USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine > Part 14
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good in developing the musical feature of the church services.
D ANIEL WIGGINS, proprietor of a small and well-appointed farm in the town of Bridgton, has been a lifelong resident of Cumberland County, his earlier years having been spent in Baldwin, where his birth occurred, June 3, 1833. He is the representative of an early family of this county, his paternal grandparents having re- moved to Baldwin from Durham, N. H., in 1802. They brought with them their chil- dren, who assisted in clearing a farm from the one hundred acres of land which the grand- father bought, and on which he afterward spent his days.
John Wiggins, the father of Daniel, was born in 1793, being still a young boy when he came to this county. He followed farming throughout his life, coming into possession of a part of the old homestead, which he had helped to redeem from the wilderness. He performed military service in the War of 1812, going out with a Maine regiment. He was a man of much energy and enterprise, upright in his dealings, and well worthy of the high regard in which he was held. Religiously, he was a member of the Baptist church. He closed his eyes on earthly scenes in 1855, being then about sixty-three years old. His wife, whose maiden name was Betsey Ridlon, survived him twenty-three years, dying in 1878.
Daniel Wiggins acquired his education by attending the district schools of his native town. He was trained to farm work, and re- mained on the old homestead until 1870, when he removed to another part of the town, where he followed his chosen vocation for two years. In 1872 Mr. Wiggins took possession of his present estate, which contains thirty-eight acres of well-improved land. While living in Baldwin, he twice served as Selectman, and has held other public offices. He is a firm Re- publican, supporting the principles of that party by voice and vote. Socially, he is con- nected by membership with the Masons and the Odd Fellows.
Mr. Wiggins was married January 11, 1863,
to Miss Pamelia A. Barker, who was born in the town of Naples, a daughter of Stephen and Abigail (Wight) Barker. Two children have been born of their felicitous union; namely, Mary B. and Charles D., both of whom cele- brate the anniversary of their births on the 7th of June, although there is three years' difference in their ages, Mary having been born June 7, 1868, and Charles D. June 7, 1871. Mary is the wife of Hiram T. Clark. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wiggins are sincere mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, with which he is officially connected, being a Trus- tee and Steward.
APTAIN JACOB S. WINSLOW, of Portland, one of the largest ship- builders in the State of Maine, was born at Pembroke, Washington County, Me., on December 19, 1827. Both his father, Jacob Winslow, and his paternal grandfather, Snow Winslow, were scafaring men, commanders of vessels; and he is himself a retired sea captain.
Snow Winslow followed the sea during the greater part of his life, and was captain of a vessel engaged in the coasting trade. He died at Havana, Cuba, of yellow fever. His wife before marriage was Miss Hannah Ring. Their son, Jacob Winslow, was born at North Yarmouth, Me., on January 15, 1797. He settled in Pembroke, Me., in 1812; but later, having made that place his home for some years, he removed to Lubec, where he had his residence during the remainder of his life, dying in 1847, although he was able to spend but little time on land, as, like his father, he followed the vocation of a seaman. He and his wife, Elizabeth Clark, to whom he was married on April 23, 1823, reared a family of ten children, Jacob S. being the second in order of birth. The father died in 1847.
Jacob S. Winslow passed his boyhood on the farm and at school, ; but, having inherited from his ancestors a liking for the sea, when but fourteen years old he went aboard a vessel as a common sailor. By his industrious habits and integrity of character gradually gaining the confidence of his superior officers, he won promotions; and within four years he
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was holding the position of mate. Shortly before he attained his majority he was made master of the brig "Noble," in which he made two trips, one to Philadelphia and the other to the West Indies. He afterward successively commanded the "Calista," "Bloomer," "Jere- miah Fowler," and the barks "Maine Law" and "Philena." The last-named vessel was built by him, and he sailed her for six years to Europe and the West Indies. In 1862 Captain Winslow retired from the sea, and went into business on Central Wharf, continu- ing in the ship-building industry, which he had carried on for some time before giving up a seafaring life. He is one of the largest ship- builders in this part of New England, having built more than one hundred vessels at his different ship-yards in Yarmouth, Pembroke, and Portland. He is also engaged in the busi- ness of a ship chandler and dealer in general stores, having conducted the business alone for some years, when he entered into pratnership with H. P. Dewey, since which time it has been carried on under the firm name of J. S. Winslow & Co. Captain Winslow was married in 1853 to Miss Philena Morton, a daughter of Zenas and Eliza Morton, of Lubec, Me. Mrs. Winslow died on May 14, 1877.
