Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 3

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 722

USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine > Part 3

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Toppan Robie was born in Candia, N. H., January 27, 1782. He was a man of courage and ability, Captain in a company of State militia which participated in the War of 1812; and when, in 1814, it was feared that Portland was in danger of invasion and General Irish's brigade was ordered there, Captain Robie marched to the front at the head of his com- pany. In politics first a Federalist, then a Whig, and later an ardent Republican, he rep- resented his town six years in the General Court of Massachusetts. In 1820-21 he was a Representative in the legislature of Maine, . and in 1837 was a member of Governor Kent's Executive Council. He held many offices of public trust, and was liberal in his benefac- tions for the furtherance of the common weal, giving freely to religious and educational in- stitutions. The soldiers' monument at Gorham village was his gift, and on his eightieth birth- day he gave five thousand dollars to the Con- gregational church and parish of Chester. died, universally regretted, January 14, 1871. H The Hon. Toppan Robie was three times married. In 1804 he was united to Miss Lydia Brown, daughter of Benjamin Brown, of Chester, N. H., and a sister of the late Rev. Francis Brown, President of Dartmouth Col- lege from 1815 to 1820. Mrs. Lydia B. Robie died in February, 1811; and Mr. Robie was married in September, 1811, to Miss Sarah Thaxter Lincoln, daughter of Captain John Lincoln, who came originally from Hing- ham, Mass., but was a resident of Gorham at the time of his daughter's marriage. He was a worthy representative of the distinguished Lincoln family of Massachusetts. The second Mrs. Robie died in 1828, leaving three sons - Charles; George; and Frederick, the special subject of the present sketch.

Frederick Robie, after attending the public schools of his native town, fitted for college at Gorham Academy, studying first under the tuition of the Rev. Reuben Nason, who died many years ago, and later under the Rev.

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

Amos Brown, D. D. He entered Bowdoin in 1837, and was graduated in 1841 at the age of nineteen. That same year he acted acceptably as principal of academies in Georgia and Flor- ida. Having decided to become a physician, he shortly entered the Jefferson Medical Col- lege at Philadelphia ; and, receiving the degree of M. D. in 1844, in April of that year he opened an office in Biddeford. He was there actively engaged in the duties of his profes- sion until May, 1855, when he removed to Waldoboro, Me., where for three years he en- joyed a large and lucrative practice. At the end of that period he decided to settle perma- nently in his native town, but destiny had other views for him.

In 1861 he was a member of the Executive Council of Governor Israel Washburn; and at the breaking out of the war he was appointed by President Lincoln additional paymaster of United States Volunteers, his commission, which was one of the first of this special grade of appointments, being dated June 1, 1861. Resigning his position in the Governor's Council, he entered at once on active duty and paid off a number of regiments in the Army of the Potomac in 1861-62, as well as several new Maine regiments mustered into the United States service in August, 1862. In 1863 he was stationed at Boston as chief pay- master of the Department of New England ; and in the early part of 1864 he was trans- ferred to the Department of the Gulf at New Orleans, where for more than a year he judi- ciously handled the government's money. The spring of 1865 brought the termination of the war and also an order to Paymaster Robie to return to Maine to superintend the final payment of the citizen soldiers from that State at their muster out of the service. His invaluable services in this important branch of the army system earned for him the brevet of Lieutenant Colonel, an honor that few paymasters received at that period. His last commission is dated November 24, 1865.

July 20, 1866, he was honorably mustered out of service; and among other encomiums of the public press the following appeared : "He has been a gentlemanly and courteous officer, and has faithfully discharged the duties of his office " (from the Argus). "Colonel Robie's

service has been honorable to himself and eminently satisfactory both to the government and its claimants with whom he has had to deal " (from the Press). "Major Frederick Robic, the popular and efficient paymaster of the United States, who has been so long sta- tioned in this State, has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by brevet. This is the first instance of a Maine paymaster securing such honor; and it could have been bestowed on no more faithful, modest, and unassuming officer. He is held by the paymaster-general as one of the best officers in the pay depart- ment of our country " (the Portland Star).

