USA > Maine > Piscataquis County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 60
USA > Maine > Aroostook County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 60
USA > Maine > Hancock County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 60
USA > Maine > Washington County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 60
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 60
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satisfying the immediate wants of the most destitute victims of the fire, placed the re- mainder of the fund, a sum of thirty thousand dollars, at interest, directing the income thereof to be used for the support of paupers. Mr. Curran, taking the ground that such action was practically giving the benefit of the contribution to the larger tax-payers, in- stead of appropriating it to the use for which it was intended by the donors, filed a bill in equity, asking the court to appoint a master empowered to distribute the amount in ques- tion among those who had lost property by the fire. The petition was granted, and the thirty thousand dollars reached the sufferers as orig- inally intended.
Mr. Curran is the principal stockholder, president, and general manager of the Calais Street Railway Company, which leases and operates the St. Stephen's Street Railway; the president of the Washington County Rail- road Company, whose charter he wrote and subsequently fought for, inch by inch, in the legislature; and the secretary of the New Brunswick Red Granite Company, which em- ploys from four hundred to five hundred men. He has frequently visited Washington, D.C., representing local interests threatened by tariff changes. In politics he is a Republi- can. He was City Solicitor for sixteen years. A member of the State legislature in 1878 and 1879, he served upon the Commit- tees on Judiciary and Elections, and was the chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs. He was Collector of the Passamaquoddy Dis- trict for eight months longer than the usual
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term, efficiently discharging the duties of that responsible post under three different tariff schedules; and he was selected by Governor Cleaves to revise the fisheries laws.
Mr. Curran married Mary S. Young, a daughter of Benjamin Young, of Calais. His children are: Benjamin Y. and Marian H. Quite prominent in Masonic circles, he is a member of St. Croix Lodge, F. & A. M .; of St. Croix Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; of Hugh de Payens Commandery, Knights Tem- plar, of Calais; and of Delta Lodge of Perfec- tion, of Machias. He is a Past Counsellor of Calais Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and con- nected with C. H. Porter Division, Uniform Rank. He is a member of Fellowship Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of Ivanhoe Encampment. Both he and Mrs. Curran attend the Univer- salist church, of which Mrs. Curran is a member.
A RTHUR MERRILL, superintendent of the old Merrill Brownville slate quarries and an esteemed resident of Brownville, Piscataquis County, Me., was born April 17, 1852, in East Corinth, Penob- scot County, this State. He is a son of the late Adams H. and Persis (Greenleaf) Mer- rill, and is a descendant of early New Eng- land Colonists. The immigrant ancestor of Mr. Merrill on his mother's side was Edmund Greenleaf, who came to America from Eng- land and settled at Newbury, Mass., in 1635.
Adams H. Merrill was a native of Belfast, Me. In his early years he engaged in lumber- ing, but later became interested in the slate
industry of Maine. Purchasing an interest in the slate quarries at Brownville in 1852, he came here to live. He was a pioneer at Brownville in this line of business, opening up the first quarry in the place. The enterprise brought him a good income, and he continued in the business until his death. In religious belief he was a strong Congregationalist. In politics he was a Republican. He died in November, 1890, aged eighty-four years. His wife, Persis Greenleaf Merrill, was born in Gloucester, N. H. She died in 1895. Thir- teen children, five sons and eight daughters, were born to them; namely, Adolphus, Henry A., Julia, Helen, Harriet, Maria, Ferdinand W., Frederick, Kate, Elizabeth, Martha, Ar- thur, and Jessie. All are living but Julia, who died in infancy, and Kate, who died some time after her marriage to Rufus Wilder.
Arthur Merrill, the youngest son, passed his boyhood here in Brownville. He attended the town schools and a school at Kent's Hill; but his opportunities for receiving instruction were confined to his earlier years, for when he reached the age of twelve he began working in the quarries, and has made a life study of the business. The Merrill Brownville Slate Com- pany's quarries, of which Mr. Merrill is now superintendent, comprise one quarry in Brown- ville and one in Williamsburg, these quarries mentioned being those owned by Mr. Merrill's father and of which the son was superintendent. Their quarries are now in full operation, and Mr. Merrill has from seventy-five to one hun- dred men under his direction. Having grown up in the business, as it were, he enjoys a
ARTHUR MERRILL.
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thorough knowledge of slate quarrying, pos- sessed by few in this locality. His father was also well posted on the subject. The Brown- ville quarries turn out roofing slate exclusively.
