USA > Maine > Piscataquis County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 67
USA > Maine > Aroostook County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 67
USA > Maine > Hancock County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 67
USA > Maine > Washington County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 67
USA > Maine > Somerset County > Biographical review : containing life sketches of leading citizens of Somerset, Piscataquis, Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties, Maine > Part 67
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Augustus Tupper Clarke received his early education at Acacia Villa Seminary and at Mount Allison, N. B. Graduating from the Harvard Medical School in 1870, he entered upon the practice of medicine at Parrsboro, N.S., and continued there until 1888, when, after spending six months in visiting the hos- pitals of Boston and New York, he removed to Calais, where he has since been in active prac- tice.
The Doctor is a member of the Canadian, the New Brunswick, and the Nova Scotia Medical Association. He is also a member of the Harvard Medical Alumni Association and the Washington County Medical Society, and is connected with Fellowship Lodge, I. O. O. F .; Ivanhoe Encampment; and the Patriarchs Militant of Calais.
Dr. Clarke married Hattie F. Ryerson, daughter of Simeon Ryerson, of Lubec, Me. They have three children - Sara R., Bessie B., and Helen Clarke.
ELVIN D. CHATTO, a prosper- ous merchant of South Brooksville, Hancock County, and a member of the Maine legislature, was born in Blue Hill, September 4, 1861, son of Eben C. and
Lavinia (Chatto) Chatto. The grandfather, Joshua Chatto, whose active life was spent in this county, followed the occupations of farmer and fisherman, and in his later years had a vessel engaged in the coast trade. The maiden name of his wife was Edna Closson.
Eben C. Chatto, a native of Deer Isle, Me., on reaching manhood engaged in trade. He kept a general store in Brooksville for twenty- five years and in East Surry for six years. In the spring of 1897 his store was destroyed by fire. He is now living in retirement in East Surry. In Brooksville he was Selectman for a number of terms and Moderator at town meetings for fourteen years. He and his wife, Lavinia, reared five children, namely : Eva, who is residing at home; Margaret E., residing in Buffalo, N. Y., whose first hus- band, Wendell Benson, of Chicago, died in Salt Lake City, and who then married the Rev. Adelbert L. Hudson; Etta, who married Elmer E. Billings, and resides in Brooksville ; Fanny L., who married Ralph H. Condon, of this place ; and Melvin D., the subject of this sketch.
Melvin D. Chatto pursued a preparatory course of study with a view of entering col- lege. He did not go to college, however, but engaged in a mercantile business in South Brooksville, where he has been in trade for the past sixteen years. He is carrying on a thriv- ing business with Ralph H. Condon as partner. The two men are also the proprietors of a granite quarry, the product of which is used quite extensively for street curbing, paving, and monumental work. They send their stone
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to Boston, Fall River, and New York. Last year they shipped three hundred thousand blocks for pavement to New York.
Mr. Chatto married Georgia M. Gray, of Brooksville, and has one son, Harry. He has served with ability upon the School Commit- tee and in the capacity of Moderator; and he was elected Representative to the legislature in September, 1896. In politics he is a Re- publican. His first Presidential vote was cast for James G. Blaine in 1884.
MOS H. WALKER, of Greenville, Piscataquis County, the landlord of the Moosehead Inn, a beautiful hotel on Moosehead Lake, was born in Exeter, Me., November 2, 1840, son of Gideon and Louisa (Hardy) Walker. The grandfather, Elijah Walker, a New Hampshire man, was engaged in farming during the greater part of his life in Charleston, Me., and died in that town. He served in the War of 1812. Of his six children, Elijah, now residing in Ne- vada, is the only survivor. Gideon Walker, the eldest, was a native of the Granite State. He was engaged in farming until 1849, when he went to California. There he was engaged in mining and the real estate business, and died in 1865, aged sixty-nine or seventy. His wife, a native of Hampden, Me., died in Bucksport, this State, at the age of seventy. They reared four sons, namely : Amos H., the subject of this biography; Charles B., a sea captain, who was lost at sea; Frank, a sea cap- tain, residing in Bucksport; and John G., a
travelling salesman for a Boston firm, residing in Portland.
