USA > Maine > Piscataquis County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 42
USA > Maine > Aroostook County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 42
USA > Maine > Hancock County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 42
USA > Maine > Washington County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 42
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 42
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68
In politics Mr. Wooster takes a leading part as a sound Democrat, having supported the principles of that party since casting his first Presidential vote for General George B. Mc- Clellan. He has rendered valuable service to the town both as Selectman and the superin- tendent of the schools. The latter office was filled by him for a longer period than any other person. In 1869 he was made a Mason at Livonia Lodge, No. 40, in Ellsworth, of which he is still a member. On January 8, 1868, he married Miss Augusta E. Wooster. They have four children, namely : Kitty B.,
449
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
who married Charles R. Bunker, of Boston, and has one child, Pauline; Helen A., now a teacher in the public schools at Somerville, Mass. ; Bertha M., who is also a teacher; and Carl R.
EV. WILLIAM KING, the venerable pastor of the Free Will Baptist church at Cambridge, and well known in the denomination as an evangelist worker, was born in Wellington, Me., Sep- tember 5, 1830, son of Elijah King, Jr., and Hannah (Nutt) King. The grandfather, Eli- jah King, a representative of one of the old families of Whitefield, Me., lived for many years in that town. A famous hunter, he is said to have killed forty-two bears and to have trapped and killed much other game. He was engaged in hunting and trapping up to the time of his death, and also carried on consid- erable farming. His last years were spent in Wellington and Parkman; and he died in the town of Bradford, Me., at the age of seventy- six. His wife, Betsey Philbrook before her marriage, who was born in Whitefield, died in Bradford at an advanced age. Both were members of the Calvinist Baptist church. In politics he was a Democrat. He had a family of eight children - Elijah, Miles, Rice, Otis, John, Frank, Betsey, and Belinda, all of whom reached maturity and reared families. Two of them are now living : John King, who resides in Norway, Me. ; and Mrs. Belinda Packard, the widow of Hiram Packard, residing in this county.
Elijah King, Jr., who was born in White-
field on October 10, 1803, settled in Welling- ton when a young man. In 1833 he came to Parkman, where for over sixty years he lived on his farm. Most of the improvements on the place were made after he came here. At the time of his arrival there were no roads, and the country was in a state of primitive wildness. He went to mill and to meeting on horseback. Game was abundant, and wild beasts were ready at any moment to fall upon the farmer's stock when it was left unpro- tected. Elijah was a man of unusual strength and of great industry. He worked early and late, and could fell an acre of trees in a day, or reap an acre of wheat. A prominent church member and a loyal supporter of the Baptist Christian creed, he was active in religious affairs. In politics he was a Democrat. His
death occurred on December 18, 1893. His wife, Hannah, who was born in Damariscotta, Me., on January 1, 1800, died on the same day that he did, and was buried in the same grave. They had been married nearly seventy years, and were respectively ninety and ninety-four years old. Of the five children born to them, four are living. These are : Mrs. Bethia Aus- tin, of Exeter, Me., the Rev. William King, Mrs. Hannah Hardy, of Abbot, and Elijah W. King, of Wellington. Belinda died at the age of sixteen.
William King grew to manhood in Park- man, and has lived on the farm that is still his home since he was two years old. He has added some land to the original King farm, and owns now about two hundred acres, upon which he carries on general farming. He
450
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
was first married on October 14, 1860, to Rosina C. Pcase, who was born in Well- ington on February 4, 1840. She died, leaving one daughter, Rosina, now Mrs. Alfred D. Stilson, who resides on the King homestead. Mrs. Stilson has been for many years a teacher. She has had three children - Ethel K., Nellie B., and William A. Ethel died July 31, 1897. On April 4, 1864, a second marriage united Mr. King with Olivia Preble, who had been for some years a most successful teacher. She was born in Bowdoin- ham, Me., on August 31, 1839, daughter of Abraham and Betsey (Douglass) Preble, both natives of Bowdoinham and now deceased. The only child of this marriage, Rosie G., born July 4, 1866, married Charles H. Sears, who, born in Monson on April 15, 1863, died on May 20, 1890. Mrs. Sears taught school successfully for twenty-nine terms, was a member of the Parkman Free Will Baptist Church, and died after a painful illness on April 5, 1898.
