USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine > Part 35
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John Anderson was graduated from Bowdoin College in the class of 1813, studied law in the office of Stephen Longfellow in Portland, was
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admitted to the Cumberland bar in 1816, and at once entered upon a prosperous practice. He became actively engaged in politics, and in 1824 was elected representative to Con- gress, holding his seat through repeated re- elections till 1833. From 1833 to 1836 he was United States District Atorney, and in the latter year was made Collector of Portland. On the retirement of Mr. Bancroft from the office of Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Anderson was offered the appointment, but declined. He was twice Mayor of Portland, and was in- fluential in securing the construction of the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad. His char- acter and qualifications made him a leader among men, and his courtesy and manly bear- ing won him a host of friends. September 23, 1822, he married Ann Williams Jameson, daughter of Captain Samuel and Ann (Hitch- borne) Jameson, the former of Freeport, Me., the latter of Boston. Mrs. Anderson, it is said, "was a woman of rare beauty and intel- lect, whose brilliant social qualities and wide bencvolence added greatly to her husband's success in life and to the happiness of all who knew her." John Farwell was their eld- est son.
John Farwell Anderson first studied at the old Portland Academy under Principal Bezaleel Cushman, and, when about nine years of age, was sent with his brother, Samuel J. (after- ward General Anderson), to a private home school at Cape Elizabeth. Later he again at- tended school at Portland, and in 1838 and 1839 studied at Gorham Academy. In 1839 Mr. Anderson took up the study of civil en- gineering, completing his course at Tyngs- boro, Mass., under Captain Green of the regu- lar army, and in 1843 was appointed assistant engineer on the Commission of the North- castern Boundary Survey, established by the Webster and Ashburton Treaty to trace the boundary line between the American and British possessions. The scientific corps of the United States was in charge of Colonel James D. Graham.
Mr. Anderson was appointed first assistant to Mr. Folliot Thornton Lally, whose head- quarters were at Houlton, Me .; and the next year he was assigned to the party under Alex- ander W. Longfellow. Their section of the
line was to be laid along Hall's Stream through an unbroken wilderness, and marked with mile posts of cast iron; and a party of wood choppers had to go forward and cut a range way. All supplies for the engineering party were carried from Canaan, Vt., on the backs of men employed for the purpose, called "sackers." Each day the engineers moved the line along the river, and each night pitched their tent upon a new spot, sleeping upon beds of boughs. The wild freedom of the woods was in harmony with the broad free nature of the young man, and doubtless con- firmed him in the pursuit of his arduous call- ing.
In the year 1846 and in the winter of 1847 Mr. Anderson was employed in the Washing- ton office of the Commission, and while there he was introduced to the highest social circles, enjoying the personal friendship of President Polk, who had been a warm friend of his father while they were in Congress together, and was cordially received in the inner circle of the household of Mrs. Polk, who had been an intimate friend of his mother. In March, 1847, he left Washington to return to his native city, to which he was deeply attached. He was engaged as assistant civil engineer on the Androscoggin & Kennebec and the Portland & Kennebec Junction Railroads, in 1850 was appointed assistant engineer of the York & Cumberland Railroad; and from 1851 to 1853 he was chief engineer and acting superintend- ent of that road. In 1852 he was city engineer of Portland.
In August, 1853, his father died, leaving to him the old homestead, one of the best farms in Cumberland County. Mr. Anderson at once began to improve and enlarge the farm, of which he made a most beautiful estate; and his neighborly relations with the farmers of the vicinity, whom he was always ready to help and encourage, made him much beloved. The influence of his example was soon evident in the improvement of other farms, especially in the impulse given to stock breeding by his handsome herd of Devonshire cattle, the finest in New England. In 1858 he was chosen a member of the State Board of Agriculture for the County of Cumberland for three years, and the last year was made Vice-President of
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the Board; and he was its President in 1864, 1865, and 1866.
In 1867 he was persuaded to leave the farm to take the position of chief engineer of the Portland & Rochester Railroad; and in 1869 he was appointed chief engineer of the Port- land & Ogdensburg Railroad, the building of which gave for the first time full scope to his powers, his achievements on that line being the admiration of experts. The ability which he displayed in solving the difficult problem of the passage through the White Mountains is thus spoken of by Professor George L. Vose : "I doubt if even his fellow-townsmen fully appreciate the professional skill shown by Mr. Anderson in the location and construction of the Ogdensburg Railroad through the Crawford Notch. The work has marked him as one of the best railroad engineers, not only in this country, but in the world. The plans and re- ports of that work have become a regular part of the course of instruction in the best Euro- pean technical schools. . . . There are many places on the road . . . where an error of a dozen feet in the position of the line would easily have quadrupled the cost."