In political views Captain Winslow is a Re- publican. He was elected as a Representative from Portland to the State legislature in 1877 and 1878, and in 1868 was elected a member of the Common Council from Ward I. Since he left the sea and took up his residence in Portland, he has taken an active interest in local business affairs, and has been a promoter of many enterprises that are helpful to the welfare and prosperity of the city. He holds the position of Director in the Casco National Bank, the Portland Lloyds' Insurance Com- pany, the Dry Dock Company, and the Bangor & Machias Steamboat Company, his sound judgment and superior business ability render- ing his services invaluable.
DAM WINSLOW WILSON, Assist- ant Engineer of the Deering Fire De- partment and one of the leading con- tractors of this city, was born in Fal- mouth, Cumberland County, Me., on February
28, 1854, son of George and Phœbe (Winslow) Wilson, of that place.
George Wilson was a native of Falmouth, where his birth occurred in 1817; and he re- ceived his education in the common schools of that town. He then went to work as a clerk in a general store, and subsequently engaged in business for himself, at which he continued until 1883, or within about three years of his death, which occurred on January 4, 1886. In matters of public interest he took an active part, and for many years was a member of the School Committee. He also held the position of Postmaster at Morrill's Corner for twelve years. When special efforts were first begun in his neighborhood in the cause of temper- ance, he was one of four men at Morrill's Cor- ner and vicinity to take the initiative in sign- ing the pledge; and throughout his life he was an ardent advocate of temperance principles. His wife, formerly Phoebe Winslow, was a daughter of Adam Winslow, of Falmouth, who was a Major in the War of the Revolution. Three of the four children born of their union lived to maturity, namely: Marcia B., the widow of Charles Nason, of Gorham, Me. ; Wallace H., of Portland; and Adam Winslow.
Adam Winslow Wilson acquired his ele- mentary education in the common schools of Westbrook, Me., after which he took a college preparatory course at Westbrook Seminary. On leaving school, he entered the employ of a large wholesale shoe firm in Portland, with the intention of learning the business; but, his health being seriously impaired by indoor work, he was obliged to abandon his cherished plans, and seek a new field of labor. About 1 880 he purchased the farm which he has since carried on, and in connection therewith he does a large teaming business that furnishes employment for several men and teams. In 1890 he added contracting to his other busi- ness, and is now engaged in building sewers, laying water-works, doing ledge-work, and taking other contracts of a similar character.
Mr. Wilson served from 1887 to 1889, in- clusive, as Selectman of the town, and has been since 1882 a member of the Town Com- mittee ; and since 1891, when Deering became a city, has been Assistant Engineer for the ward in which he resides. The year the city
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was incorporated the Street Commissionership was tendered him by a unanimous vote of the Board of Aldermen, but he declined to serve. Like his father, Mr. Wilson is actively inter- ested in temperance matters, and, like him, is also a believer in Spiritualism.
G EORGE CROCKETT JOHNSON, chief engineer of the steamer "Bay State" and senior engineer of the Portland Steamship Company, in whose em- ploy he has served faithfully for forty-two years, was born in Portland, November 17, 1832. He is the only surviving son of the late Eben and Ann (Mulloy) Johnson, and is the third in line of his family to follow the sea.
His paternal grandfather, Eben Johnson, Sr., was long engaged in the coasting trade. During the War of 1812 he was out in a sloop with his son Eben, who was then a boy of fourteen, and was captured by a British pri- vateer, who confiscated his sloop, and, putting him and his son in a small boat, gave them permission to go ashore. During their trip they were stopped at Fort Preble and prevented from either coming into port or going out until morning. The night spent in that open boat under the guns of Fort Preble were the longest known to the memory of the two men.
The younger Eben Johnson was born in Falmouth in 1798. When quite young he sailed in coasting vessels with his father; and in his mature manhood he was master of a packet plying between Portland and Boston, following the sea about forty-five years. The last ten or fifteen years of his life he was in the grocery business in Portland. He died in 1870. His wife had died many years before, in 1837. Six children were born to them, namely : Frances A., wife of Andrew Swan, of Everett, Mass .; Eben, Jr., who died in Medford, Mass .; Greeley H., who died in 1894 in Boston ; George C., the subject of this sketch; Mary H., wife of Harvey G. Fly, of East Boston ; and James Boyd, who died in in- fancy.
