Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 62

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

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HARLES B. WOODMAN, of West- brook, Alderman for Ward 3 and the leading druggist of the city, was born in Westbrook, July 6, 1841. He is the eldest son of Benjamin J. and Charlotte F.

(Babb) Woodman. His first ancestor in this country came from England in the latter part of the seventeenth century and settled in Massachusetts; and there the family was well and favorably known for generations, produc- ing active and hardy citizens. Samuel Wood- man, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Buxton, Me. He was a cooper and worked at his trade for many years.

His son, Benjamin J. Woodman, was born in Portland, Me. He learned the shoemaker's trade and worked at it in early manhood, and eventually settled on a farm in Westbrook, where he is now living, a hale and active man of seventy-six years. His wife, who is a native of Westbrook, celebrated her seventy- third birthday on June 29, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin J. Woodman are among the oldest living members of the Methodist Epis- copal church in Westbrook, their names having been entered on its rolls over fifty years ago. Six children have brightened the years of their wedded life, namely: Charles B., the subject of this sketch; Paulina E. ; Benjamin F. ; Clara F. ; Mary (deceased) ; and Lottie M.

Charles B. Woodman received his education in the common schools of his native town and Gorham Academy. He was for ten years em- ployed in the steward's department of different steamboats, three years of that time being spent on government transports during the war. April 16, 1869, he purchased an interest in a grocery business, in company with E. H.

Sturgis; and the firm of Sturgis & Woodman conducted a thriving trade until May, 1872. Mr. Woodman then bought his partner's share in the business, and gradually sold out his stock of groceries, at the same time investing largely in drugs. In 1882 he located at his present place of business, improving and em- bellishing an old building until it looked like new. He now has one of the handsomest and most reliable drug stores in the city. In busi- ness in Westbrook nearly twenty-seven years, Mr. Woodman holds the respect of all who know him. There are but three men in the city whose business record antedates his, and there is none who bears a higher reputation.

Mr. Woodman was married in 1863 in Waterville, Me., to Miss Clyde Spear, a · native of Waterville, daughter of Zaccheus and Rebecca (Parker) Spear. Six children have blessed their union, two of whom -Philip. Everett and Alice Louise - have passed away. The others are located as follows: Charles Harold, a registered pharmacist, is clerk in a drug store in Boston; Guy Perley is in his father's store in Westbrook; George M. is a student in the Maine Medical School, Bruns- wick, Me .; and Benjamin J., a Westbrook High School boy, is with his parents.

Mr. Woodman has taken an active part in public affairs as a member of the Republican party. Before Westbrook became a city, he was for years a member of the town Republi- can Committee, of which he was Chairman thirteen years. He was Postmaster four years, during Harrison's administration, and was five years consecutively Town Clerk and Treasurer. In 1885 and 1887 he represented Westbrook in the State legislature, serving on the Insane Hospital Committee and the Committee on Banks and Banking, and is a member of the Board of Aldermen of Westbrook at the present time. In political circles he is very popular, and has the confidence of all his constituents. Mr. Woodman is a member of Temple Lodge, No. 86, A. F. & A. M., of Westbrook; a member of Cummings Encampment, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, having filled all the chairs in the Order; Westbrook Lodge, Knights of Pythias, in which Order also he has passed all the chairs. Mr. and Mrs. Woodman attend the Methodist church.

JOHN JORDAN GERRISH.

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OHN JORDAN GERRISH, of Port- land, Me., founder of the well-known mercantile firm of J. J. Gerrish & Co., dealers in railroad supplies, was born in Durham, Androscoggin County, December 21, 1821. His parents were James and Mary (Sylvester) Gerrish, both being of old Colo- nial families. Captain William Gerrish, the earliest known progenitor of the Gerrish fam- ily in the United States, born in Bristol, Somersetshire, England, in 1617, came to New England in 1639, and settled at New- bury, Mass. He removed to Boston in 1678, and died in Salem, at the home of his son Benjamin, August 9, 1687. His son, John Gerrish, was born May 15, 1646, and died in 1714. He settled at Dover, N. H., was a Judge of the Supreme Court of New Hamp- shire. Nathaniel, born 1672, settled first at Berwick, Me., and afterward at Dover, N. H., died in Berwick in 1752. Major Charles Gerrish was born in Berwick, Me., in 1718. He and several of his sons served their coun- try in the Revolutionary War. In 1748 he came to Portland, then Falmouth, and lived in what is now known as the old Admiral Tate house, which he sold in 1753, when he moved to Saccarappa. In 1762 he moved again, prob- ably to Royalsboro.