That the press voiced popular sentiment was indicated by the fact that in September of that year Colonel Robie was elected to the Senate of Maine, and re-elected in 1867. He was appointed by the Hon. William Pitt Fessen- den in 1866 special agent of the Treasury De- partment, and served two years; and from 1868 to 1873 he was an active member of the Republican State Committee. Eight times he has been called on to represent his native town in the Lower House of the State legislat- ure, officiating acceptably as Speaker in 1872 and again in 1876. Three times he has been a member of the Executive Council, in that of Governor Washburn in 1861, of Governor Davis in 1880, and of Governor Plaisted in 1881-82. He was formerly a member of the Whig party, but has been in full sympathy with the Republican party since its organiza- tion. In 1873 he revisited Florida and re- ceived hospitable entertainment from those who thirty years before had been his pupils. The fact that many had served in the Confed- erate army had not impaired the strong friend- ships formed in early manhood.

In the educational and industrial interests of Maine Mr. Robie has always taken a warm interest. The establishment of the State Nor- mal School at Gorham is largely due to his influence while representing his native town in the State legislature. In 1878 hc was one of the commission to the Paris Exposition of the world's industry and art; and during that year he travelled extensively in Europe, by keen observation and philosophic thought maturing his views and increasing his qualifi- cations for the high office which he was after-

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

ward called to fill. The society called the Patrons of Husbandry attracted his favorable notice some years ago, as he saw in the organ- ization an instrument fitted to infuse fresh vigor into the agricultural interests of Maine and to prevent the depopulation of the rural districts. Giving the weight of his personal influence to the society, he has largely aug- mented its efficiency for good. In 1882 he was chosen Worthy Master of the State Grange, being re-elected its chief officer for eight years; and under his administration the order grew in numbers and social power to a phenomenal extent, becoming one of the most beneficent of the industrial and social organizations of Maine.

The idea that Colonel Robie would make an admirable Governor of the State occurred simultaneously about fourteen years ago to many minds in different parts of Maine, and at once became active; and, though late in the field as a candidate, he was received with marked favor. His familiarity with public affairs, his integrity and sound sense, with his many other marked qualifications, made him a favorite. Hundreds of old soldiers remem- bered him as the courteous and obliging pay- master; scores of men were familiar with him as a member of nearly a dozen legislatures ; hundreds of farmers regarded him as the head of their order; business men everywhere acknowledged his possession of attributes which make a wise and prudent governor. Thirteen hundred and thirty-one delegates were present at the convention which nomi- nated him (the largest convention of the kind ever held in the State), and gave him ninety- eight votes more than were cast for his dis- tinguished competitor, William W. Thomas, Jr.

The ensuing political campaign was one of the most exciting ever known in Maine, one of the leading issues being the difference be- tween Governor Plaisted and the Executive Council, of which the Republican candidate was Chairman. Colonel Robie's canvass was cordially commended by the Republican press within and without the State, his public career of twenty years being so irreproachable that no flaw in his record could be found; and the fact that he was personally known to voters in three-fourths of the towns in the

State strengthened the ticket, which contained the names of four candidates for Congress. An independent movement was organized to defeat the Republican ticket, but fell to the ground. James G. Blaine privately stated that in his opinion "the nomination of Colonel Robie was the strongest that could have been made, and that to it was largely attributable the subsequent splendid victory at the polls." Mr. Robie received a majority of nearly nine thousand votes over his competitor, Governor Plaisted ; and his inauguration took place in January, 1883. His inaugural address to the legislature was a strong and sensible document, evincing a just State pride and an intelli- gent familiarity with the affairs and demands of the Commonwealth. Governor Robie was re-elected in 1884 by a largely increased ma- jority, reaching nearly twenty thousand. He was in office from January, 1883, to 1887, his record showing him to have been one of the most popular and efficient chief magistrates the State has ever had.

In many business enterprises he has been and is a most potent factor. He has been many years a Director of the Portland & Roch- ester Railroad Company, whose early life his father was active in fostering. Mr. Robie was likewise for a long period a Director of the First National Bank of Portland, of which he is now President; and in 1885 he was President of the Eastern Telegraph Company. He is a Director and member of the Financial Committee of the Mutual Life Insurance Com- pany, and at one time was Business Manager of the Portland Press Publishing Company. He is a member of the Portland Commandery of A. F. & A. M., an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and an inter- ested member of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He has recently been honored by his town by the changing of the corporate name of their high school to "Frederick Robie High School." A very large grange of Patrons of Husbandry at Otisfield, Me., also bears his full name.