George Crockett was the fourth child of the group as above named. He early attended the grammar school on Park Street, presided over at that time by Master Jackson, and
afterward studied at a select school. When sixteen years of age he went as deck boy on the steamer "Huntress," plying between Port- land and Hallowell; and he was subsequently raised to the position of quartermaster, which he held till the boat was taken off the line. He was then employed as a sailor on sailing- vessels, and next obtained a position as fire- man on the steamer "T. F. Secor," which ran between Belfast and Machias, touching at in- termediate points, and later between Portland and Damariscotta direct. It was at this time that he began his preparation for his later en- gineering career. He was afterward fireman one year on the steamer "Governor," plying between Portland and Bangor, and then, at twenty years of age, accepted a position as as- sistant engineer for a short time on the steamer "Creole," which ran between Boston and St. John, touching at Portland.
During the winter of 1852-53 Mr. Johnson was employed at the Hinckley locomotive works in Boston, there obtaining a good knowledge of the construction of engines; and in the spring of 1853 he went to New York, where the "Daniel Webster " was built. He was fireman on that steamer when she was brought to Portland, and for a short time after, when she was running between Portland and Bangor. On May 3, 1853, he entered the employ of the Portland Steamship Com- pany, then, and until January 1, 1896, known as the Portland Steam Packet Company, en- gaging first as fireman on the "St. Lawrence," which plied between Portland and Boston. In 1854 he was licensed as assistant engineer, and went into that capacity on the steamer "Atlantic." The year following the sale of the "St. Lawrence" he operated the steam tug "Terror " at Bangor; and in the fall of 1855 he again entered the employ of the Port- land Steam Packet Company, going on the "Forest City " as assistant engineer. The "Atlantic " was sold in 1856 to New Orleans . parties, and in August of that year Mr. John- son went South as assistant engineer of that steamer. In June, 1857; he returned to the Portland Steamship Company, and during the war was in their employ, being assistant en- gineer of the "Forest City " when she was notified to be prepared for action at the time
GEORGE C. JOHNSON.
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of the capture of the revenue cutter "Caleb Cushing " from Portland Harbor by the rebels. She was sent after that vessel with a company of soldiers from Fort Preble and two twelve- pounder field-pieces on board.
The steamer "Chesapeake" was also sent out. The "Caleb Cushing " being a sailing- vessel, and the weather being calm, the rebels set fire to her and came to the "Forest City" in one of her boats under a flag of truce. After taking the prisoners on board, the "Forest City " proceeded east and captured the schooner "Archer," which was the vessel the rebels had used to come into Portland Harbor. The "Caleb Cushing," after burning about an hour, blew up, the fire having reached her magazine. In 1865 Mr. Johnson was as- sistant engineer of the "New Brunswick," plying between Boston and St. John, N.B .; and in 1866 he was again assigned to the "Forest City," this time as chief engineer. In 1876 Mr. Johnson was transferred to the "John Brooks " as chief engineer, acting in that capacity until January 1, 1883, when he was transferred to shore duty, and sent to New York to look after building the "Tre- mont." This new steamer was placed on the line July 3, 1883, Mr. Johnson continuing to act as chief engineer on her until July 19, 1890, when he was transferred to the steamer "Portland," acting as chief on her until Feb- ruary, 1894. He was then again placed on shore duty in connection with the building of the steamer "Bay State," which steamer was placed on the line April 18, 1895. As men- tioned above, Mr. Johnson is chief engineer on the "Bay State " at the present time; and he has occupied for some years the responsible position of senior engineer of the company.
Mr. Johnson has been unfortunate in losing by death three estimable wives. He was first married in 1854 to Miss Mary J. Rich, daugh- ter of John and Mary Rich, of Gray, Me. She died in 1856, leaving a son, Charles Edwin, he dying at the age of six years, four months. In 1859 he married Miss Caroline A. Waterhouse, of Saco, Me., who died in 1865, leaving a daughter, Carrie A., now the wife of Isaiah H. Baker, of Portland, and mother of six children. His third wife, Emily J., daughter of Gardner and Emily
Rich, died without issue. In 1882 Mr. John- son married his present wife, who was Miss Helen P. Gibbs, daughter of George H. and Phiolena P. Gibbs, of North Dana, Mass. She has been the mother of four children, two of whom, Arthur C. and Mildred H., are now living.
In politics Mr. Johnson is for the best man for the office. He is a member of Portland Lodge, No. 1, A. F. & A. M., Greenleaf Chapter, Portland Council, and St. Albans Commandery, Knights Templars; and he is also enrolled as a member of Ancient Brothers' Lodge and Machigonne Encampment, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He attends and helps to support the Williston Church, of Portland, of which his wife is a member.