At the age of twenty-two Mr. Merrill was oined in marriage with Miss Olive Whitney, a native of Newburg, Me. Three daughters - namely, Kate, Josephine M., and Barbara - were born of this union. Later Mr. Merrill married Clara G. Pratt, of Brownville, daugh- ter of T. W. and Kate E. (Morse) Pratt.
In religious belief Mr. and Mrs. Merrill are Congregationalists. He is a stanch Republi- can in political views. They reside in the handsome residence that he recently built. The house is finely finished within, mahogany, sycamore, and hard pine being the woods em- ployed in the principal rooms. It stands fac- ing Pleasant River, of which a beautiful view is afforded, and is withal very attractive in interior and surroundings.
NDREW J. HANSCOM,* a busy lum- ber manufacturer of East Machias, Washington County, was born in Crawford, September 23, 1831, son of James and Sarah (Bedell) Hanscom. Sylvanus Han- scom, the grandfather, a native of East Ma- chias, followed farming and lumbering during the active period of his life. The father, who was born in this town, August 23, 1804, settled when a young man among the pioneers of Crawford, where he carried on lumbering operations until about the year 1839. Then returning to East Machias, he continued in
business as long as he was able to be about, and was a well-known figure among the lum- bermen of this section in his day. Sarah Be- dell Hanscom, his wife, was a daughter of Elisha and Marjorie (West) Bedell, the former of whom came here from Dorchester, Mass., and engaged in lumbering and farming. Mar- jorie Bedell was a native of this town. Mrs. Sarah Hanscom became the mother of five children, two of whom grew up, namely: An- drew J., the subject of this sketch; and Elisha, who is no longer living. The father was actively interested in the Methodist Epis- copal church, serving as steward and class leader. The mother was a member of the same church.
Andrew J. Hanscom was educated in the district schools. Since early manhood he has been identified with the lumber and manufact- uring industry of this locality. In politics he is a Democrat. He has been a member of the Board of Assessors for twenty-two years, and is now serving his fifth term as Tax Collector. By his marriage with Emeline L. Pierce, a daughter of Jonas Pierce, of East Machias, he became the father of five children, namely : Herbert, who is no longer living; Laura, who married Robert J. McGarragle, of Calais, and has four children - Clara A., Jerold, Lizzie, and Philip; Amelia, who married Frank W. Gray, of this town, and has five children - Marjorie, Alice, William, John C., and Mil- dred; Lois, who is the wife of Sanford Else- more, of East Machias, and has two children - Nellie and Annie; and Gertrude, who is the wife of Manley Gray, of this town, and
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has three children - Andrew H., Virginia P., and Ellaworth H.
Mr. Hanscom is connected with Warren Lodge, F. & A. M., and Warren Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; and he is an active mem- ber of the various temperance organizations. He has served as a trustee and steward of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Hanscom is a member of the Congregational church.
ENRY BLACKSTONE,* Postmaster of Shirley Mills, Piscataquis County, was born in Blanchard, this county, June 15, 1843, son of Benjamin and Mary Ann (Goodell) Blackstone. His father's father, who was a ship-builder by trade, was an early settler in New Gloucester, Cumber- land County, this State; and in that town Benjamin Blackstone was born in 1805. He, too, was a ship-builder. He also followed the sea, was part owner of a mackerel schooner, learned the brickmaker's trade, and was quite successful as a farmer. One of the early settlers in the town of Blanchard, he made some of the first bricks used there. He was one of those who owned the largest land estates and paid the highest tax bills in the town. In politics he was successively a Whig and a Republican. A member of the Congregational church, he took an active part in the affairs of the society. He died when eighty-seven years old. His wife is also de- ceased. Of their eight children, Franklin C., Hiram G., and Julia A. are also deceased. The survivors are: Ada, the widow of R. W.
Sawyer, residing in Garland; Henry, the sub- ject of this sketch; Mary E., the wife of Henry P. Chandler, of. Belgrade Mills, Me. ; Charles E., residing in Blanchard; and Willard H., residing in Augusta, Me.