Frederick Robie was married November 27, 1847, to Olivia M. Priest, an accomplished lady of Biddeford, Me., and the following children have blessed their union: Harriet, wife of Clark H. Barker; Mary Frederica,

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

wife of George F. McQuillan, Esq. ; Eliza, who died September 3, 1863; and William Pitt Fessenden Robie.

DWARD NEWMAN, who passed from earth to the fuller life beyond on De- cember 11, 1892, at his residence on Spring Street, Deering, was actively engaged in business in Portland for nearly half a cen- tury. He was born May 16, 1816, in the town of Westbrook, son of Ebenezer and Mary (Dyer) Newman, his father being a native of Westbrook. Ebenezer Newman followed the occupation of a wharf builder during his work- ing days, though for some years prior to his decease he was forced into retirement from active labor, being severely afflicted with rheumatism. His wife was the daughter of Clement Dyer, a sea captain, who made long voyages to foreign ports, and who was an active participant in the War of 1812. They reared seven children, namely : George; Eben; John; Thomas; Edward, the special subject of this sketch; Sarah, wife of George Hopkins, of Cape Elizabeth, Me. ; and Mary, wife of John Bedell, of Portland.

Edward Newman was bred and educated in his native town, where he afterward learned the tinsmith's trade of Elijah North. Mr. Newman subsequently worked as a journeyman in Portland, first for Mr. Glover and later for the firm of Warren & Milliken, finally engag- ing in business for himself in 1843 on Fore Street. He was an expert workman, and carried on a large and successful business, giving constant employment to quite a number of men, and doing all the heavy sheet-iron work that was done in the city at that time. When the Portland, Saco & Portsmouth Rail- road was constructed, he made all the spark catchers for the locomotives, and also covered the engines, he being the only man in Port- land who had the requisite facilities for doing that kind of work. He likewise did a great amount of work for the Grand Trunk Railway, continuing in business until his health became seriously impaired, when he sold out to his son-in-law, Mr. William H. Scott, who is still carrying on a most prosperous business, lo- cated. on Union Street. Mr. Newman then

engaged in the real estate business, buying land and building a large number of houses both in Portland and Deering. In September, 1892, he was compelled by ill health to rest from his labors, which he never again resumed, his death occurring about three months later, as before mentioned. He was a man of sterling integrity and worth, but of a quiet and retiring disposition, not taking any prominent part in public affairs. Deeply interested in the relig- ious and moral advancement of the community in which he lived, Mr. Newman was one of the founders of the Congregational Church of Woodford's, and when the present edifice was erected he was a member of the building com- mittee, having charge of the work. Both he and his wife were active members of the church for many years, Mrs. Newman being still connected with it.

In 1843 Mr. Newman was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary A., daughter of William Patterson, of Portland, where she was edu- cated, attending the school on Spring Street, afterward remaining with her parents until, as a bride, she removed to the pleasant residence which has since been her home. Seven chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Newman, but only three are now living, namely : Mary D., wife of William H. Scott, of Deering; Ed- ward Augustus, General Manager of the Port- land Street Railway Company ; and Abbie Louise, wife of Augustus K. Small, of Scarboro.

OSEPH L. ROBINSON, President of the Robinson Mills Manufacturing Company at South Windham, Me., was born on February 1, 1867, in the town of Oxford, Oxford County. He is of English stock on the paternal side, both his father, the late Thomas L. Robinson, and his grand- father, Joseph, having been natives of Leeds, England.