In 1869 Mr. King was ordained to the min- istry. Since that time he has been employed in ministerial and evangelical work, visiting a large portion of the centre of the State of Maine. During one winter he held revival meetings in Nova Scotia nearly every day, and as a result of his efforts many souls were converted. Having previously been settled as pastor in one place for twenty years, he came to Cambridge, the pastorate of which he has filled for the past eight or nine years. For a number of years he has also preached in the new Christian church at Parkman, and he
was pastor in Anson, New Vineyard, and Bingham. In late years his health has been somewhat impaired, and he has been obliged to give up his ministerial work to some ex- tent. He still carries on the farm, and, when- ever he is able to do so, officiates in his pro- fessional capacity. Mr. King has been a good citizen as well as a preacher. His political views are Democratic. He has been Collector of Taxes for the town, and it is needless to say that his service in that important position was given with scrupulous fidelity. In the course of his long ministry he has baptized one hundred persons by immersion, has mar- ried over sixty couples, and has attended a large number of funerals.
AVID T. SANDERS, senior mem- ber of the firm D. T. Sanders & Son, of Greenville, and one of the leading business men of Piscataquis County, was born in Bath, Me., July 19, 1836. His parents were Thomas and Frances Ann (Parshley) Sanders. Thomas Sanders, an Englishman by birth, was a tailor, and fol- lowed his trade during his active life in Bath, Augusta, Wiscasset, and Sangerville. He died in Bangor at the age of sixty-five. His wife, a native of Bath, died in Guilford, Me., at the age of sixty. Both were connected with the Universalist church. They reared six chil- dren, namely: David T., the subject of this sketch; Frank, the wife of John Leavitt, of Guilford; Lucy, the wife of Elbridge Crockett, of Foxcroft; Mary, the wife of
451
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
George Bennett, of Newport, Me. ; Alden N., residing in Sangerville; and William, resid- ing in Guilford.
David T. Sanders acquired his education in the public schools of Sangerville and at Foxcroft Academy, having attended the latter institution for one term. His father, not a rich man, hearing that John H. Eveleth, a prominent merchant of Greenville, wanted a clerk, bespoke and obtained the position for his eldest son. David accordingly went to work when he was fifteen years old, making his home with Mr. Eveleth. He was to re- ceive fifty dollars a year and his board until he was of age. Though the work was hard, the boy kept his position for five years and a half. After attaining his majority he re- mained with Mr. Eveleth four months longer, with the understanding that he was to receive eighteen dollars a month and his board, and then be admitted to the firm. At the end of the four months, however, he severed his con- nection with his employer to become a mem- ber of the firm of Shaw, Barton & Co. This was in 1857. For twenty-one years he was connected with this firm, through a number of changes in partnership. Mr. Barton sold his interest to Mr. Hildreth, and the firm became Shaw, Hildreth & Co. Then Mr. Sanders became head of the house, changing the name to D. T. Sanders & Co., with Mr. Shaw as associate. They had a large and successful business, Mr. Shaw managing the lumbering operations, and Mr. Sanders having charge of the store. The partners had sons growing up, and in 1878 they dissolved partnership to
establish separate houses. Mr. Shaw pur- chased Mr. Sanders's interest in the old busi - ness, and Mr. Sanders built a store on the opposite side of the street. Here he has now been established for nearly twenty years, in the meantime making a number of additions and improvements. He has a large and com- plete stock of general merchandise, and his buildings are handsome, commodious, and convenient. From the upper windows the view up the lake is unsurpassed. In the rear of the store is a large counting-room, and back of the building is a handsome stable. A storehouse, forty feet square and two stories high, is next to the store; and another, thirty by forty feet, is in the rear of the stable. In 1893 the firm completed another building at West Cove, between the tracks of the Cana- dian Pacific Railroad and the lake. Goods can be unloaded on one side from the cars into the building and from the building into the lake steamers on the other side. With this building they have facilities for handling grain from the West in large quantities. Mr. Sanders is also connected with the firm of Sanders Brothers & Co. He devotes much of his time to lumbering; is the treasurer and general manager of the Coburn Steamboat Company, which owns and operates four steamboats; and a director and large stock- holder of the Guilford Bank and of the Eastern Trust Banking Company, of Bangor. The maker of his own fortune, he has reason to be proud of his successful career.
Mr. Sanders was married in 1859 to Louise Sawyer, who was born in Augusta, daughter
452
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
of Charles Sawyer, of Newport, Me. Shc died in 1866, leaving two children - Harry A. and Mabel. Mabel lived but two years and a half. A second marriage in 1869 united Mr. Sanders with Celestia, daughter of Captain Thomas Robinson, of Greenville. She has borne him one son, Leo, who died at the age of six years. Mr. Sanders is a stanch Democrat. For twenty years hc has been Collector and Treasurer of Greenville. He is a member of the Greenville branch of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. A genial man, who remembers his own strug- gles, he is always ready to help others, and has many friends. His home, made attrac- tive by a lovable wife, is one of the pleasant- est in the county.
