USA > Maine > Piscataquis County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 59
USA > Maine > Aroostook County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 59
USA > Maine > Hancock County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 59
USA > Maine > Washington County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 59
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 59
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was a daughter of George S. Smith from the Provinces. Both she and her husband were members of the Congregational church. Of their eight children, seven reached maturity; namely, Charles, Anna, William, Betsey, Lewis, John, and Jane. All except John are now deceased. Anna married Dennis Garland, who is also deceased.
After leaving school John Inglee engaged in surveying and lumbering, and was subse- quently in the lumbering business on his own account for several years. He then clerked in various stores for a number of years, and event- ually started his present business, which is now the oldest in Machias. He was at first in partnership with Clark Perry in the firm of Perry & Inglee. After Mr. Perry's death he was sole proprietor until his son, Charles E., was admitted to partnership, forming the pres- ent firm.
Mr. Inglee has been twice married. By his first wife, Mary Elizabeth, who was a daughter of William Brown, of this place, there were four children, namely: Charles E., above mentioned; William B., now of Whitehall, N. Y. ; Emma, who is the wife of William H. Phinney, of Machias; and Paley, now also of Whitehall, N. Y. Mr. Inglee's second wife was in maidenhood Isabel Hanscom, daughter of Otis P. Hanscom, of Machias, and a grand- daughter of Major Bowker, an officer who served with distinction in the Revolution. Adequately qualified by his ancestry, Mr. Inglee is a member of the Massachusetts Soci- ety of the Sons of the American Revolution. He attends and supports the Methodist Epis-
copal church. While an earnest Republican, he has never been desirous of political office. The only secret society to which he has ever belonged was the organization known as the Know Nothings.
OSEPH D. PHILLIPS, M. D., a phy- sician of South-west Harbor, Hancock County, son of Luther and Lavonia (Noyes) Phillips, was born in Orland, Me., December 17, 1857. The family is of early Colonial origin. Mr. Phillips's paternal grandfather, Andrew, was drowned off Castine during the War of 1812. After coming to Hancock County, Luther Phillips, who was a native of Kittery, Me., resided successively in Castine, Orland, and Hancock. He followed the occupations of farmer and fisherman. At his death he was eighty-one years old. He was a member of the Board of Selectmen in Orland and Hancock, and represented his dis- trict in the legislature. His wife, Lavonia, was the mother of four sons; namely, Willard H., Fred I., George A., and Joseph D. Wil- lard H. resides in Hancock ; Fred I., at North- east Harbor; and George A. Phillips, who is a physician, lives in Ellsworth, Me.
Having obtained his elementary education in the district schools of Hancock, Joseph D. Phillips graduated at the Maine Central Insti- tute, Pittsfield, Me. His medical studies were pursued at the University of New York, where he graduated in 1886. In 1893 he took a course at the Post-graduate Medical School in New York. Since 1886 he has been lo-
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cated at South-west Harbor. His practice, which extends to all parts of the island, is large and lucrative; and he is highly spoken of by his fellow-townsmen and many others, who have good reason to commend his ability.
Dr. Phillips married Miss Carrie F. Dix, of Mount Desert, who died in 1892. He is a member of both the Maine Medical Associa- tion and the Knights of Pythias, and a mem- ber and the treasurer of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a Republi- can, and he cast his first Presidential vote for James A. Garfield in 1880. He has served with ability upon the School Board. The Doctor takes a lively interest in public im- provements, and is the president of the South- west Harbor Water Company.
OHN H. AUSTIN, Postmaster at La- moine, Hancock County, was born in the neighboring town of Trenton, Au- gust 24, 1824, a son of Joseph R. Austin. His paternal grandfather, Ichabod Austin, was born and brought up in Nobleboro, Lincoln County, from whence he removed to Hancock County at an early period of its settlement. He settled in Franklin, where he was en- gaged as a blacksmith throughout his active days, and where he and his wife, whose maiden name was Rollins, passed their declining years.
Joseph R. Austin was born during the resi- dence of his parents in Nobleboro. From his father he learned the blacksmith's trade, which he made his life occupation, working at his
trade in connection with farming. When a young man he bought in Trenton a tract of partly cleared land, on which he lived for a few years, but subsequently took up one hun- dred and fifty acres in North Lamoine, where he made his permanent home. He built a new house and shop, and, continuing in the labors which had hitherto engrossed his atten- tion, he made a substantial living for himself and family. He married Margaret Berry, who bore him eight children, of whom the names of seven were, respectively, Samuel, Lewis, Ransom, Elisha, Julia A., John H., and Wal- ter J. Of these, John H. and Julia A. (who lives in Hackensack, N. J.) are the sole sur- vivors. The father died at the advanced age of seventy-two years, and the mother at the age of sixty-five.