Henry Blackstone was educated in the schools of Blanchard. In 1861, though only eighteen years of age, he enlisted; and in No- vember of that year he was mustered into Company C, Thirteenth Regiment of Maine Volunteers. During a large part of his term he was in active service, taking part in the engagements at Sabine Cross Roads and Pleas- ant Hill and in the Red River campaign, and receiving promotion to the rank of Corporal. His company was for some time in the De- partment of the Gulf. Honorably discharged in August, 1865, he returned to his native town and engaged in farming and lumbering. In 1877 or 1878 he moved to Shirley. Here he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber for a number of years. In 1884 he built the house known as Hotel Blackstone, which he managed for four years. He then turned his attention to farming for a while, and in the meantime built the steam veneer-mills, which he eventually sold. Besides the old Black- stone home in Blanchard, he owns considera- ble land in this town. He is still engaged in farming, and much of his time is given to post- office work. He was appointed Postmaster in the spring of 1897, having previously served in that capacity after his first appointment in 1888. He has just completed a new build- ing, twenty by thirty feet, handsomely fin- ished in native wood, for post-office and other
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business. As a business man he is enterpris - ing and successful; and as Postmaster he is courteous and obliging. In politics he is a Republican. He has served as Road Com- missioner; has been a Justice of the Peace for twelve years; and is at present Constable, the secretary of the Board of Health, and a mem- ber of the School Committee.
Mr. Blackstone was married to Flora C. Orcutt, a daughter of Ezra Orcutt, born in Charleston, Sullivan County, Me. His children were: Effie E., who lived but four and a half months; Anna Belle, residing in Shirley ; and Addie M., the wife of Harry W. Wade, of Skowhegan, Me. Mrs. Wade has one daughter, Jennie D. Mr. Blackstone is a member of Doric Lodge, F. & A. M., of Monson; and of Gerry Post, No. 5, G. A. R. Long interested in military affairs, he has held the rank of Lieutenant and Captain in the reserve State militia.
OHN H. EVELETH,* of Greenville, one of the leading business men of Pis- cataquis County, son of Oliver and Betsey (Whitcomb) Eveleth, was born in Monson, Me., December 21, 1826. His pa- ternal grandfather, Daniel, born October 22, 1763, who was a farmer of Stow, Mass., mar- ried Betsey Hale, who was born November II, 1760. Oliver Eveleth was born in Stow, January 3, 1792. He had an uncle living in Augusta, Me., who employed him to do some planting in the town of Wilson. Afterward by his uncle's suggestion, he bought some of
the wild land in Wilson, to which after dis- posing of his interests in Massachusetts he brought his wife and daughter, transporting his effects on an ox team. He bought ten acres of land in Monson, near that which he had purchased of his uncle, and here estab- lished a home. This was in 1822 or 1823. Among the things he had brought from Massa- chusetts was a trunk filled with needles, pins, and Yankee notions ; and he was the first mer- chant of Monson. Farming, lumbering, and trading, he was a very busy man, and met with the success his enterprise deserved. In 1850 he moved to Greenville, where he died, June 4, 1874. In politics he was a Whig and a Republican. On February 21, 1820, he was married to Betsey Whitcomb, a native of Bol- ton, Mass., who died December 19, 1880. They reared two children - Emily A. and John H. Emily A., who was born in Stow, Mass., in 1821, married A. G. Huston, and died July 8, 1846. Both of the parents were Congregationalists.
John H. Eveleth was educated in the schools of Monson and at Foxcroft Academy. He was in Greenville for a short time in the spring of 1847. In the fall of 1848 he pur- chased a quantity of goods in Boston, and opened a store in Greenville. He had helped in his father's store, and found the occupation distasteful; but he was very successful as a merchant. The business he then established is now in a flourishing condition. In 1849, leaving the store in charge of his father, he went to California by way of the Isthmus, and was there engaged in mining for two years.
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The chief object of the journey was to benefit his health. On his return he took charge of his store again. This stand is one of the oldest in Piscataquis County to-day, having been in existence upward of forty years. It is stocked with a good line of general merchan- dise. Mr. Eveleth also owns the Eveleth House, which he built in 1855, and which, so far, he has leased to others. He also owns a hotel at Sunacook, and did own other houses; and he is a stockholder of the hotel in the West Cove, of the Kineo Hotel, and of the Moosehead Inn at Greenville Junction. He has been engaged in lumbering for over thirty years, owning lumber-mills in Shirley; and he is extensively interested in timber lands. In 1874 he bought a half-interest in the tim- ber region of Frenchtown, and a quarter- interest in the same place later; and he owns other tracts of land. Interested in steamboats for some thirty-eight years, he is now a stock- holder of the Moosehead Lake Navigation Company, and is the sole owner of three steamboats. He is also a stockholder of the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad, owns a slate vein in Monson, is president of the Stock Company Hotel Inn, the president of a stock company of Kineo, and has been a director of the Kineo Bank since its incorporation. He has done much for the advancement of Piscat- aquis County, and has been instrumental in having roads opened up in different sections.