Harry A. Sanders was born September 14, 1859, in Greenville. He attended school in Norridgewock, Me., and the Eastman Busi- ness College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. After completing his studies he went to work as clerk in his father's store, and in 1888 was taken into partnership. Having an equal in- tercst in the business with his father, he takes entirc charge of the store in Greenville, while the elder man looks after the other branches of the business. "Harry Sanders," says a local paper, "is a most enterprising, wide- awake business man. Travelling men say there is not a more intelligent buyer in the State. Hc buys very close, and the firm dis- count all their bills, large and small." In politics he is a Democrat, in religious opin- ions liberal. He was married December 15, 1888, to Octavia S., daughter of Buel W.
Dean, of Chester, Pa., who was agent for the firm of William Simpson & Sons, of Philadel- phia. Now he has three sons and onc daugh- ter - Harry A., Jr., Paul D., David T. (sec- ond), and Louise Augusta. Hc has zealously taken up the work inaugurated by his father, planning many improvements in the store, and making it largely what it is to-day. Thc family occupies a handsome residence ncar the store.
APTAIN GEORGE W. CAPEN, one of the leading merchants of East- port, Washington County, and a Civil War veteran, was born in this city, Sep- tember 30, 1833, son of Alexander and Eliza- beth (Cummings) Capen. Alexander Capen (first), the grandfather, was an early settler in Eastport. He followed farming and carpen- tering through the active period of his life, which terminated when he was ninety-three years old. In politics he was a Democrat, while his religious convictions were those of a Free Christian. He and his wife, Mary, were the parents of nine children, all now de- ceased; namely, Alexander, John, David, Charles, Elizabeth, Edward, Jane, Mary A., and Benjamin.
Alexander Capen, Captain Capen's father, born in Portland, Me., in the year 1800, spent his active years employed at house and ship carpentering in Eastport. Politically, he was an active supporter of the Democratic party, and he worshipped with the Free Chris- tians. He died in 1872. Elizabeth, his wife, who was born on Deer Island, N.B., in
GEORGE W. CAPEN.
455
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
1809, became the mother of six children - Henry, William E., George W., John, Martha, and Annie. Martha and her mother are now deceased.
George W. Capen was educated in the town schools. When fourteen years old he began life as a store clerk, giving his wages to his parents until he was twenty-one. He contin- ued as a clerk until December, 1861, when he enlisted as a private in Company K, Fifteenth Regiment, Maine Volunteer Infantry, which was under the command of General Butler at and around New Orleans and later under General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. He saw a great deal of hard fighting, serving practically through the entire struggle, and was promoted several times. After receiving his discharge in February, 1865, as Captain of Company K, he returned to Eastport, and resumed his former occupation of clerk. In 1878 he established himself in business, first dealing in groceries, hardware, paints and oils, etc. Later he closed out the grocery de- partment to make room for carriages and farm - ing implements. His present store, which he has occupied since 1886, is pronounced the largest of its kind in the city. He is also engaged in decorating sardine boxes for the different packers here, and has quite a large factory devoted exclusively to that work.
In 1866 Captain Capen was united in mar- riage with Fannie Fenwick, of Trescott, Me., a daughter of James Fenwick. He now has one daughter, Lizzie L. Capen. In politics he votes independently, and he has served as Overseer of the Poor. He is a member of
Eastern Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M. ; of Lodge No. 40, Knights of Pythias; of Eastern Divi- sion, No. II, Uniform Rank, of same society ; and a comrade of Post Mead, No. 40, G. A. R. Both he and Mrs. Capen attend the Congrega- tional church.
J AMES F. CONNOR, a stock broker and real estate dealer of Pittsfield, was born in this town, December 31, 1838, son of Hiram B. and Susan C. (Lancy) Con- nor. The paternal grandfather, Jesse Connor, who at one time owned the whole of what is now the village of Pittsfield, came here a poor man. At first he engaged in lumbering and ran a grist-mill. Subsequently he carried on farming up to the time of his death. Before that event, rather than go into insolvency, he sold all his property to cancel an indebted- ness. As that incident proves, he was not only a successful business man, but a strictly honest one. In his time the town was called Connor's Mills.