He had four sons, who married and settlcd around him - William had nine children ; Charles had eight children; Nathaniel also had eight; and George, who settled upon the farm, had five to bcar the family name. Strange as it may seem, there is not a single representative of the Gerrish family now in town. George, the grandfather of the subject of this biography, was born in Saccarappa, Me., in 1753. He also lived on the old home- stead, and was a soldier of the Revolution. On December 20, 1781, he married Mary Mitchell, of Freeport, by whom he had five children. Mr. George Gerrish died May 23, 1814; and his wife, who was born June 21, 1758, died December 7, 1816.

Their son, James Gerrish, was born on the old Gerrish homestead in Durham, then Royalsboro, where he pursued farming and shoemaking. On October 8, 1808, he mar- ried Mary, a daughter of Barstow Sylvester, of Freeport. She was born April 22, 1787.

They had five children, namely: Harrison S., who died in 1849; George B., born July 3, 1811, and died in Freeport; Emeline, Mrs. Amos Field, who lives in Gorham, N. H. ; Stephen S., born March 25, 1820, died May 6, 1864; and John J., the subject of this sketch. The father died June 8, 1824. The mother lived until August 20, 1859. She was of French ancestry, the Sylvester family dating back to 1062. Richard Sylvester, the first one of the name who came to America, scttled in Massachusetts in 1633.

John J. Gerrish, after completing his school education at the Bath High School, went to help construct the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad. A month prior to this the ground had been broken near his present home. After the road was completed he took charge of a section for a few years; and later he be- came conductor, running on what is now the Grand Trunk Railroad, from Portland to Island Pond, Vt., for a period of ten years. During the construction of the Portland Street Railway he served that company, and he subsequently became its superintendent for five ycars. Mr. Gerrish then engaged in the mercantile busi- ness, handling railroad supplies, which he followed for twenty years; and the firm still continues under the old name.

In politics Mr. Gerrish affiliates with the Republican party. He was elected a member of the Common Council in 1866, which posi- tion he retained several years; and in 1875 he became an Alderman, remaining on that Board several years. For eleven years he has been one of the Board of Trustees of Evergreen Cemetery. Since 1862 he has been a member of Portland Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and Greenleaf Chapter. The Widows' Wood So- ciety, the Provident Society, and the Asso- ciated Charities all claim the attention of Mr. Gerrish. At one time he served the town as Overseer of the Poor for three years.

His wife, Susan R. Small, was a daughter of Thomas Small, of Lisbon. She was born in Lisbon, May 1, 1822 ; and they were mar- ried on December 21, 1848. They reared six children, as follows: Ella Susan, wife of S. A. Haynes, of Westboro, Mass. ; Mary Ida, wife of Harvey W. Merrill, of West Medford, Mass., formerly residing in Auburn, Me. ;

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John Herbert, who also lives at West Med- ford; George Lester, of this city; Hattic Small Gerrish, who lives at home; and Elmer Grenville, who carries on the business. Mrs. Susan R. Gerrish died March 13, 1896. The family attend the St. Lawrence Street Con- gregational Church, of which they are mem- bers. Mr. Gerrish's fine house, at 47 Eastern Promenade, overlooks the entrance of the bay and the islands, commanding a beautiful and extensive view. While sitting at his dining- table he can see ocean steamships passing, probably not more than a thousand fect away.

HARLES S. WHITNEY, of Harri- son, Mc., furniture manufacturer and exporter, was born in Harrison, May 6, 1853, son of Stephen and Cath- erine (Brown) Whitney. Stephen Whitney was a mason by trade, and devoted many years to the pursuit of his calling. He was also an able and successful farmer. He is now liv- ing near Harrison Village, retired from active work. His wife, who is a native of Water- ford, Me., is also living. They are the par- ents of nine children - Irene, deceased; Ann Eliza, the wife of George Tarbox, a travelling man, whose home is in Harrison; Frances B., the wife of Daniel Woodsum, now residing in New Hampshire; Charles S., the subject of this sketch; William H., a farmer of Harri- son, who married a Miss Whitney of that town; Ilorace, a resident of Harrison Village, who married Miss Hattie Rodic, and is now a widower; Fred, a farmer living with his father, who married Miss Mabel Wheeler; Lizzie, the wife of Andrew Ricker, a hair- dresser of Portland, Me. ; and Mary, the first- born, who died in infancy.