Amos H. Walker acquired his education in the common schools of Hampden and Corinth. From 1861 to 1862 he was engaged in the stage-coach business between Bangor and Brownville. Then he was employed in the United States Arsenal at Washington for two years, and was present when Booth's body was brought into Washington. Afterward, return- ing to Bangor, he drove a stage for two years between Orono and the upper Stillwater. He was next engaged for a year at lumbering in the firm of Walker & Jewell, had charge of a livery stable in Bangor for five years, and was the manager of the Silver Lake Hotel at Ka- tahdin Iron Works for the ensuing two years. Returning once more to Bangor, he was in the livery business there for about three years; and he was next employed at Dexter as agent for the stage line between Dexter and Moose- head Lake, having entire charge of the line for two years. Beginning in 1873, he had charge of the Eveleth House at Greenville for about twelve years, also conducting Cove House at Greenville Junction, which was af- terward burned down, for one year of that period. In August, 1890, he took charge of the Moosehead Inn at Greenville Junction, which has since been under his able manage- ment. Started in 1888 and finished in 1890, the building is comparatively new. Beauti- fully situated on the shore of the lake, it is heated by steam and has all modern improve- ments, including a bath-room on every floor. The house affords accommodation for one hun-
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.
dred and fifty guests, and the dining-room seats the same number. The chambers are airy and well lighted, the beds good, and the cuisine and table service first-class. There is a barber shop connected, also a livery, with from eighteen to twenty fine horses and differ- ent styles of carriages, including buckboards ; and a steam yacht is kept on the lake for the use of the guests. Mr. Walker does a good business both in summer and winter. He is also one of the stockholders of the hotel prop- erty. The burning of Cove House in April, 1890, caused him severe loss.
On September 13, 1862, Mr. Walker was married to Mary E. Mosher, of Bradford, Me., who died November 3, 1894. He has no chil- dren. In politics he is a Republican. He belongs to Columbia Lodge, F. & A. M., of Greenville; and to New England Lodge, I. O. O. F., of the same place. In religious belief he is a Universalist.
OEL BYRON NUTT, for more than forty years editor and proprietor of the Eastport Sentinel, was born in the town of Perry, Washington County, Me., June II, 1824, and died at Eastport, Me., after a two months' illness, May 10, 1898. He was the eldest son of James and Sarah (Brown) Nutt and a grandson of William Nutt, who was an early settler in Lincoln County, this State.
Late in life Grandfather Nutt removed to the town of Harmony, Somerset County, and there he died at the age of ninety-three. He
was a farmer and shoemaker. He was twice married, and had eight children, namely: by his first wife five -- William, James, John, Hannah, and Mahala; and by his second wife three - Samuel, Statira, and Lucy.
James Nutt, father of the late Noel B. Nutt, was born at Whitefield, Lincoln County, this State. Settling in Perry about 1820, he was there engaged in farming the rest of his active life. Prominent among the Whigs and Republicans of his district, he was elected to a number of public offices, including those of Deputy Sheriff and Tax Collector. He was a member of the Congregational church. James Nutt died at the age of eighty-seven. His wife, Mrs. Sarah Brown Nutt, was born in the town of Mount Vernon, Kennebec County, and died in Perry, at the age of seventy-six. They were the parents of nine children - Noel Byron, Sarah, Cynthia, Belinda, Jethro B., Laura A., Mary, Edwin, and Frederick Merton. The three survivors are: Jethro B., a trader and farmer of Perry and one of the commissioners of Washington County; Fred- erick Merton, a farmer of Perry; and Mary, the wife of Benjamin W. Coggins, a farmer and fisherman of Luebec, Me. Sarah married Dudley Currier, a leading farmer of Perry ; Cynthia was the wife of Samuel Osborne; and Belinda A., the wife of Joseph Rich.
Noel B. Nutt, after obtaining his element- ary education in the district schools in Perry, pursued more advanced studies one term at St. Albans Academy and one term at Wash- ington Academy, East Machias, and at the age of sixteen began to teach, this being his
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vocation for twenty-one years, till 1861. In 1848 he was first engaged as a teacher in Eastport. A few years later, in the fifties, he bought the Eastport Sentinel, which was established in 1818 by Benjamin Folsom. Mr. Nutt's connection with this paper as edi- tor and proprietor lastcd until his death, or more than forty ycars. In the latter part of his life, owing to other important business interests, he gave less of his personal atten- tion to the management of the paper than for- merly. He, however, always retained a lik- ing for newspaper work. Under his owner- ship the Sentinel establishment, located when purchased in a small room on the third story of the Ricc Building, grew from the primitive Franklin lever press, upon which he worked off the issue of four hundred copies, the out- side on Saturday afternoons and the inside on Wednesday afternoons (on which days of the week there was only a half-day school), with its small outfit of printer's material, to a modern newspaper plant, with news and job presses of improved pattern and stcam engine upon the premises to furnish power.