John H. Austin was educated in the district schools. While yet a young man he learned the trade of a mason, which he followed in this vicinity for thirty-five years. He was also engaged in agricultural pursuits to some extent at the same time. For the past fifteen years he has had charge of the Lamoine post- office, a position which he has satisfactorily filled; and he has likewise served the town as School Agent. In 1848 Mr. Austin cast his vote for the Whig candidate for the Presi- dency, General Zachary Taylor; but in 1856, when the Republican party was organized, he joined the Democratic ranks, and has since affiliated with that party. In religious belief he is a Unitarian. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of the local grange and of the Sons of Temperance.
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On April 16, 1858, Mr. Austin married Miss Laura A., daughter of Leonard J. and Lavinia (Lord) Austin. They have had three children - Julia A., Willis H., and Algernon S. Willis left home sixteen years ago, and his present whereabouts is not known. Alger- non was drowned ten years ago. He left a wife and two boys - Hoyt H. and Herman L. Austin. Julia A. married Wilber Wal- lace, and lives in South-west Harbor.
AMUEL K. WHITING, a retired merchant of Ellsworth and a former member of the Maine Executive Council, was born in the immediate vicinity of his present residence, October 15, 1823. A son of Thomas J. and Eliza J. (Dutton) Whiting, he is descended on the father's side from the first settled pastor in Lynn, Mass., the Rev. Samuel Whiting. (An account of the ancestry of the family will be found in the biography of Henry Whiting.)
Thomas J. Whiting, who was born in Lan- caster, Mass., in 1796, came to Ellsworth about the year 1817. Here he started a gen- eral store, and conducted it until 1826. For a time he was Postmaster of the town. Sub- sequently he was captain of the "Veto," the first United States revenue cutter stationed here; and later he became Sheriff of Hancock County and keeper of the jail, which at that time was located in Castine. His last days were spent in Castine, where he died at the age of thirty-seven years. Eliza J. Whiting, his wife, who was a daughter of Jesse Dutton,
became the mother of five sons; namely, Thomas J., Henry, Samuel K., Joseph W., and Andrew J. Whiting. Thomas J., who is no longer living, never married, and was for many years a master mariner. The late Henry Whiting married Susan Jarvis, of Cas- tine, and reared six children - Susan J., Mary, Thomas J., Samuel K., Henry, and George W. Whiting. Joseph W., now known as Joseph W. Wood, married Lorinda Hamden, has four children, and resides in Eden, Me. Andrew J. is married and has no children.
Samuel K. Whiting was deprived of a father's care at the age of ten years. His education was obtained in the district schools. When fourteen years old he became a clerk for John H. Jarvis, receiving the sum of six dollars per month, with which he had to board and clothe himself. He was afterward em- ployed by I. R. Jordan in the same capacity for over four years. Then he entered into partnership with his brother Henry, and es- tablished the business in Ellsworth which is now carried on by his nephews. Selling his interest to his brother in 1874, he began speculating in real estate at Bar Harbor, which was then in the first stage of its popu- larity as a fashionable summer resort. Sub- dividing a tract of land purchased by him at a nominal price, he sold building lots at a good profit to those desiring to erect cottages. The handsome residence which he occupies in the most beautiful part of the city, adjoin- ing the Unitarian church property, is built upon a part of an acre of land that was pur- chased by his father for eighty dollars. He
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has taken special care to preserve the house built and dwelt in by the elder Whiting.
Mr. Whiting married Eliza J. Morse, who has borne him three children, namely : Charles, who died in infancy; John H., who died at the age of nineteen years; and Pamelia W., now the wife of Edward B. Bowen, of Newton, Mass. He has represented the city with ability in the Maine House of Represent- atives, and was a member of Governor Cham- berlain's Council. His first Presidential vote was given to James K. Polk in 1844, and he has acted with the Republican party since 1861. A member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, he formerly belonged to the lodge in Ellsworth.
ALTER JOSEPH CREAMER, a prominent business man of Penob- scot, Hancock County, and Collector of Cus- toms at the Port of Castine, was born in Waldoboro, Me., April 30, 1859, son of Jo- seph and Mary (Kaler) Creamer. The grand- father, George W. Creamer, a native of Waldoboro, reached the age of sixty-eight years. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Sidelinger.