In 1873 Mr. Anderson was appointed by the Governor Railroad Commissioner of Maine, and that office he retained during life. In 1884 President Nickerson of the California Southern Railroad Company engaged Mr. Anderson as special engineer to examine the roads and estimate the damage caused by recent floods ; and he was absent on this duty one month, travelling night and day, doing his work thoroughly and efficiently, and making valuable suggestions for guarding against future floods. In 1886, as chief engineer, he directed the building of the Bangor & Piscata- quis Railroad to Moosehead Lake.
Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Marcia Bowman Winter, daughter of Captain Samuel Winter, of Portland, an adopted daughter of Dr. John Merrill, of this city, on March 30, 1847, and the following children were born of their union: Anne Hitchborn, who married Charles W. Lord; Marcia Winter, who was twice married, her first husband being F. J. Edmands, her second E. G. Spring; Isabel Merrill, who died in infancy; and Frances Perley, who married Charles Thornton Davis.
Mrs. Anderson is a lady of rare culture and amiable disposition.
Mr. Anderson was a strong and lifelong Democrat, but never entered active politics. He took great pleasure in antiquarian and his- torical studies, and was a diligent collector of genealogical data, especially of the old Wind- ham families, and records and relics of local history. He was a valued member of the Maine Historical Society, and also of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Of the former organization he was the first President, and he was active in its formation ; and with his friend, Mr. S. M. Watson, as edi- tor and publisher, he was instrumental in es- tablishing the Maine Genealogical Recorder, to which he contributed much valuable matter.
In closing this sketch, we quote again from Professor Vose: "Always devoted to his pro- fession, tireless in carrying out the details of his work, when the time came for rest he was the most genial of companions. Fond of a good story and eminently able to tell one, he has been the life of many an engineering party around the camp fire, and has beguiled many an hour on the stage top by his unbounded - cheerfulness. For myself, I feel that I have lost one whose opinion upon professional matters has never failed me, and one of my best and oldest friends." Mr. Anderson's mortal remains lie in the old Anderson Ceme- tery at Windham in the family tomb, where rests the dust of three generations of his an- cestors.
J OSEPH S. WEBSTER, an esteemed citizen and one of the leading business men of the town of Standish, was born February 5, 1835, in this town, being a son of Joseph and Mary (Smith) Webster. His grandfather, Thomas Webster, was at one time one of the wealthiest residents of Port- land, being the owner of a large number of vessels, many of which were captured by the French. He was three times married. He died in Portland at the age of seventy years. His son, Joseph Webster, was born in Port- land in 1799, and was there bred and edu- cated. In early life he removed to Standish, and engaged in mercantile business at Sebago
JACOB P. SHATTUCK.
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Lake, where he spent his remaining years, dying in 1869. His wife, Mary, daughter of Ephraim Smith, of Gorham, this county, bore him five children, of whom but two are now living - Richard Stone Webster and Joseph S. Webster, both unmarried.
Joseph S. Webster acquired a substantial education in the schools of Standish, going from this place to Portland, where he was em- ployed as a clerk for some time. In 1857 he went to Minneapolis, Minn., making that city his place of residence for six years. Return- ing then to the scenes of his early life, he settled in Standish, and has since resided here. In 1870 Mr. Webster established himself in business at Sebago Lake; and in the following year he built his present store, which he has conducted with great success, having an exten- sive and lucrative trade. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party. He is a regular attendant of the Congregational church, toward the support of which he con- tributes liberally. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Standish Lodge, No. 70.
ACOB PARKER SHATTUCK, a suc- cessful and extensive agriculturist and a respected citizen of East Deering, Cumberland County, Me., is a Massa- chusetts man by birth and breeding, having been born March 27, 1821, in the town of Groton, Middlesex County. He comes of ancient Colonial stock, whose emigrant pro- genitor settled in Watertown, Mass., as early as 1640. Mr. Shattuck's grandfather, Cap- tain Job Shattuck, of Groton, served his country valiantly in the Revolution, being energetic in raising recruits and taking an ac- tive part in several campaigns. A few years later he was a leader in Shays's Rebellion. (See "History of Groton, Mass.")