Mr. Eveleth was first married May 20, 1862, to Louise Ellen Mansell, who died No- vember 21, 1885. She bore him two chil- dren, namely: Emily R., born February 22,
1863, who died July 1, 1864; and Rebecca W., born April 12, 1865, who is the wife of Arthur A. Crofts, of West Cove, Me. A sec- ond marriage on October 8, 1888, united Mr. Eveleth with Miss Hattie Hunter, of, Alton, Me. There are no children by this union. He has been a stanch Republican ever since Fort Sumter was fired on. He was Postmas- ter of Greenville nearly thirty years, succeed- ing his father in that office; and for the past five years he has been a member of the Board of Selectmen, Town Clerk, and Town Treas- urer. On religious subjects his views are liberal.
NGUS O. CAMPBELL,* superintend- ent of the St. Ronan's Woollen Mill, Sangerville, was born in Dexter, Me., January 25, 1860, son of David R. and Betsey (Springer) Campbell. His father, who is one of the best known woollen manu- facturers in this section of the State of Maine, was born in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, July 30, 1830; and his mother is a native of Amesbury, Mass.
Angus O. Campbell has resided in Sanger- ville since he was nine years old. His pub- lic-school education was supplemented by a commercial course at Eastman's Business Col- lege, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He early began to familiarize himself with the woollen manu- facturing industry, and, having as a result ac- quired a practical knowledge of both the me- chanical and business departments, at the age of twenty-one he was admitted to partnership with his father. For three years he acted as
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agent and treasurer of the Carlton Mills, but the greater part of his time has been devoted to the interests of the St. Ronan's Mills, of which he is now superintendent. This plant, which was established mainly through the in- strumentality of Mr. David R. Campbell, commenced operations with a small force in 1869. The determination of its projectors to manufacture a line of goods which should be- come standard in the market soon placed the St. Ronan's upon a firm business footing, and an increasing demand for its products erelong made it necessary to enlarge its facilities and augment its operative force. A strict adhe- rence to the original basis of operation has been minutely observed, thus enabling the mills to maintain the high reputation acquired at the start; and the fine quality of dress goods, suitings, and overcoatings produced at the present time insures their immediate dis- posal at good prices. The St. Ronan's Mill is now owned by David R. Campbell and his two sons, Angus O. and David O. Camp- bell. It is equipped throughout with machin- ery and implements of the latest pattern, em- ploys a force of eighty-five operatives, and its present superintendent has fully demonstrated his ability to manage its affairs in a manner which will insure satisfactory results.
On November 10, 1881, Angus O. Campbell was united in marriage with Bertha Wade, daughter of the late Captain A. T. Wade, of Sangerville. Mrs. Campbell is the mother of one son, Angus Wade Campbell, born Febru- ary 7, 1883.
Politically, Mr. Campbell is a Republican.
His ability has been called into use for public purposes, and he has rendered valuable ser- vices to the community as Town Treasurer and a member of the School Board. He is connected with Mount Kineo Lodge, F. & A. M., at Guilford; Piscataquis Royal Arch Chapter, Dover; St. John's Commandery, Knights Templar, Bangor; and Kora Temple of the Mystic Shrine, Lewiston. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Foresters at Sangerville. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell oc- cupy a handsome new residence in the vil- lage. In religion they are Universalists.
FRANK L. SHAW, M.D., * of Machias, Washington County, was born in this town, February 1, 1864, son of John and Relief A. (Babcock) Shaw. William Shaw, grandfather of the Doctor, spent most of his life in Steuben, of which town he was one of the early settlers, going there originally from Boston, and engaging in farming and lumber- ing. He married Nancy Stevens.
John Shaw, son of William, born in Steu- ben, May 8, 1820, received such education as was afforded by the common schools, and sub- sequently learned the ship-carpenter's trade. After spending several years at journey work, he started in business for himself. Since then he has built sixty vessels of from one hundred to a thousand tons' burden, employ- ing a large number of men. In 1892 he re- tired from active business life. He is a member of Harwood Lodge, No. 91, Free and Accepted Masons; of Washington Chapter,
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St. Elmo Commandery, Delta Lodge of Per- fection, and of Deering Council, Royal Princes of Jerusalem. For thirty-five years he has been the treasurer of all the local Ma- sonic bodies without bonds. His wife, Re- lief, belonged to the Babcocks of Northfield, Me. She is a member of the Congregational church, and he is one of its financial sup- porters. Of their five children, three grew to maturity ; namely, Helen M., Frances E., and Frank L. Frances is now the wife of Fred T. Pope, of Calais, Me.