ILLIAM H. H. SNOW, a practical farmer and prosperous citizen resid- ing in the southern part of the town of New Gloucester, was born in Harpswell, Me., on October 1, 1840, son of Jesse and Eliza (Toothaker) Snow.
His father, who was also a native of Harps- well, Me., began active life as a farmer of that town, removing thence to Pownal, Cumberland County, in 1844. He purchased a farm near Pownal Centre, where he still resides, being successfully engaged in mixed husbandry. His wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Toothaker, died on February 17, 1892. Eight children were the fruit of their union, as fol- lows : William H. H. ; Jonathan A., living in Pownal, Me. ; Samuel T., also a resident of Pownal; Laura A., who resides with her father; Melvina Adelia, wife of G. T. Allen, of Pownal; Conrad, who married Miss Hattie B. Haskell, and lives in Pownal; Eliza A., who died when seven years old; and Nellie A., the wife of Harry Wilson, of Deering, this county.
William H. H. Snow in his boyhood at- tended the common schools, and assisted his father on the farm during his vacations. At the age of nineteen years he left home to go to sea, and followed a sailor's life for eleven years. He then returned home, and subsequently pur- chased a farm in the town of Pownal, which he conducted for thirteen years, or until 1887,
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at which time he removed to New Gloucester, and undertook the management of the farm that he now owns, but which then belonged to his father-in-law. It contains one hundred and thirty acres of land well adapted for mixed farming, and is known as the "Bear Brook Farm," deriving its name from a brook run- ning through it. Mr. Snow's specialty is the production of milk ; and he keeps sixteen head of milch cows, which average daily about twenty-four gallons of milk, which is marketed in Portland. Mr. Snow was married Decem- ber 14, 1871, to Miss Hattie N. B. Fogg, who was born in New Gloucester, July 24, 1848, the only daughter of Elliott Y. and Adeline (Bennett) Fogg. Her father, who was a pros- perous New Gloucester farmer, died May 7, 1889, and her mother February 23, 1892. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Snow has been blessed by the birth of two sons: George E., who died when sixteen months old; and Irving F., born July 11, 1876, who is now living at home.
Mr. Snow is a Democrat in his political principles, having never voted outside of that party. Socially, he is a member of Cumber- land Lodge, No. 12, A. F. & A. M., of New Gloucester. Both he and his wife are regular attendants of the Universalist church of New Gloucester.
OSEPH F. CHAPLIN, superintendent of the Portland department of the Con- solidated Ice Company, South Portland, Cumberland County, is a Maine boy by birth, breeding, and ancestry. He was born on November 20, 1858, in Bridgton, son of Alonzo C. Chaplin.
This family have lived in Maine for many generations, Caleb A. Chaplin, Joseph's grand- father, having been a native of the town of Naples, which bounds Bridgton on the south - east. He was extensively engaged in lumber- ing and farming, in which pursuits he was eminently successful, being one of the leading men of his community, and a stanch member of the old Whig party. The maiden name of his wife was Ruth Ann Jordan. She was a descendant of an early settler of Portland.
Alonzo C. Chaplin was born on the old homestead in Naples, and at an early age
learned the carpenter's trade, which he fol- lowed for some years. In 1862, during the progress of the Civil War, he enlisted in Com pany A, Twenty-fifth Maine Volunteer Infan- try, for a term of nine months. Shortly after returning home from the army he entered the employ of D. W. Clark, of Portland, as mill- man. He subsequently went into partnership with D. W. Clark and Ashbel Chaplin, with whom, under the firm name of D. W. Clark & Co., he carried on an extensive ice business for about three years. He then retired from that concern, and accepted the position of superin- tendent and master mechanic of the Clark & Chaplin Ice Company, in whose employ he con- tinued until his death, February 4, 1888.
He married Antoinette E., daughter of Israel P. Peabody, of Bridgton; and four chil- dren were born to them, as follows: Annie B., who married Franklin A. Skillins, a sketch of whose life may be found on another page of this volume; Nettie N., widow of the late Willard Brackett, and mother of two children - Philip and Marion ; Mary Frances, a teacher in Portland schools; and Joseph F., the subject of this sketch, he being the eldest child.