William Shattuck, father of Jacob, was born November 16, 1786, in Groton Centre, Mass., being the eldest of a family of seven children. He was educated in the district schools of his native town, and was trained to agricultural work on the parental farm. He was but a youth when his father died; and he was left with the care of the farm, and his
widowed mother and her young family to look after, the heavy duties thus devolving upon him being in practical matters faithfully per- formed. Possessing unusual capabilities, a dis- cerning mind, and a sound judgment, he became one of the most influential men in the town. An ardent Democrat, he took a very promi- nent part in local politics, for several years serving as Selectman and on the Town Com- mittee, besides which he was a Representative in the State legislature a number of terms. He was a very decided and outspoken oppo- nent of all secret societies, having an espe- cial antipathy for the Masonic Order, and, though a sincere Christian, refused to unite with the church, as members of secret or- ganizations were there admitted to member- ship. He married Sarah, daughter of Jacob Parker, of Groton, and to them nine children were born, namely: Frances, wife of George May, of Lancaster, Mass .; Jacob Parker; Antoinette, wife of Frank Nutting, of Otis- field, Me .; William; Mary Jane; Charles; Sarah, wife of Samuel Shattuck; Eugene; and Josephine, the wife of the Rev. Lucius Smith, D.D., for many years editor of the Watch- man. Mrs. Sarah P. Shattuck was a woman of cultivation and refinement, and, like her husband, was a devoted Christian.
Jacob P. Shattuck was educated in the com- mon schools and at the Lawrence Academy in Groton, and on his leaving school, at the age of eighteen years, his father gave him his time. The following year he worked for his father on the home farm, going then to Bos- ton, where he was employed for two years on a dredging machine. He walked from Boston to Groton to cast his first vote, the candidate for whom he voted being George S. Boutwell. In the fall of that year, with the money saved while working on the dredger, Mr. Shattuck bought a yoke of oxen and a horse; and with these he filled a contract of carting for James Farnsworth. The succeeding spring he sold his oxen and horse, and resumed his former occupation in Boston, remaining there another two ycars. Mr. Shattuck then followed the tide of emigration westward, going to Athens, Ohio, where he purchased a tract of unim- proved land, on which hc reared a log house, and then began the task of redeeming a farm
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from the primeval forest. In those days the pioneers used to smoke their bacon and hams by placing them in a barrel, which they sus- pended over a fire. One day, leaving his hams smoking, Mr. Shattuck started out with a yoke of oxen to build a road; and on his re- turn his log cabin and all that it had con- tained were in ashes. He subsequently rebuilt the cabin, and then purchased three hundred and sixty acres more of land; but the hardships of this life proved too much for his constitu- tion, and broken in health he returned East.
In 1849 Mr. Shattuck came to this State, securing work in Portland on a dredger run by five horses. Soon after, going to Boston, through the influence of John B. Brown, he bought a steam dredger, with which he re- turned to Portland, where he did a large amount of work for the Maine Central Railway Company. Mr. Shattuck also did between eighty and ninety thousand dollars' worth of dredging in Portland Harbor, in order that the "Great Eastern " might be brought into this port. He continued in this profitable business until 1864, when he returned to his property in Ohio. There he built a steam saw-mill, which cost him fourteen thousand five hun- dred dollars, and began sawing the timber on his land; but, before he had much headway, his mill was burned to the ground, the loss being total, as he had no insurance. He then sold the mill site, and gave the remainder of the property to his brother Eugene, returning with his wife and son in 1868 to Portland, subsequently settling in Deering, on the farm which he had purchased in 1858, and where he has since resided. This farm contains two hundred and fifty acres of land, the most of which is under cultivation. He annually raises large crops of hay, the yield usually exceeding a hundred tons. Mr. Shattuck dis- posed of his steam dredger to Captain William Willard for ten thousand dollars. Although past seventy-five years of age, Mr. Shattuck is hale and hearty, with the physical and mental vigor of a man a score of years younger. A keen-sighted, clear-headed man of business, he has been unusually successful in worldly matters, notwithstanding his various losses, being now in affluent circumstances. Mr. Shattuck was united in marriage March
27, 1863, with Martha Lord, daughter of Stephen Lord, of Windham. The only child of this union is a son, William P. Shattuck, of Mobile, Ala.