In 1887 Mr. Nutt was elected treasurer of the Eastport Savings Bank, and held that position until his death. In that period the business and deposits of the bank doubled in volume, it becoming the largest institution of the kind in the county. At the same time he was treasurer of the Eastport Water Company, treasurer of the Washington County Railroad Company, and carried on quite an extensive insurance business.
Mr. Nutt was a member of the Republican
party and a leader in its councils. He was special Deputy Collector of the Passama- quoddy district from 1861 to 1874 and Col- lector from 1874 to 1886. Before Eastport received her city charter he was chairman of the Board of Selectmen, and he was chairman of the School Committee here for a number of years. He was a charter member of Union Division, Sons of Temperance, organized at Perry in 1847, and was always a firm and con- sistent advocate of that reform. He was a member of Eastern Lodge, No. 7, of Eastport, of which he was secretary from 1861; and, a member of Eastern Royal Arch Chapter and St. Bernard Commandery, K. T., he served as High Priest three years and Commander ten years.
He was a constant attendant at the Unita- rian church and for many years one of the Standing Committee of the parish and a teacher in the Sunday-school. While de- lighting in the discussion of theological ques- tions, ably supporting his own views, he was "no bitter controversialist. He recognized the same right of private judgment in others that he claimed for himself, and maintained that the law of human kindness and brotherly regard should govern all thought of religion and measure all systems of faith. And this ideal he carried into the daily affairs of life. He was a friend to the friendless, a counsellor to the distressed, and a benefactor to all who needed the assistance and encouragement of their fellow-men.
"He seemed to know how, with wonderful tact and sound judgment, to heal differences
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between his associates, reconcile quarrels, and settle disputes on principles alike just and honorable to all parties concerned; and in this quality of character there are many who re- member him in gratitude and affection. In business affairs he was upright and honorable, in social life kind and courteous, in religious convictions stanch and true, in home life ten- der and affectionate, and everywhere a man whose manhood and integrity were acknowl- edged by all."
Mr. Nutt was married in 1845 to Harriet Downes Todd, who was born in Calais, Me., April 10, 1824, daughter of John N. Todd. He is survived by Mrs. Nutt and the follow- ing children: Frederick E., special Deputy Collector at Eastport ; Noel B., who resides in Jamaica Plain, Mass .; Hattie L., widow of Henry B. Hunt, and Jessie E., unmarried, both residing with their mother; and Nellie S., wife of Wilbor A. Shea, of Eastport.
RANVILLE CHASE, an enterprising merchant and manufacturer of Bar- ing, Washington County, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Gray) Chase, was born in Cutler, Me., November 4, 1851. His grandfather, Captain John Chase, who was born in Gil- manton, N. H., about the year 1796, was related to Captain Lane, who served under General Wolfe at the siege of Quebec. Through his paternal grandmother, Lydia Whitney, he is a descendant of General Greene of Revolutionary fame; while his maternal great-grandfather, whose name was
Jones, served in General Washington's body- guard. Captain John Chase served in the War of 1812. Shortly after leaving the army he settled in Frankfort, Me., later taking up new land in the town of Winterport. He was a blacksmith by trade, and followed it in con- nection with farming for the rest of his ac- tive period. His unusual strength and agility gained for him much local notoriety as an ath- lete. He held a Captain's commission in the State militia. His death occurred in Winter- port in 1887, four years after his wife had passed away.
Daniel Chase, who was born in Frankfort, July 17, 1822, in early life taught school, and was for a time a Methodist preacher. Later he was engaged in blacksmith work and farm- ing. The greater part of his life was spent in Wesley and Baring. He came to Baring in 1864, and died here, March 10, 1885. He served as County Commissioner, and he was Town Treasurer for twelve years. His repu- tation was that of an able business man and public official. In politics he was a Demo- crat. His wife, Elizabeth, who was born in Brighton, Me., September 15, 1824, became the mother of three children, namely: Gran- ville, the subject of this sketch; Ellery, born in Wesley, April 14, 1855, who died at the age of six years ; and Cyrus, born in Wesley, November 25, 1860, who is a prosperous farmer in Baring. The mother died July 24, 1884.