Mr. Chaplin has spent the larger portion of . his life in Cape Elizabeth, that part of the town which is now South Portland, he having been here reared and educated. On leaving school in 1878, he entered the employ of the firm of D. W. Clark & Co. as engineer, contin- uing with the company after its incorporation as the Clark & Chaplin Ice Company, and in 1888 was made foreman of the wholesale de- partment. In January, 1896, the wholesale department was transferred to the Consolidated Ice Company of New York, with whom Mr. Chaplin continues.
Politically, Mr. Chaplin is an active Repub- lican; and at the time of writing this sketch he is one of the Selectmen of his town. So- cially, he is a member of Elizabeth City Lodge, No. 114, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Bayard Lodge, No. 44, Knights of Pythias, of South Portland.
On June 13, 1883, Mr. Chaplin was married to Ella M. Trickey, daughter of Charles P. Trickey, of South Portland. Their union has been brightened by the birth of one child,
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Merle Peabody, who was born May 7, 1886. Both Mr. and Mrs. Chaplin are conscientious and valued members of Brown's Hill Methodist Church.
ATHAN E. REDLON, the oldest con- tracting mason in Portland, was born in Buxton, Me., September 13, 1830, son of Amos and Elizabeth (Berry) Redlon. He is of Scotch descent, his grandfather, Ebenezer Redlon, coming to this country from the Orkney Islands. Amos Redlon, the father of our subject, who was a shoemaker by trade, died March 10, 1860, in his seventy-sixth year. He was an upright and honest man, and an active member of the Methodist church. His wife, who was a daughter of Isaac Berry, an old and respected farmer of Buxton, died in 1877.
Nathan E. Redlon attended the common schools of his native town and Limerick Academy. When eleven years of age, he began to learn the shoemaker's trade from his father; but his tastes ran in another direction, and, when he was eighteen, he engaged as an apprentice with W. P. Files, of Portland, to learn the mason's trade. His term of appren- ticeship completed he went to work as a jour- ney-man for three years in Portland, then to Biddeford in July, 1854, and in March of the following year he started for the West, locating first in Kansas. In those early days Lawrence and Topeka were the only large towns in Kan- sas, which was then a Territory, though its settlement was progressing rapidly under the homestead law. A. H. Reeder, of Pennsyl- vania, was the first governor; and Mr. Redlon voted in the first election during his adminis- tration for Territorial offices. This was the time also when Kansas was the battle ground between the friends and enemies of slavery - the days of border ruffianism - and Mr. Red- lon was an eye-witness of some of the outrages perpetrated by the white savages. Mr. Redlon soon left Kansas, and went up the Mississippi to St. Anthony, now Minneapolis. This great city was also in an embryo state, there being very few houses on the Minneapolis side of the river. He stayed but a year at St. Anthony, then returned to Portland, and entered the
employ of Sewell C. Chase as journeyman in 1858. Two years later he was made foreman, the first contract finished under his supervision having been that for building the glass manu- factory. He afterward worked on the old Thomas Block on Commercial Street, which was erected about the time when most of the first business blocks on that street were erected. In 1863, there being little to do in the building line, Mr. Redlon engaged in the manufacture and retail sale of shoes, and con- ducted a fairly successful business for three years. Then came the great fire of 1866, causing a great demand for builders; and he returned to his former occupation, taking small contracts at first. His work was done promptly and in a thorough and painstaking manner. From that time to the present his business has increased till he is now one of the largest contractors for mason-work in the city, besides being the oldest. In 1868 he formed a partnership with Samuel A. Knight, which continued till the death of the latter in 1888. The firm furnished constant employment to from thirty to forty men for about nine months in the year. Specimens of their work stand- ing to-day are: John E. Donnell's Block on Middle Street; the store now occupied by J. W. Perkins, owned by W. W. Thomas ; John Rand's fine house on High Street; the adjoining house for H. T. Plummer; T. H. Weston's house on Deering Street; the house occupied by the Hon. Thomas B. Reed; the west wing of the Maine General Hospital ; the Eye and . Ear Infirmary on Congress Street, a large four-story brick building; and the John Little Block. In 1895 Mr. Redlon built the new power house for the Portland Street Rail- road Company, which is considered one of the finest structures of the kind in the country. It is a very large building, standing on piles, and was built from the foundation by Mr. Red- lon, the work occupying between sixty and seventy men during a whole season. In 1892 he bought the brickyard on John Street, Port- land, previously owned by Gurney & Son, with a capacity of one million five hundred thousand bricks, and is at present operating that plant. He has been President of the Portland Heater Company, President of the Casco Carbonized Cement Pipe Company, and was an active
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