Joseph Creamer, also a native of Waldo- boro, was for many years a ship-carpenter, his part of the work being that of a beveller. He is still residing at the homestead in Waldo- boro. Mary Creamer, his wife, became the mother of two sons - Alfred G. and Walter J. Alfred G. Creamer, a graduate of the East Maine Conference Seminary and the Boston
University Theological School, was for sev- eral years a Methodist missionary in India. At present he is in feeble health, and resides in Goshen, Conn. He married Lucy Allen, and has three children. Mrs. Mary Creamer is now deceased.
Walter Joseph Creamer went from the dis- trict schools of Waldoboro to the Bucksport Seminary, and was graduated from the East Maine Conference Seminary in 1881. He taught school previous to graduating, in order to complete his education; and in the fall of 1881 he became the principal of the high school in Stafford Springs, Conn. He had been here two years, when the impaired con- dition of his health compelled him to resign. After spending a year at the homestead in Waldoboro and having recovered his health, he came to South Penobscot, and there was associated in business with Mrs. A. C. Con- don until 1885. In this year he established himself in the knitting business in Penobscot village, where he has built up a profitable . trade. He also carries on a store devoted to millinery and plain and fancy dry goods.
Mr. Creamer first married Elida G. Condon, a daughter of Mrs. A. C. Condon, of South Penobscot, and who died eighteen months later. His second wife, Lena, a daughter of Nelson and Edna Wardwell, had one son, Walter Joseph Creamer, Jr., who was born March 3, 1896. Mr. Creamer cast his first Presidential vote for General W. S. Hancock in 1880, and is one of the prominent Demo- crats of Hancock County, having been chair- man of the County Committee four years and
WALTER J. CREAMER.
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a member of the State Committee for Hancock County four years. He was the candidate of his party for clerk of courts in 1898. He has served as a Selectman and superintendent of schools, and was appointed Collector to the Port of Castine by the Cleveland administra- tion in 1894. Well advanced in Masonry, he belongs to St. John's Commandery, Knights Templar, of Bangor; and he is also connected with the Independent Order of Foresters.
ILLARD S. CATES,* one of the leading general merchants of Ma- chiasport, Washington County, was born in this town, November 11, 1869, son of Captain Joseph W. and Mary O. (Drisko) Cates. His grandfather, Asa Cates, a native of Machias- port, who learned ship-carpentering when a young man, and later followed the sea for a number of years, spent his last days ashore. Joseph W. Cates, son of Asa, born here in 1844, commenced seafaring when ten years old, and became a shipmaster at nineteen. At the present time he is one of the best known sea captains of this locality, and is the owner and master of a fine brig engaged in the foreign and coast trade. Captain Cates is connected with Warren Lodge, No. 2, F. & A. M. His wife, Mary Olivia, a daughter of Jeremiah Drisko, of Machiasport, had five children. Of these two are living, namely : Willard S., the subject of this sketch; and Eva, the wife of Samuel Tobey, of this town. Both parents are members of the Congrega- tional church.
Willard S. Cates was educated in the pub- lic schools and at the Washington Academy. After the completion of his studies he went to New York, where he was employed as a clerk in a mercantile establishment for about six- teen months. Upon his return in 1890 he started in business for himself. Having altered a dwelling-house so as to make a store of it, he built additions as business increased. He had succeeded in securing a large trade when his store was destroyed in the fire of 1893. From the ashes has risen his present spacious quarters, completed in 1895, and which is the largest store in the town. His trade is still expanding.
Mr. Cates married Maud Grant, a daughter of Captain Aaron Grant, of this place. Mrs. Cates is the mother of two children - Chris- tine and an infant. Mr. and Mrs. Cates are members of the Congregational church.
TIS SAWYER,* one of the leading farmers of Smithfield township, Som- erset County, Me., was born in Starks, this county, April 2, 1826, a son of Otis, Sr., and Mahala (Leathers) Sawyer.
The father was born in East Mercer, Somer- set County, where he spent the first part of his life. He eventually removed to Starks, where he died, February 12, 1826. His wife, Mahala, a native of Starks, bore him five chil- dren, namely : Henry, who died March 3, 1845; Louisa, who died in October, 1873, and who married for her first husband Giles Cun- niff, and after his death became the wife of
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the late Eben Holmes; Hannah, who is the wife of Nicholas Rogers, a stone-mason, living at Three Rivers, Mass. ; Alden, a retired trader of Greene, Me., who married Amanda Leathers; and Otis, the subject of this sketch. After the death of her first husband the mother again married, Joel H. Doyen becom- ing her husband. Of this union there were also five children, their names being given on another page of this volume, in connection with the sketch of Joel H. Doyen.