Granville Chase attended the common schools and the Milltown Academy, and completed his education with a course at
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Gray's Commercial College in Portland. Af- terward for six years he was employed in lumbering for George Lowell & Co., of Bar- ing, and was book-keeper and confidential clerk for the firm of Todd, Polleys & Co., of Nova Scotia, for eight years. Going then to Cambridgeport, Mass., he was engaged in the manufacture of boxes for some time. From Cambridgeport he went to St. George, N. B., where he had charge of the lumbering opera- tions conducted by Charles F. Todd & Son until 1890. Then he established himself in the box shook industry in Baring, at the same time opening a general store. He employs about sixty men in the mills, besides a large force in the woods during the winter season cutting and hauling timber for use in his busi- ness. In 1897 he used three million five hundred thousand feet. He is also interested in a granite quarry in New Brunswick, which, though at present undeveloped, promises to be an excellent investment in the near future.
In 1876 Mr. Chase was joined in marriage with Caroline Polleys, a native of Baring, born May 5, 1853. Both her parents, John and Elizabeth (Pratt) Polleys, are deceased. Mrs. Chase has given birth to six children, namely : Edward, on March 16, 1877; Edith N., June 26, 1879; Clifford G., April 23, 1881 ; Florence P., October 29, 1883; Daniel, November 26, 1885; and Winnifred, April 1, 1896. In politics Mr. Chase is a Democrat, and has served with ability as Town Clerk and Supervisor of Schools. He was a candidate for the State legislature this fall (1898). He has passed the chair in Lodge No. 14,
F. & A. M., at Upper Mills, N. B. ; has also served as secretary, and at the present time is Director of Ceremonies. He is also connected with Frontier Lodge, No. 4, Knights of Pyth- ias, of St. Stephens, N. B., and with the Uni- form Rank.
OHN HENRY DANE, a widely known sash and blind manufacturer of Skow-
hegan, Somerset County, was born in Anson, Me., November 21, 1842, son of John W. and Hannah (Allen) Dane. The grand- father, John W. Dane, taught school early in life, was later a minister, and still later a doctor. His wife, whose maiden name was White, became the mother of four children, three boys and one girl. John W. Dane, born in the part of Skowhegan known as Cold Brook, was reared upon a farm, and has followed farm- ing for the greater part of his life. He is a Deacon of the Baptist church. His wife, Hannah, who was born in that part of Bloom- field, Me., now called Fairfield, has reared three children, all of whom are living. The father and mother are now eighty-five and eighty years of age respectively.
John Henry Dane was educated in the com- mon schools of Anson, and assisted upon the home farm until he was twenty-one years old. He then learned the sash and blind business, and in 1864 went to Madison, where he was employed by J. S. Hardy for about one year. On April 26, 1865, he entered the employ of Steward & Williams, Skowhegan; and, after working as a journeyman for about four years, .
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he became associated in business with a Mr. White, under the firm name of White & Dane. After this partnership had lasted several years, Mr. White sold his interest to Mr. Avery Allen, an uncle of Mr. Dane, and the firm name was changed to Dane & Allen. In 1872 E. T. Allen, from California, another uncle, was admitted to the firm, which then became Dane, Allen & Co. Although Avery Allen died in the meantime, business was conducted under this style until 1889. Then E. T. Allen disposed of his interest to Mr. Dane, who has since carried on the business alone. The small building, in which the business was started, was abandoned for the present one, which was erected by Mr. Dane in 1869. His trade now extends over a wide territory, and he has a branch factory in Madison, Me., which he established in the fall of 1890. A Repub- lican in politics, he cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864.
The first of Mr. Dane's two marriages was contracted with Fannie Collins, of New Sharon. She died leaving one son, who now has charge of his father's factory in Madison. The second. marriage was made with Miss Rena Churchill, of New Portland. By this union there are four children, three sons and one daughter, who are attending school. The mother is a grand-daughter of Daniel Church- ill, who was born April 20, 1800, in Bingliam, Somerset County, of English and Scotch par . entage, and was the eldest of ten children. His father, a farmer, was born in Bloomfield; and his mother in Norridgewock, Me. Mr. Churchill was over six feet in height and
finely proportioned, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Two brothers named Churchill came from England in the reign of King Charles II:, and settled in New Hampshire, where the city of Portsmouth now stands. Here Jabez Churchill, the great-grandfather of Daniel, was born. Though Daniel Churchill attended school for only two months, he was a man of wide information and strong convic- tions. Having made a close study of the Bible, he acquired an extensive knowledge of its contents, and at an early age became a Universalist, which faith he retained for the rest of his life. When he was a young man, it is told that, carrying his surplus clothes in a bundle, he walked through the then new country from Bingham to Bangor in search of work, which he obtained in Old Town. He was always a farmer, and for twenty-five years he was an extensively engaged lumberman in Maine and Canada: Straightforward, con- scientious, and energetic in business, he was held in high esteem by all.