EORGE W. CASH has been engaged in mercantile business at Cash's Corner, South Portland, Me., for more than a quarter of a century. He was born in the town of Cape Elizabeth, of which . South Portland was formerly a part, on March 31, 1841. His father, Stephen Cash, was a grandson of Nathaniel Cash, who was a life- long resident of Cape Elizabeth. Nathaniel Cash was a large landholder, and engaged in tilling the soil during his working years, liv- ing to the ripe old age of fourscore. His wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Strout, bore him six children, all being reared in this locality.
Stephen Cash grew to manhood in the place of his nativity, and was early engaged in agri- cultural labors. Enlisting in the army, he served through the Mexican War, and on his return home settled on a farm in this town; which was afterward his permanent abiding- place. Of the children born to him and his wife, Elizabeth Palmer, who was a daughter of John Palmer, of Cape Elizabeth, the following are now living: William Cash, Mrs. Elizabeth Styles, George W., and Mrs. Lucy Pike.
George W. Cash acquired his education in his native town, and on leaving school learned the cooper's trade of N. Hasty in Portland, continuing in that occupation for three years. The succeeding seven years Mr. Cash was em- ployed in the Portland glass factory, which he then left, in order that he might establish him- self in business. Coming to Cash's Corner in 1869, he opened a grocery store on his present location, and since that time has been actively identified with the welfare of the place. It is largely owing to the energetic enterprise and practical sagacity of Mr. Cash that this thriving village has attained its pres- ent prosperous condition, he having erected many of the buildings and in every way as- sisted in the growth and advancement of the place.
Mr. Cash was united in marriage November
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6, 1864, with Miss Olive A., daughter of Aniee Littlefield, of Kennebunk, this State. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cash, and the seven here nanied are now living: Alice W., born June 1, 1866, is the wife of Charles Hayden, of Massachusetts, and has three children - Orville, Sadie, and Tena Belle; Henry E., now in business with his father, was the first Postmaster of the office at Cash's Corner, having served from 1891 until the present year, and he was born August 24, 1867, and was married February 7, 1893, to Rosamond Rogers, of Knights- ville; Herbert E. was born January 28, 1869; Nellie M., born February 22, 1873, married Clarence Newland; Georgie B. was born July 11, 1882; Carrie May was born Novem- ber 6, 1885; and Harold E. was born January 8, 1888. All are at home with their parents. Mr. Cash is a vigorous supporter of the prin- eiples of the Republican party. Soeially, he is prominent in the Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Lagonia Lodge, No. 5, and of the Eastern Star Encampment, No. 2. Re- ligiously, he is a consistent member of the Methodist church, while his wife, who holds liberal views on the subject of Christianity, is a regular attendant of the Unitarian ehureh.
OLONEL GEORGE F. McQUILLAN, attorney and counsellor-at-law, 98 Ex- ehange Street, Portland, Me., was born in Naples, Me., April 18, 1849, son of the Rev. Hugh and Elvira (Wight) MeQuillan, both natives of Maine. He is a descendant of the MeQuillans who en- tered Ireland with the earliest English adven- turers, and were the ancient lords of the northern coast and the surrounding district, from Dunseveriek Castle, in County Antrim, near the Giant's Causeway, to Dunluce Castle. Dunseverick, which tradition says was built by the MeQuillans, is now a hcap of ruins; and Dunluee, though dismantled and crumbling with age, is still recognizable as a once strong and beautiful fortress. The MeQuillans were lords of this part of Ireland as late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Their downfall dates from the marriage of the daughter of McQuillan, Lord of Dunluee, with MacDonnell, a chief-
tain from the opposite Seottish Highlands. MaeDonnell subsequently took possession of the Antrim territory, and got King James I. to confirm him as the owner, since which the MacDonnells have been Earls of Antrim. The MeQuillans, deprived of their possessions, became seattercd through the northern part of the country, and thenee to other parts of the world. John MeQuillan, grandfather of Colonel McQuillan, was born in the north of Ireland. A man of fine form and good phy- sique, he entered the English navy, and in time beeame a subordinate officer. He left the service of the English government at Portland, Me., and afterward settled in Gor- ham, marrying Olive Edwards, a native of that town, who was his second wife. John Me- Quillan died in Gorham in 1807, and his wife died there in 1820.