Otis Sawyer remained with his mother and step-father until he was sixteen years old, when he went to New Sharon, Me., to learn the trade of a tanner and currier. He then worked at his trade for seven years, and in the time operated a tannery, which he built in Smithfield, for two years. In 1854 he started West in search of fortune, going to El Dorado County, California, where he was occupied in mining and lumbering until the spring of 1859. Soon after his return to Smithfield Mr. Sawyer married, and, purchasing the old Saw- yer farm, on which he has since resided, began life as a farmer. He has one hundred and fifty-three acres of land, which by persist- ent industry and wise forethought he has brought to a high state of cultivation and made one of the most attractive homesteads of this locality. He is interested in all the branches of agriculture, including dairying and stock-raising, which he carries on to some extent.
On July 1, 1860, Mr. Sawyer married Miss Maria C. Pattee, who was born December 15, 1836, in Mercer township, the lifelong resi-
dence of her parents, Asa and Clarissa Leathers Pattee. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have two children; namely, Charles J. and Harvey L. The eldest son, born May 6, 1861, now superintendent of the straw works in Medfield, Mass., married Miss Lettie Whitehouse. Harvey L., born February 24, 1863, a trader, living in the village of Smithfield, is Town Treasurer. Mr. Sawyer has always been a warm supporter of the principles of the Re- publican party, and has given faithful service to his fellow-townsmen in various offices, hav- ing been Selectman nine years, five years of the time acting as chairman of the board, Town Clerk, and the incumbent of minor offices. He has also been a member of the State legislature, having been Representative in 1885 and in 1895. He belongs to Lebanon Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 116, of Norridge- wock.
APTAIN ISAAC HUTCHINSON,* of Castine, a retired master mariner, was born in Blue Hill, Me., June 18, 1821, son of John and Lydia (Harris) Hutchinson. The father, a native of Sedg- wick, Me., in his younger days followed the sea. He resided in Brooksville for a time, but later removed to a farm on Deer Isle, where he passed the rest of his life, dying at the age of seventy-two years. Lydia, his wife, who was a native of Deer Isle, be- came the mother of six children, two of whom, Nancy and Isaac, are still living. The others were: Samuel, who died at the age of four- teen years; Lydia, deceased, who married
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Solomon Gray, who died in the army, leaving two daughters - Sophronia and Lydia; John H., who died in Colorado, leaving three chil- dren; and Susan H., who married Alfred Simpson, and died at the age of thirty -five, leaving two children.
Isaac Hutchinson acquired his school edu- cation in Deer Isle. At the age of twenty- one he became a sailor, which occupation he followed for forty years, for thirty-seven of which he was master of vessels engaged prin- cipally in the foreign trade. He was unusu- ally fortunate, never meeting with any serious disaster, which speaks well for his ability as a seaman and navigator; and his voyages were attended with good financial results. Retiring from the sea about 1882, he bought a residence in Castine, situated in the neigh- borhood of the old fort, and has since resided here.
Captain Hutchinson married for his first wife Lucy A. Gray, who bore him four chil- dren, namely: Clara, who married Frederick R. Strange, of Bangor, and has one son, Fred- erick N. Strange; Sarah C., who died young ; Charles W., who married Alma Clark, the ceremony taking place in South China; and Stover P. Hutchinson, who died at the age of twenty-two years.
Politically, Captain Hutchinson is a Demo- crat, and his first Presidential vote was cast for James K. Polk in 1844. He manifested his patriotism during the Civil War by offer- ing his services to the Navy Department as a master, but was not accepted on account of his age. It need hardly be said that those
who had the matter in charge could have had little knowledge of the ability of a Maine sailor but a little over forty years old. Cap- tain Hutchinson is a member of Hancock Lodge, F. & A. M., of Castine, which is one of the oldest lodges in the State. In relig- ious belief he is a Baptist, and he has been a church member since boyhood.
EFFERSON PARLIN MOORE,* for many years one of the prominent farmers and best known citizens of Abbot, Piscataquis County, was born in Nor- ridgewock, Me., March 27, 1806, son of Abraham and Betsey (Spaulding) Moore. The paternal grandfather, Major John Moore, who was born in Litchfield, Mass., in 1731, participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was promoted to the rank of Major for gallant conduct on the field. In 1778 he settled in Norridgewock, but two years later removed to Anson, Me. At one time he owned the site of the present village of that name. In 1754 he married for his first wife Peggy Goff, daughter of Colonel John Goff, by whom he had nine children. For his second wife he married a widow, Mrs. Weston. He died in Norridgewock in 1809.