Joseph Robinson learned the trade of a dyer and finisher when a young man, and followed that occupation in England and Austria until 1846, when he came to Amer- ica. He had married on March 26, 1833, Frances A., daughter of Thomas Lewis, of Leeds; and in 1847 he was joined by

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

his family at Ballardvale, Mass., where he worked for a year as an assistant in the dyeing and finishing room of a woollen- mill. The next year he continued at his trade in the factory of John Townsend at Mil- ton Mills, afterward working as a dyer and finisher at Rochester, N.H., with the Norway Plains Manufacturing Company. In 1857, in company with Mr. John Hall, of Rochester, N.H., he located in Oxford, Me., buying an old mill which they fitted up and started as a woollen-mill. He subsequently bought out his partner, and afterward sold one-half inter- est in the mill to H. J. & F. O. Libby, the business being incorporated as the Robinson Manufacturing Company, with Joseph Robin- son as President, Treasurer, and General Man- ager, a position for which he was well adapted, and which he filled creditably until his death, March 6, 1895. He was, in very truth, the architect of his own fortune, securing afflu- ence and influence by honesty, ability, and upright manliness. Coming to this country with a very small amount of money, when he first found work he had but two English pennies to his name; and these very same pieces of coin, which he always kept, are now treasured by one of his grandsons.

Fifteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Robinson, the following six of whom are now living : Mary S., Frances A., Louisa, John B., Selina E., and Albert E. Mary S. Robinson, born February 4, 1835, is the wife of George J. Parrott, and has five children, namely: Joseph R., Vice-President and Gen- eral Manager of the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railway and of the Indian River Steamboat System; James E .; Elmer L .; Eva L .; and Albert E. Frances A., born in Oc- tober, 1838, is the wife of Lieutenant George E. Andrews, and has one child, Frances J. Louisa, born May 17, r848, married, Edwin Richmond. John B., born August 16, 1852, married Cora E. Millett, of Norway, and has one child, Joseph. Selina E., born in Roch- ester, N.H., December 5, 1855, is the widow of Thomas Carr, and has one daughter, Selina. Albert E. Robinson was born in Ox- ford, Me., May 20, 1858.

Thomas L., son of Joseph and Frances A. Robinson, was born on August 18, 1840, and

was about seven years old when he came to this country with his mother in the sailing- vessel "Orazebee," the rough and tedious voyage occupying eight weeks. He attended the district schools of Rochester, N.H., in his boyhood, later completing his education at Comer's Business College in Boston, Mass. At the age of seventeen, when his father moved to Oxford, Me., Thomas took the place he had vacated in the Rochester mill, working as a dyer and finisher for about a year. Going then to Oxford, he worked for his father until 1863, when he secured a position under S. S. Fisher as superintendent of the Raritan woollen-mills in New Jersey. He remained there until 1866, when he became superin- tendent of his father's mill at Oxford. Being at length obliged, on account of ill health, to seek another occupation, he opened a country grocery store in Oxford, which he conducted - until 1879. Then, leasing the old Malison Falls mill for three years, he started it as a woollen-mill, and in 1880, before the lease had expired, purchased the property.

In 1881 he erected a mill with a capacity of five sets, managing this successfully until the mill was burned in 1888. Two years prior to this event he had bought the plant of the Great Falls Woollen Manufacturing Com- pany, the mill having a capacity of ten sets ; and at the time of the purchase in 1886 he owned a larger amount of machinery for man- ufacturing woollens than any one man in all New England. He at once rebuilt the burned mill in South Windham, increasing its capac- ity to double its former size. He did not put it in operation, however, owing to the depres- sion of business at that time, but continued the management of the Great Falls mill until his death, June 26, 1890. While in Raritan, N.J., he married December 3, 1865, Louisa Weeks, a daughter of Albert and Jane (Bur- nett) Weeks, of Dutchess County, . New York. Of the three children born of their union, but two are now living - Joseph L. and Charles A.

In 1891, after the death of the father, the mills at Great Falls were sold, and the sons started work in the new mills at South Wind- ham, giving employment to one hundred and ten hands, and manufacturing fine woollen

THOMAS B. REED.

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

goods, broadcloths and kcrseys, shipping the products to New York and the Western markets. The present company was incorpo- rated in 1892 with Joseph L. Robinson as President, and Charles as Treasurer and Gen- eral Manager. Both are prominent business men of the town, active and influential in re- ligious, political, and social circles, affiliat- ing with the Republican party on State and national issues. Charles A. Robinson, born September 28, 1868, married Edith M. Nute, of Great Falls, N.H., their nuptials being solemnized June 30, 1892. They have one child, Alberta, born May 3, 1893.