After passing through the public schools of Machias, Frank L. Shaw began the study of medicine with Dr. Henry H. Smith. Subse- quently he went to Jefferson Medical College, from which institution he graduated in 1887. Settling then in Machiasport for the practice of his profession, he remained there for six years. Since then he has been in Machias, where his skill has won wide recognition and a goodly share of the town's patronage. He is a member of Washington County Medical Society. A Mason of Harwood Lodge, No. 91, he belongs to Washington Chapter, St. Elmo Commandery, Delta Lodge of Perfec- tion, and to Deering Council, Royal Princes of Jerusalem. He is also Past Chancellor of Ben Hur Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and member of Machias Lodge, American Order of United Workmen. By his marriage with Sarah E., daughter of Bernard L. Farrell, of Machias, he is the father of two children - John B. and Sarah A. Shaw. In politics he is a Republican, and he has been a member of the School Board for several years.
ON. SYLVESTER J. WALTON, senior member of the well-known law firm Walton & Walton, of Skowhegan, Somerset County, formerly County Attorney and an ex-member of the Maine House of Representatives and Senate, is a native of Mercer, this county, and a son of Joshua and Mary (Rollins) Walton. His paternal grandfather, also named Joshua, who was a farmer and shoemaker of Readfield, reared several children, and died in Mercer in 1839. The father, born in Readfield, Kennebec County, settled as a pioneer in Mercer about the year 1817, first clearing two acres of ground, and erecting a log house. Afterward he reclaimed a good farm. He died in 1867, at the age of seventy years. His wife, who was a daughter of John Rol- lins, of Belgrade, Me., died at the same age in 1870. They were the parents of nine chil- dren, three of whom are living.
Sylvester J. Walton acquired his early edu- cation at the academies in Bloomfield and North Anson, Me. His law studies were pur- sued under the guidance of A. H. Ware, of North Anson, and his brother, G. R. Walton, of Brooklyn, N. Y. At the same time he taught school. He became a member of the Somerset County bar in 1862, and a year later was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the State of New York. He began practice in Brooklyn. A short time later he located in North New Portland, Me., where he remained eight or ten years, and was busily employed in prosecuting pension claims and in general practice. In 1870 he was elected
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SYLVESTER J. WALTON.
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County Attorney for Somerset, and subse- quently was re-elected. In 1874 he became associated with his nephew, Lyman L. Wal- ton, in the firm of Walton & Walton, who have acquired a wide reputation, both as gen- eral practitioners and criminal lawyers. In 1878 Mr. Walton was retained for the defence in the murder case of State v. Henderson, in which he obtained a verdict of "murder in the second degree." Defending Walker, of New Portland, against whom a verdict of murder in the second degree was returned at the first trial, he obtained a new trial on exceptions, before the full bench in the upper court, re- sulting in a sentence of five years in the State prison. He represented the defence in the case of State v. Micah W. Norton, ending in a verdict of murder in the first degree, when the murderer was sentenced to the State prison for life. In presenting a case to the jury he has the happy faculty of speaking directly to the point, stating the facts logically and so plainly that all can readily understand. In politics he is a Republican. He represented this town in the Maine legislature for four years, serving in the Committees on Legal Affairs, Labor, State Library, and Claims, and in that on the Judiciary as chairman. He also introduced several important bills, among them being the act abolishing capital punish- ment, which was passed by a large majority ; and he took an active part in the affairs relat- ing to the State Agriculture College at Orono. While a member of the Senate in 1891 and 1893, he was assigned to the Judiciary and other important committees. He was a loyal
friend and firm supporter of the late Hon. Seth Milliken, Congressman from the Third District. When a faction of the party threat- ened to unseat him and Mr. Milliken, and so break up the strong Congressional delegation for which Maine was noted, Mr. Walton was one of the men who by exerting their entire personal influence maintained Mr. Milli- ken's supremacy in this section.
In November, 1865, at Lewiston, Me., Mr. Walton was united in marriage with Alma Bancroft Clark, a daughter of General Clark and of Revolutionary ancestry. She is the mother of one daughter, who is attending Lasell Seminary. Mr. Walton was made a Mason at Solon, Me., in 1863. He was one of the incorporators of the Maine Bar Asso- ciation, and is a member of that body .
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