Abraham Moore, with three brothers, ac- companied his father to Norridgewock, in which town he acquired possession of a farm. This he subsequently sold; and in March, 1807, he bought eight hundred acres of wild land in what is now the town of Abbot, and made the first clearing in this vicinity. With
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his wife and six children he took up his resi- dence in a log house, where they lived until he was able to erect a frame dwelling, and in course of time he cleared a good farm. Dur- ing the year 1816, in common with other settlers, they suffered severe privations on ac- count of frosts that occurred every month, and killed all cereals, the settlers being obliged to subsist mainly upon potatoes and other veg- etables. Abraham Moore built one of the first saw-mills in Abbot, and operated it in connection with farming until 1818, when he moved to Dover, and erected a grist-mill on the west side of Glen Falls. He later re- turned to Abbot, where his last days were spent, his death occurring April 17, 1844, when he was seventy-five years old. His wife, Betsey, whom he married in 1790, lived to the great age of ninety-six years. Their chil- dren were: Betsey, Seth, Abraham, Cyrus, Esther S., Mary, Jefferson P., Liberty S., Sarah, John, and Abraham (second). Of these, ten grew to maturity.
Jefferson Parlin Moore attended the first district school established in this section by the early settlers of Abbot and Guilford, and he subsequently attended school in Dover and Foxcroft. He resided in Abbot and this vicinity during the greater part of his life, from early manhood making agriculture his chief occupation. He was familiar with the land in this locality, and his knowledge of its capabilities for raising different kinds of prod- uce enabled him to attain prosperity as a general farmer. Making two trips to the gold fields of California, first in 1849 and again in
1856, he was also successful as a miner. At the time of his death, which occurred recently (1898), he owned a productive farm of two hundred acres, in the cultivation of which he was engaged until within a comparatively brief period before his demise.
In October, 1833, Mr. Moore married Lucy M. Smith, daughter of Captain Isaac Smith, of Dexter, Me. He had five children, two of whom died in infancy, the only survivor being Isaac S. Moore, a real estate dealer in San Pedro, Cal., who has been Judge of the mu- nicipal court in that town. Mrs. Moore died in August, 1884.
A Democrat politically, Mr. Moore served as Deputy Sheriff in three different counties, was at one time Coroner for Piscataquis County, represented his district in the legis- lature in 1834, and for many years acted as a Justice of the Peace. He was highly es- teemed by his fellow-townsmen, who expected that he would live to witness the dawn of a new century, such was his physical vigor in his latter years.
EORGE ALBERT CURRAN,* of Calais, Washington County, a lead- ing member of the Washington County bar and an ex-member of the legislature, was born in this city, October 14, 1849, son of James and Mary Elizabeth (Jenkins) Curran. The father was a native of St. Andrews, N.B., from which town his parents moved to St. Stephen's. Upon reaching manhood he en- gaged in the lumber business. In 1849 he
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moved his family to Manitowoc, Wis., where he was a lumber manufacturer and merchant until his death, which occurred some four years later. A member of the Masonic order, he was Past Master of the Blue Lodge in St. Stephen's. His wife, Mary, a daughter of Samuel Jenkins, of Calais, became the mother of two children: Henry Gratton Curran, now a resident of California; and George A., the subject of this sketch.
After his father's death George Albert Cur- ran returned with his mother to Calais, where he subsequently attended the public schools and graduated from the academy. Commenc- ing the study of law when sixteen years old in the office of the Hon. Charles R. Whidden, he practised in the local courts at the age of eighteen, and two years later was admitted to the bar. At first he was in partnership with his preceptor, under the firm name of Whidden & Curran, until Mr. Whidden was appointed Collector of Customs. Then he succeeded to the entire business, and has since been the legal adviser and attorney of a numerous clientage. Most of the corporations and large manufacturers have intrusted him with their affairs for years. Of the many notable cases successfully contested by him was that of Doyle et al. v. Whalen et al., the first in- stance of its kind in the county, in which he appeared for the plaintiffs. The case arose out of a disastrous conflagration that swept over the city some years ago. A large relief fund that had been forwarded by sympathizing cities and towns was placed for distribution in the hands of a committee. This body, after
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