Hiram Connor, who was only a year old when he was brought here by his father, was born in Gardner. When he grew to manhood he engaged in business. He was afterward a member of the firm of H. B. & J. C. Connor up to the time of his death, which occurred on October 4, 1886. He also had lumbering interests, and carried on a farm. As a citi- zen he was prominent and active, and served the town as Selectman and in the legislature. His wife, Susan, who was a native of Palmyra, Me., died in 1888. Their children were :
456
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
James F., Louise, Georgia A., Emma, and Josephine. Josephine died at the age of three years. Louisa is now the wife of J. Henry Davis, the well-known druggist of Pittsfield village. Georgia A., residing in Pittsfield, is the wife of Martin Parks, who is engaged in the real estate business here; and Emma, who resides in Portland, is the wife of Fred Dyer, a dry-goods salesman.
James F. Connor remained at home until he was twenty-one years of age, receiving his ed- ucation in the public schools. Then, starting. in life for himself, he began to trade in live stock, including beeves, sheep, and horses. Within a brief time his operations extended over the whole of the State. Besides continu- ing in that business, he has in later years bought and sold a large amount of real estate. He now owns much valuable property, includ- ing many of the business blocks in the village and his handsome residence in Park Street, for all of which he paid four hundred dollars in taxes last year. He has also been inter- ested in oil transactions.
In 1860 Mr. Connor was married to Jo- sephine Wells, of Clinton, Me., a daughter of Gideon and Sarah (Webb) Wells. Mr. Wells, a prominent man of Clinton in his time, who died in October, 1890, at the age of seventy-eight years, was a stock dealer and wool buyer, and was largely interested in real estate. His wife is also deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Connor were the parents of three chil- dren, namely: Nettie M., who died at the age of twenty-one, after graduating from the Maine Central Institute; Hiram B., who is in
partnership with his father; and Blanche L., who is the wife of William Pushor, the cashier of the National Bank of Pittsfield.
During the past few years Mr. Connor has largely curtailed his business operations, and is now enjoying the fruits of his industry. He has the satisfaction of feeling that he has faithfully performed his duties as a citizen of this town, and that he has helped to forward many important enterprises, including the water-works, which were put in by him. He is a manager and a director of the new Waverly Mills and a stockholder of the Pitts- field National Bank. While he has been al- ways a Democrat, he has never been an office- seeker. He is a member of Meridian Lodge, F. & A. M., of Pittsfield. The family at- tends the Union church in the village. Mrs. Connor died on March 1, 1898, aged fifty- eight years and nine months.
APTAIN GEORGE W. ABBOTT, a well-known shipmaster of Bucks- port, Hancock County, Me., was born in Penobscot, Me., November 16, 1837. He is the only son of Richard C. Abbott by his first wife, whose maiden name was Matilda Heath. Captain Abbott's paternal grand- father was Peter Abbott, a native of this State, who was in his younger days a seafaring man. Later in life Peter Abbott settled upon a tract of wild land in the town of Etna, Me. He died in Verona, Me., December 28, 1863. He was three times married.
Richard C. Abbott, son of Peter, was born
457
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
in Winterport, Me. The greater part of his life has been spent as a farmer and fisherman in Verona, Me., where he is still residing, being now in his eighty-fifth year. He has been quite prominent in local public affairs, and for a number of years served as Town Treasurer. Matilda, his first wife, bore him one son and three daughters, of whom the survivors are: Laura E., who is now Mrs. Whitmore, of Verona, and mother of five chil- dren; and George W., the subject of this sketch. For his second wife Richard C. Abbott married Mercy Bridges.
George W. Abbott was educated in the schools of Verona, Me., and at the Hampden Academy. At the age of eighteen he began to follow the sea as a fisherman and coaster, later sailing in vessels engaged in the South American trade. While in the schooner "Golden Light " he was wrecked on the New Jersey coast. In that disaster, which fortu- nately was attended with no loss of life, the sea swallowed up everything he possessed; but, like the majority of Maine seamen, he continued to brave the unruly elements, de- termined that they should return what they had taken from him. For several years he commanded vessels, in some of which he had an interest; and the schooner "Maggie Abbott," named for his wife, was built for him at Verona.
Captain Abbott and Margaret A. Partridge, daughter of Elijah Partridge, of Orland, Me., were joined in marriage on September 3, 1873. They have three children: Montell W., an attorney residing in Stonington, Me .;
Blanche L. ; and Herbert Abbott. Mrs. Abbott accompanied her husband upon his voyages for eight years.