Charles S. Whitney received a common- school education, remaining with his parents until he was twenty-one years of age. He then obtained work as a coat presser in Harrison Village, and remained three years. He then took up the lumber business, in which he is still extensively engaged. In the prosecution of this industry he has been obliged to purchase a good deal of timber land ; and he now owns large tracts in the townships of Paris and Nor- way, Me. In 1888 he took under a lease for

three years the property known as the Eastern Wire Works. He purchased it outright in the spring of 1891, and shortly after organized a stock company for the manufacture of furni- ture. This is the Ellingwood Manufacturing Company of Harrison, Me., a name familiar to furniture dealers all over the world. Their chairs, lounges, couches, etc., are sold to dealers in Portland, and shipped thence to different parts of the globe. Starting in life with no resources but a strong will and a good practical judgment, Mr. Whitney has carved his own fortune, such as it is.

He was married August 28, 1877, to Annie D., daughter of Gideon and Lydia Ellen (Sawyer) Ridlon, of Hollis, Me. Mrs. Whitney was born in Buxton, Me., April 28, 1851. Her parents are yet living in Hollis, her father working at his trade, that of a ma- chinist. Mr. and Mrs. Whitney have two children - Harvey S., born April 17, 1878; and Flora Ethel, born September 27, 1883. Mr. Whitney has been a stanch Republican since he was first qualified to vote. He is a member of Harrison Lodge, No. 41, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows, of Harrison. Mrs. Whitney is a member of the Baptist church. A lifelong resident of Harrison, which is also the birthplace and permanent home of his father, Mr. Whitney is well known and highly esteemed in the town and vicinity.

ILLIAM F. HOLT, a well-known farmer residing in the town of Bridg- ton, is also a worthy representative of the veterans of the Civil War, from which he brought a record that he and his descend- ants can well be proud of. A native of Maine, he was born September 28, 1841, in the town of Fryeburg, one of the eight chil- dren, four sons and four daughters, reared by his parents, Thomas K. and Eliza (Brackett) Holt. He was brought up to farming, and was engaged in that peaceful occupation when President Lincoln called for men to defend the Union. Among the first to respond was Mr. Holt, who enlisted June 22, 1861, in Company A, Seventieth New York Volunteer Infantry.

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Serving with his regiment in the Army of the Potomac, he participated in many of the more important engagements of the war. He fought in the battle of Stafford Court-house, at the siege of Yorktown, in the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Gaines's Mills, Frazier's Farm, in the seven days' retreat to Malvern Hill, in the battles of Malvern Hill and Bristow Station, and in the sccond battle of Bull Run. In this last engagement he re- ceived a ball through the left shoulder and a wound in the left side of his breast. .A com- rade bore him, as he supposed, to a place of safety, laying him behind a fence, where, a half-hour later, four of his ribs were fractured by a bursting shell. The following two weeks he spent in a Washington hospital, whence he was transferred to Philadelphia, where he remained in the hospital for three months. On rejoining the regiment he was made Third Sergeant of his company, after which he shared in the battles of Chantilly, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. At Gettys- burg he was again wounded, a piece of a shell striking him in the left foot, and necessitat- ing his removal to the hospital at Newark, N. J., where he was under the doctor's care for three months. Going back to the seat of war, he subsequently was in the battles of Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court-house, in the celebrated charge by which General Johnson and three thousand rebels were captured, in the battle of Cold Harbor, and in those before Petersburg. The three years for which he enlisted having ex- pired, he was honorably discharged June 22, 1864. He now receives a pension of seventeen dollars per month. Returning to the place of his nativity, Mr. Holt lived there until 1881, when he removed to Massachusetts, which was his home for two years. In 1883 he bought thirty-five acres of his present farm property, and has since been engaged in agriculture. He has bought other land since that time, his farm now containing one hundred and ten , acres, a goodly portion of which is under cul- tivation.

On November 24, 1864, Mr. Holt was united in wedlock with Miss Elmira W. Lewis, daughter of Iver and Olive P. (Cole) Lewis, who had six sons and four daughters.

Of the union three children have been born, namely : Cora, the wife of M. M. Rupert ; Alice S., wife of J. C. Buzzell; and William L., who remains on the home farmn. In poli- tics Mr. Holt is a steadfast Republican, and! for seven years has served as Postmaster of Bridgton. He is an esteemed comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, and also has affiliations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

EV. BENJAMIN P. SNOW, A.M., Principal of the North Yarmouth Academy at Yarmouth, Me., was born February 14, 1831, in the town of Rumford, Oxford County, son of Sam- uel Stillman Snow. His paternal grand- father, Ono Snow, going from East Douglass, Mass., settled in Bethlehem, N.H., in 1798, and with a brother was joint surveyor of a large part of the land in that town, which was then in its pristine wildness and grandeur. Grandfather Snow was a farmer by occupation, well educated for a man of his generation, and took a prominent part in advancing the inter- ests of the little settlement in the mountains, being one of the leading members of the Con- gregational church and one of the committee that hired its first pastor. He was twice mar- ried, rearing a family of seven children, of whom Samuel S. was the youngest.