Joseph L. Robinson acquired his element - ary education in the schools of Oxford and Windham, afterward attending Phillips Acad- emy at Andover, Mass. Since leaving school he has been connected with the mill. Mr. Robinson, socially, is a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 17, Knights of Pythias, of South Windham; while his brother Charles is con- spicuously identified with the Masonic frater- nity, having taken the thirty-second degree. On March 9, 1888, Mr. Joseph L. Robinson was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Doughty, a daughter of Albert and Elizabeth (Simpson) Doughty, of Gray, Me. Their pleasant home has been brightened by the birth of three children, namely: Vera L., born August 1, 1889; Thomas L., born Au- gust II, 1891; and Albert L., born November 15, 1893.

ON. THOMAS BRACKETT REED, Speaker of the House in the Fifty- fourth Congress, in political life to-day the most prominent citizen of Maine, has long been recognized as one of the ablest leaders of the Republican party.

He was born in Portland on October 18, 1839, son of Captain Thomas B. and Matilda Prince (Mitchell) Reed. His father was a native of Peak's Island, and was of old Co- lonial stock, his mother, from whom, it is said, he inherits his ready wit, being a native of North Yarmouth. One of his remote ances- tors was George Cleeve, the pioneer white settler of the Neck - as Portland was formerly called - two of whose grand-daughters married

brothers, named respectively, Anthony and Thomas Brackett, a Brackett great-grand- daughter eventually marrying into the Reed family.

In 1856 Thomas B. Reed entered Bowdoin College, where he was more fond of the library than of the curriculum, and did not especially shine in the class-room until near the end of his course. At his graduation in 1860 he won the first prize in English composition. He was an assistant teacher in the Portland High School for a year, and then applied himself to the study of law. On April 19, 1864, he was appointed Acting Assistant Paymaster in the United States Navy, being assigned to duty on the "tin-clad " "Sybil," at that time engaged in patrolling on the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi Rivers.

After the war Mr. Reed was admitted to the Cumberland County bar, and began prac- tising law in Portland. In 1867 he was elected a member of the State legislature, and began his long and conspicuous political career. During his first term he secured the passage of a bill giving a superior court to Cumberland County. In 1869 he was rc- elected to the lower house, and in 1870 he was chosen State Senator. In the same year he was called to the office of Attorney-general, and assumed his duties at the age of thirty, being the youngest man to serve in that ca- pacity since the organization of the State. He became City Solicitor of Portland in 1874, and remained in office four years, his experience and ability being of great advantage to the city, which had at that time large interests at stake. In 1876 he was elected to Congress; and he has remained a member of that body up to this date, 1896, being now, as men- tioned above, Speaker of the Fifty-fourth Con- gress. For several years before his election as Speaker of the Fifty-first Congress he had been the acknowledged leader of the Republi- cans in the House.

The greatest service Mr. Reed did to the country during his first term as Speaker was the death blow which he gave to the assumed right of the minority to obstruct legislation. His complete triumph and the adoption of his rulings by his Democratic successors are still fresh in the mind of the public.

BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

The chief characteristics of Congressman Reed are admirably shown in his conversation with Robert F. Porter, who asked him how he felt when he was being held up as the "czar," a man whose iron heels were crushing out American popular government.

"Oh," he promptly replied, "you mean what were my feelings while the uproar about the rules of the Fifty-first Congress were going on, and while the question was in doubt ? Well, I had no feeling except that of entire serenity ; and the reason was simple - that I knew just what I was going to do if the House did not sustain me, and when a man has de- cided upon a plan of action for either contin- gency there is no need for him to be disturbed, you know."

"And what, may I ask you, did you deter- mine to do if the House decided adversely ?"

"I should simply have left the chair, resign- ing the Speakership, and left the House, re- signing my seat in Congress. There were things that could be done, you know, outside of political life; and for my own part I had made up my mind that, if political life con- sisted in sitting helplessly in the Speaker's chair and seeing the majority powerless to pass legislation, I was ready to step down and out. Did it ever occur to you that it is a very sooth- ing thing to know exactly what you are going to do if things do not go your way? You have, then, made yourself equal to the worst, and have only to wait and find out what was ordained.'

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 3

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Company Number of Pages: 722

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Boston : Biographical Review Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 722