Captain Abbott has been chairman of the Board of Selectmen of Bucksport for nine years, and has represented his district in the legislature two terms. Politically, he was previous to the Rebellion a Democrat, but the pathetic scenes attending the public auction sale of human beings in the South caused him to differ with his party on the slavery ques- tion, and he became a Republican, casting his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He is a Master Mason and a member of the chapter, R. A. M., having joined the order in 1862. He also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
AVID C. PARKER, formerly the railroad station agent at Danforth, Washington County, and a member of the Maine legislature, was born in Charles- ton, Me., February 28, 1856, son of David S. and Lydia O. (Martin) Parker. The father in his earlier years was a well-known hotel man. He started in that business as a clerk of a hostelry in Bangor, and was afterward en- gaged in entertaining the travelling public for some years. Subsequently entering the ser- vice of the old Veazie Railroad, a line built by the late General Veazie from Bangor to Milford and one of the first in the State, he remained in an official capacity until that road was discontinued. Then for many years he was station agent at Mattawamkeag for the
458
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
European & North American Railroad Com- pany and its successors, the Maine Central Company. In 1889, the year next succeeding that in which he left the railroad's employ- ment, he died. Hc was a Republican in pol- itics, and he held various town offices in Mil- ford and Mattawamkeag. Lydia O. Parker, his wife, was born in Guilford, Me., daughter of Addison and Lydia P. (Otis) Martin, who were respectively natives of Ncw Gloucester and Leeds, Me. She became the mother of six children, of whom David C. is the only one now living. The others were: Elsie F., Elizabeth O., Flora M., Lillie L., and Mabel H. The mother died in August, 1867. Both parents were Methodists in religious belief.
David C. Parker passed his youth in Mil- ford, Lincoln, and Mattawamkeag. His edu- cation was acquired in the public schools and the East Maine Conference Seminary at Bucksport, Me. Entering the railroad ser- vice in 1868, he became familiar with the routine duties about the station, and when eighteen years of age he was appointed agent at Kingman. In 1877 he was transferred to Danforth, where he remained until October, 1897, when he resigned to give his attention wholly to his personal business. For a num- ber of years he has been quite extensively in- terested in the lumber business, and built the Grant mills in Kingman. He is the presi- dent of the Union Hall and the Trotting Park Associations in Danforth, and was mainly in- strumental in securing the construction of the hall and the park. In politics a Democrat, he is a member of the Democratic State Com-
mittee. He was a delegate to the national convention in Chicago in 1892, when he voted for Arthur P. Gorman. He has served as first Selectman, Town Clerk, and superin- tendent of schools; and he represented his district in the legislature with ability in 1893, where he was assigned to the Finance Committee of the House and Joint Commit- tee of Ways and Means.
On September 5, 1877, Mr. Parker was united in marriage with Eliza T. Richardson, of Lincoln, daughter of James S. and Olive (Goodwin) Richardson. Mrs. Richardson now resides in Kingman. Mr. Richardson died in February, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have had four children, of whom one died in infancy. James S. is also deceased. The survivors are: Myrtie M., born April 26, 1879; and Leo C., born April 7, 1887. After occupying various official positions in Baskegan Lodge, No. 175, F. & A. M., dur- ing the past twenty years, Mr. Parker is about to retire from that of Worshipful Master. He is secretary of Danforth Lodge, No. 118, I. O. O. F. ; and Master of Wilbund Lodge, No. 37, Ancient Order of United Workmen. Besides possessing the esteem of the travel- ling public, he enjoys the good will of the people of Danforth, whose interests he may be depended upon to protect and forward when- ever an opportunity presents itself.
EORGE A. HILTON, a skilful and thrifty agriculturist of Starks town- ship, son of Benjamin Hilton, Jr., was born
459
BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW
December 24, 1835, on the homestead where he now resides. His paternal grandfather, also named Benjamin, who was born in Wis- casset, Lincoln County, became an early set- tler of Anson, Somerset County, where he cleared a farm and reared his family.
Benjamin Hilton, Jr., born February 3, 1803, in Anson, lived in that town until of age. Coming then to Starks in search of a desirable place in which to permanently lo- ate, he purchased land on Hilton Hill, where he afterward improved a good farm and resided until his demise on October 2, 1891. On July 2, 1829, he was married by the Rev. Dennis Moore to Margaret Athearn, of Cas- tine, Me., who, born May 31, 1805, died July 23, 1862. Their children were: a child born March 26, 1831, that died in infancy; Ben- jamin F., of whom a sketch will be found on another page; Fidelia, born October 3, 1833, who was married June 10, 1852, to O. D. Metcalf, now of California, and died July 3, 1853; and George A., the subject of this biography.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.