The Rev. Hugh MeQuillan, the second son of John and Olive (Edwards) MeQuillan, was born in Gorham, Me., July 18, 1803. After the death of his father he lived with and was educated by a gentleman in Windham, Me., until he was twenty-one years of age. He was ordained a minister in the denomination of Christian Baptists, and was engaged in evan- gelieal work up to the time of his death, which occurred in Casco, Me., April 14, 1861. He was married in Naples, Me., in 1842 to Elvira Wight, who was born, in Otis- field, Me., April 16, 1807, and was a member of an old family who settled in Dedham, Nor- folk County, Mass., as early as 1636. Mrs. McQuillan was a noble woman, and after her husband's death kept her little family to- gether, and gave them the best educational ad- vantages within her means. She died in Yar- mouth, Me., November 27, 1881. Hugh and Elvira (Wight) McQuillan had three children - Rufus H., Liza A., and George F. Rufus H. was born in Naples Me., November 18, 1844. When a youth of seventeen he enlisted as a private, joining Company G, First Regi- ment, United States Infantry, May 24, 1862, and shared in the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, South Mountain, the first battle of Fredericksburg, and the siege of Vicksburg, from May 19 to July 4, 1863. During the last ycar he served as Orderly to the general commanding at New Orleans. He was dis-
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charged at New Orleans, May 24, 1865. On leaving the army he engaged in the lumber business, having charge at different times of various lumber-mills in the West. He went to Yarmouth, Me., to reside in 1880, where he engaged in the lumber business and opened up a large hardware store. In politics he was a Republican, and was Deputy Sheriff at Yar- mouth under Sheriff Benjamin True for two years. He always took great interest in Grand Army affairs, and was the first Com- mander of the Post at Yarmouth. He was a business man of the strictest integrity, and was one of the best-known and most highly respected citizens of Yarmouth. March 17, 1874, he married Alma B. Sawyer in Ray- mond, Me. He died April 23, 1896, at Yar- mouth, after a ten days' illness of pneumonia, leaving her and three children - Hugh D., George H., and Rufus Leroy. Liza A. McQuillan was born in Naples, Me. She resides in Portland, and is unmarried.
Colonel George F. McQuillan passed his boyhood days in the town of Raymond. He attended the common schools, and fitted for college at North Bridgton Academy. He graduated from Bowdoin in the class of 1875, his expenses having been partly paid by his mother and partly covered by what he earned by teaching school. His college course was marked by good fellowship. Everybody liked " Mac," as he was familiarly called. He took quite an interest in boating, being one year a member of the University crew. After grad- uating from college he taught in high schools in the northern part of Cumberland County for two years. He then took up the study of law with the Hon. Bion Bradbury, of Portland. Hle was admitted to the bar October 14, 1879, and practised one year at Casco. He moved to Portland in October, 1880, where he has since been in active practice. Besides being a member of the bar of the State court and the United States Circuit Court, Colonel Mc- Quillan was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1892 at Washington, D.C. He has been for a number of years at- torney for several towns in Cumberland County, and is well known as an able, con- scientious, and reliable lawyer. In politics a Democrat, he was appointed June 6, 1881,
Judge Advocate-general on the staff of Gov- ernor Plaisted, with the rank of Colonel, and served in that capacity till January 3, 1883. He has been the Democratic candidate for Clerk of Courts of Cumberland County, and ran well on the ticket, getting his party's full support. In 1892 he was the Democratic can- didate for Judge of the Probate Court for Cum- berland County. On December 1, 1892, the law firm of Bradbury & McQuillan was formed, consisting of Colonel Albert W. Bradbury and the subject of this sketch, and was contin- ued till May 28, 1894, when Colonel Bradbury was appointed United States District At- torney. Since that time Colonel McQuillan has been without an associate in his legal work.
In 1891 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary F. Robie, daughter of ex-Governor Frederick Robie and his wife, Mary Olivia (Priest) Robie. Colonel and Mrs. McQuillan - have one child, Harriet R., who was born March 14, 1894. Colonel McQuillan is a man of scholarly attainments, whose judgment in educational matters was recognized even be- fore he entered on his legal career. While-at college he was appointed Supervisor of Schools at Raymond. He also served as Supervisor of Schools at Casco, and as Town Clerk in 1879- 80. He has a substantial residence on Carle- ton Street, Portland.
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