In 1827 Daniel Churchill married Caroline Baker, who was born October 8, 1811, daugh- ter of Brown and Hannah Robinson Baker. Her father was born at Halifax, N. S., and her mother at Barnstable, Mass. Caroline Baker Churchill, a little under the average height, was straight as an arrow, and had brown hair and blue eyes. She was a hand- some woman, with a very lovable disposition. Her chief aim was the comfort and happiness of her husband and children. She possessed a fair education, was a sweet singer, and en- dowed with remarkable intuitive perception.
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All who knew her loved her for her many sterling qualities. Mr. and Mrs. Churchill first lived at a place situated a mile above the Forks of the Kennebec. There eight of their children were born; namely, Mary, Albert, Octavia, Abel, Julia A., Lewis, Dorcas F., and Daniel F. In 1842 they moved to Solon, where they lived fourteen years, becoming the parents of five other children - Warren, War- ren (second), Mary C., Melvin, and Hannah E. They left their native State in 1856, and located in a beautiful spot in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, where the ensuing thirty-one years were passed. In 1887, after sixty years of happy wedded life, both passed away. At this writing eight of their children survive them.
ON. VIRGIL R. CONNOR, of Fairfield, Me., ex-Senator and a retired lumber dealer, was born in this town on January 10, 1847, son of William and Mary (Bryant) Connor. His grandfather, Simeon Connor, of Bowdoin, was four times married.
William Connor is remembered as one of the most enterprising and able of Fairfield's business men in his time. During his busy life he was engaged in many different enter- prises, the greater number of which were suc- cessful. Born in Bowdoin, October 10, 1806, he came here at the age of twenty-one, and worked first as a lumberman on the river, becoming a master driver. Afterward he was engaged in lumbering on his own account, and
had in his employment General R. B. Shep- herd, of Skowhegan, D. C. Hall, Randall Hall, Charles and Henry Fogg, and other men who became well and favorably known here. He subsequently operated a saw-mill, and did quite an extensive business. When the build- ing of the railroad between Waterville and Fairfield was put up for bids, Mr. Connor se- cured the contract and later that for building the road between Newport and Dexter. These two roads were constructed under his direction and that of James Wall, his partner. Having always taken a keen interest in politics, he was at first a Whig. Then he joined the Re- publican party at its formation. In 1856, in company with James G. Blaine and Dr. Garce- lon, he represented the Fourth District in the convention at Philadelphia that nominated Fremont for the Presidency. In 1836 he was in the legislature when Hannibal Hamlin was Speaker. He was State Senator in 1857-58, a capacity in which he proved most acceptable. In 1871 and 1872 he was Representative to the Maine State legislature. In his long business life having won general confidence, he was called upon to settle many estates. For many years he was the president of the Fairfield Savings Bank. He died on Novem- ber 30, 1889. His wife, who was born in Waterville, a daughter of Squire Bryant, died on July 22, 1897. They celebrated their golden wedding on September 4, 1884. Both were members and active workers of the Uni- versalist church. Their children were : Nancy, Ella B., Selden, Lindia A., Virgil R., Mary Elizabeth, Lucia H., Charles, and
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Lydia H. Ella B. and Lydia H. are now deceased. Charles died young. Nancy, who married William A. Brooks, a dry-goods mer- chant, became the mother of four children - Kate C., Charles S., William Allen, and George. Charles S. is now deceased. Will- iam Allen married Helen Winchell, and is now a practising physician and surgeon in Boston. George Brooks is in business with his father. Selden Connor, who is now Pen- sion Agent at Augusta, Me., married Henri- etta W. Bailey, of Washington, D.C. They have had three children - Mabel, Rosamond, and a child that died in infancy. Lindia A., Mary Elizabeth, and Lucia H. Connor reside with Virgil R. Connor.
After attending the schools of his native town, Virgil R. Connor studied at Phillips Exeter Academy and the academies at Worces- ter, Mass., and Westbrook, Me., and graduated from Harvard College in the class of 1871. Early in life he became interested in lumber- ing and agriculture. His time since then has been chiefly given to these two industries in this region, including the management of the lumber-mills up to 1881, when he sold out. He now owns about one hundred and twenty- five acres of land, devoted to the raising of general produce. Having a considerable in- terest in the Fairfield National Bank, he is a director of that institution.
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