 17 of that year he started for California. Having arrived there, he spent the ensuing three years in Sierra County, engaged in mining, farming, and stock-raising. He returned then to his native State and was married, after which he went back to California, and spent five years more in Sierra County, lumbering, stock-raising, and mining. He was subsequently a teamster in Washoe City, Nev., for four years and a half, and then raised stock in Humboldt County, Nevada, until 1881. Returning East in that year, he settled on the Hutchins farm in Embden, one of the most valuable estates in this locality, containing about three hun- dred acres of good land, well adapted to its present use, and a fine brick house. With his Western experience, he has been especially successful in stock-raising. His dairy prod- ucts are sent to the Solon Creamery.
Mr. Eames was married December 5, 1860. to Miss Eda Thompson, of Embden. Born August 14, 1840, she is a daughter of Fletcher and Martha (Gray) Thompson, both of whom died in North Anson, this county. Mr.
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Thompson, a native of Madison, was a farmer and lumberman. His wife was born in Emb- den. Mr. Eames is the chairman of the Embden Republican Committee, and has served on the Board of Seleetmen for seven years. He belonged to the Knights of Pythias in Argenta, Nev., being a member of Lodge No. 9 of Battle Mountain. Both he and Mrs. Eames attend religious service at the Union church in Embden village.
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