Samuel S. Snow, whose birth occurred in Bethlehem, September 20, 1802, was in his early manhood a hotel manager in Andover, Mass., but afterward engaged in farming and paper manufacturing in Maine, spending many years of his life in this State. His last days were passed with his children in Worcester, Mass., where his death occurred October I, 1877. He married Mary S. Hoit, who was born April 26, 1805, in Concord, N.H., and died April 8, 1878, in Worcester, Mass. Both parents were earnest Christians, being connected by membership with the Congrega- tional church. Their household circle in- cluded nine children, four of whom - Harrict N., Caroline E., Edward P., and Samucl N. W .-- have passed to the life immortal, the other five being: Benjamin P., of Yarmouth, who is the eldest child; Mary A., widow of

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Captain L. H. Drinkwater, living in Oakland, Cal .; Temple H., in business in Westbrook, Me., a dealer in stoves and tinware; Clarissa E., wife of H. E. Stratton, residing in Worcester, Mass .; and Ezra H., a printer in Orange, N.J.

Benjamin P. Snow acquired the rudiments of his liberal education in the place of his na- tivity, which he left at the age of fourteen years to obtain a situation in the paper-mill at Westbrook, where he worked for six years. Spending his leisure hours in study, he fitted himself for college, in 1851 began his collegi- ate course at Waterville, and the next year entered Bowdoin College, from which he was graduated with high honors in 1855. The fol- lowing two years he was engaged in teaching in high schools in the West, being rccalled to his Alma Mater in 1857 as a tutor of Latin, a position which he held three years. Always eager for learning, in order to make further advancement in scholarship Mr. Snow subse- quently took a course of study at the Bangor Theological Seminary, and was there gradu- ated. . He then resumed his pedagogical labors, first as Principal of Fryeburg Acad- emy, Maine, and, for some five years from the close of the Civil War, as an instructor in high schools in Massachusetts. With the ex- ception of the time in which he held pastorates in North Yarmouth, Alfred, and Cape Eliza- beth, the Rev. Benjamin P. Snow has since devoted his attention to educational work in his native State. For three years he was su- perintendent of the Biddeford High Schools. In the autumn of 1890 he came to Yarmouth to accept his present position at the head of the North Yarmouth Academy.

This institution of learning is among the oldest and most famous in the State. In June, 1894, was celebrated its eightieth an- niversary, many of its aged and prominent alumni assisting, perhaps the oldest present being the venerable Dr. John C. Stockbridge, of Providence, R.I., a graduate of the class of 1833, who opened the exercises with prayer.

The oration upon this occasion was given by Major-general O. O. Howard, class of 1847, and the poem by Fabius Maximus Ray, England, class of 1857 and a member of the

Cumberland bar. Many others eminent in literary, educational, legal, political, and financial circles were there to pay tribute to their beloved Alma Mater. Among its officers and instructors have been several men of prominence- as in 1836 Cyrus Hamlin, later President of Robert College, Constanti- nople, and Prentiss Mellen, First Chief Jus- tice of Maine-the names of these with its alumni, among them the "War Governor" Andrew, of Massachusetts, forming a note- worthy list, too long to be enumerated. Suf- fice it to say that graduates of this academy have held an honored place in the records of Bowdoin, Colby, Dartmouth, Yale, and Har- vard Colleges, and have attained high posi- tions in the various States of the Union. Under the efficient management of Professor Snow this school has kept pace with the pro- gressive educational methods of the day, the courses being so arranged as to give to each stu- dent a thorough training in English, classical, or scientific instruction, fitting for admission to any college of the land, whatever its stand- ard of scholarship.

The Rev. Benjamin P. Snow was united in marriage August 26, 1862, with Miss Anna Louise Chandler, who was born March 13, 1835, in New Sharon, this State, daughter of Jason S. and Catherine B. Chandler. Of the two children of Professor and Mrs. Snow, Mary Catharine, the first-born, died in childhood. The second, Miss Ellen F. Snow, was gradu- ated from Bates College, where she took a full course, including Greek and mathematics, in 1890, and is now preceptress in the acad- emy. Professor Snow is a Republican in poli- tics and, with his family, a Congregationalist in religion. Socially, he is a Chapter Mason and a member of the State Pedagogical So- ciety, in which he is Chairman of the Section of Geography and History, and is a member of the Standing Committee on Professional Reading. He is likewise a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Bowdoin College.

A. PLUMMER is one of the oldest merchants of Raymond Village, where he has held the office of Postmaster ever since his first appointment in 1864. He

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was born in Raymond on May 3, 1835, son of Dr. William and Hannah (Files) Plummer; and he is a grandson of Moses B. and Margaret (Simonton) Plummer.

Moses B. Plummer was a native of Scar- boro, Me., where his birth occurred on May IO, 1780. He learned the trade of a black- smith, and followed that vocation with success during his early years; but in his later life he turned his attention to agriculture, purchas- ing a farm, on which he devoted his last years to this less arduous occupation. He dicd in August, 1855. His wife, Margaret Simonton, was born in Scarboro on June 30, 1782, and died on March 6, 1829. They were the par- ents of twelve children, a brief record of whom is here given - William, the eldest, was born June 19, 1805; Jessic, born March 20, 1807, died May 6, 1827; Lydia, born March 4, 1809, died June 3, 1832; Moses, Jr., born May 5, 1811, died April 21, 1837; Eliza, the fifth, who was born August 1, 1813, and died June 29, 1838, married Osgood Libby, who is also dead; Rebecca, born June 15, 1815, died May 29, 1838; Gibeon, born No- vember 12, 1817, married Miss Maria Cloud- man, and died in February, 1880; Jordan, born October 27, 1819, married Miss Margaret Brown (both deceased); David was born June 1, 1822, married Miss Sarah Tukey (de- ceased), and died in December, 1882; Eben- ezer, born September 3, 1824, married Miss Eliza Welch (dcceased), and resides in Ray- mond; Mark Leach, born October 7, 1826, went to California at the time of the gold ex- citement in 1849, and has not been heard from since 1853; Margaret Ann, the youngest, born February 20, 1829, married Stillman A. Dan- forth, and both died at their home in Chicago, Ill. Between three and four years after their mother's death, their father, on December 9, 1832, married Mrs. Mary Barter, a widow, who was born on October 2, 1789.

William Plummer grew to manhood in Ray- mond, acquiring the rudiments of his educa- tion in the common schools. He afterward pursued more advanced studies in Brunswick, and then entered Bowdoin College, from which he was graduated with honor. He made a special study of medicine, and, on completing his course, opened an office in

Raymond, his field of practice being this and the adjoining town of Casco. He was quite successful, and was well known and generally esteemed and respected. His wife, Hannah Files, bore him one son, E. A. Plummer, with whom she made her home after her husband's death. She died in October, 1880. Dr. Plummer was a Democrat in political views and an active worker for the interests of his party. About 1850 he was sent as a Repre- sentative to the State legislature, and he also served as Selectman in the town of Raymond during several terms.

E. A. Plummer grew to manhood in the pa- rental home, and received a good, practical education in the schools of Raymond. In 1861 he opened a general merchandise store in this place in partnership with D. Plummer, the firm namc being D. & E. A. Plummer. Since 1883 his son Fred has been in company with him. They carry a large assortment of such goods as arc usually kept in a general store, and have an excellent trade. Besides their mercantile interests they are engaged to a modcrate extent in farming.

On December 31, 1857, Mr. Plummer was united in marriage with Miss Rebecca Tokay, who was born in Raymond, March 18, 1838, and was a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Plummer) Tokay. Her father was a mason by trade, and was also successfully engaged in farming. Mrs. Rebecca T. Plummer died on July 3, 1884, leaving a son and daughter - Fred W. and Louisa H. Fred W. Plummer, born April 7, 1860, is in partnership with his father in the store. He marricd Miss Alice Morton, of Raymond, and has two children -- Angeline N. and Clifford I. Louisa HI. Plummer, born October 27, 1868, is the wife of Irving Morton, a prosperous farmer and blacksmith of Raymond. Mr. Plummer was again married June 17, 1885, to Miss Abbie J. Brown, of this town, a daughter of the late Sewell and Charlotte (Plummer) Brown.

Mr. Plummer is a loyal Republican, and takcs a deep interest in the movements of his party. In 1864 he received the appointment of Postmaster at Raymond Village, and since that time he has continucd to fulfil the duties of the office with satisfaction to its patrons. Among the other positions of responsibility

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 62

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