Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 65

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

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degree of the Order. He is a member of Temple Lodge, No. 86, A. F. & A. M., of Westbrook ; of Eagle Chapter, No. 1I, Royal Arch Masons, in which he served as High Priest for four years ; and for twenty-five years of St. Albans Commandery, Knights Templars. He has also affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic, being a comrade of Cloudman Post, No. 100, Westbrook, of which he was the first Commander.

OSCOE G. HARDING, who has been for forty-two years a merchant of Gor- ham, Cumberland County, Me., was born in this town, July 10, 1834, son of Colonel William B. and Mary A. (Ed- wards) Harding.

Colonel William B. Harding, who was also born in Gorham, was a man of versatile busi- ness talent, and was engaged at different times as a trader, a contractor, and builder. His strict integrity made him a general favorite in business circles. He was a Democrat in poli- tics ; and, although his party was in a minority in his district, he held several offices of trust. In military matters he was also prominent, and was Colonel of the home militia; and in the work of the Methodist church he was an active participant, holding many offices. He died September 23, 1859. His wife, who was a daughter of James Edwards, of Gorham, a representative of one of the oldest and most respected families, was called to rest Decem- ber 1, 1881. They reared, besides the subject of this sketch, two daughters, the wives of William W. Lowe, of Boston, namely : Mary C., who died in 1858; and Martha E., now living. Mr. Lowe was formerly a leather mer- chant, but has been for the last twenty years a prominent broker and real estate dealer. He was a member of the Massachusetts legislature during the years 1892 and 1893.

Roscoe G. Harding received his early edu- cation in the common schools of Gorham and Gorham Academy. He was in 1853 appointed station agent of Gorham on the York & Cum- berland Railroad, now the Portland & Roches- ter; but railroading had no charms for him, and in 1854 he resigned his position and opened a general store, which he has con-

tinued up to the present time. Mr. Harding has been a Trustee of Gorham Savings Bank twenty-two years - that is, since its incorpo- ration ; and he has been for upward of thirty years Trustee of Gorham Seminary and Acad- emy, which was for many years the leading Congregational institution of learning in the State.

On March 24, 1857, Mr. Harding was united in marriage with Mary E., daughter of William F. Higgins, then a farmer of Thorn- dike, Waldo County, Me., now a resident of Malden, Mass. Mr. Higgins was for twenty- one years a teacher in Thorndike, and was a prominent member of the community. He was active in military matters, and held the rank of General of the militia. He comes of a long- lived family, and is now in his ninetieth year. His uncle, Saul C. Higgins, died in 1894, in his one hundred and first year, being the oldest resident of Gorham. Mr. and Mrs. Harding have three children : Fred William, who is in the dry-goods business in Gorham; Mary Col- man, who has been a stenographer in Portland for several years; and Harry Leon, book- keeper for his father and American Express Company agent.

Politically, Mr. Harding is a Democrat. In 1870 he was nominated for the legislature ; and, though his opponent represented the popular political party, Mr. Harding was elected, his record during the war having won for him the support of many Republicans. When he was offered the nomination a second time, he de- clined, his business requiring his whole atten- tion. He was twice elected Treasurer of Cum- berland County, in 1879 and 1880, and was a third time offered the nomination, but declined on account of ill health, publishing an open letter of refusal. In 1878 he was elected Se- lectman of Gorham, and in 1888 was appointed by Governor Plaisted County Commissioner.

Mr. Harding has been a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 38, A. F. & A. M., of Gorham, forty-one years, and a member of the Meth- odist church for thirty-seven years. He has been Trustee and official member for thirty- three years, and has acted as superintendent or assistant superintendent of the Sabbath-school fourteen years.

He has been prominent in all publie enter-

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prises of his town, and has made many friends in social, business, and political circles.

YER P. AYER, a member of the firm known as the Portland Paper Box Company, with headquarters at 31 Pearl Street, Portland, was born in Cornish, Oxford County, Me., August 1, 1843, son of Jacob and Abigail (Sargeant) Ayer. His father, who was born in 1802, was a carpenter and builder, fairly successful in his line of business. He died in 1864. His wife, who was born in 1803, died in 1884. They were the parents of eight children; namely, Albion P., Jacob, Wyer P., Edwin, Abigail, Sarah, Patience, and one who died in childhood.

Wyer P. Ayer received a good education, attending the common schools and the high school of Westbrook. He worked first as a clerk for A. B. Stevens & Co., grocers, in Westbrook, remaining with them three years. This apprenticeship familiarized him with the ins and outs of mercantile life, and the knowl- edge gained was of use to him in his after career. On leaving the grocery business, he took up the manufacture of paper boxes, at first in Westbrook and subsequently in Portland, associating himself with J. P. Libby, under the firm name of Libby & Ayer. In 1873 Mr. T. M. Dodge, in company with Mr. Ayer, pur- chased Mr. Libby's interest; and the business was thereafter conducted under the name of Ayer & Dodge. About twenty years ago the Portland Paper Box Company was formed, the members of the firm being Wyer P'. Ayer, T. M. Dodge, and J. A. Pratt; and since then they have answered the demands of an ex- tensive trade, their business yearly increasing.

In politics Mr. Ayer is a Republican. In 1872 he was elected to the Board of Aldermen from Ward 4, Deering ; and in 1873 he was the Republican candidate for Mayor of that city, but was defeated by thirty-four votes. He was again elected Alderman in 1896. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Deering Lodge, No. 183, A. F. & A. M., and also has social interests in Portland, being a member of the Lincoln Club of that city. Mr. Ayer married Sarah E. Colby, of Gorham, Me., daughter of the Rev. Joseph and Eliza-

beth (Blanchard) Colby. He and his wife attend the Congregational Church of Deering, and reside on Pleasant Street in that suburb. Mr. Ayer is a man of sound judgment and good business tact, who has climbed unaided the hill of prosperity, and is a typical repre- sentative of Portland's solid business interests.

EWIS P. WARREN, who was born in Westbrook, Me., on August 11, 1817, is now living retired from active work at his pleasant homestead not far from the scene of his birth. This town was also the native place of his parents, John and Eleanor (Lamb) Warren.

His paternal grandfather, John Warren, Sr., was born in Berwick, Me., March 5, 1731, and is supposed to have been of French ancestry. A blacksmith by trade, he was a good work- man; and in Falmouth, where the greater part of his life was spent, he was esteemed as a. leading citizen. During the time of his resi- dence in Falmouth the town was divided, so that eventually his home was in Westbrook, being on the road between Saccarappa and Stroudwater. There he died after a long and useful life. His wife was Jane Johnson, of Falmouth, who was born June 15, 1740. She died in Westbrook, November 18, 1809. Mr. and Mrs. John Warren, Sr., were the parents of the following children: John, born Novem- ber 9, 1756, who died on May 23, 1776, while in service in the Revolutionary army ; Polly ; David; Elizabeth ; Sally; James; Jane; Mar- garet ; John (second) ; Robert; Nathaniel ; and Nancy.

John Warren (second) was born at the home- stead in Westbrook, May 23, 1776, the day of his brother John's death, as above mentioned. In early manhood he engaged in lumbering, and established an extensive business, cutting and manufacturing large quantities of lumber. He died September 10, 1845. John Warren was married November 29, 1810, to Eleanor Lamb, who was born in Falmouth, July 5, 1785. She passed away January 13, 1835, leaving three children - George, William L., and Lewis P. William L. Warren was killed while landing a log on Crooked River when a promising young man of twenty.

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Lewis P. Warren grew to manhood in West- brook, trained by good parental tutelage, a fair education, ending with a course of study at Parsonsfield Academy in York County, and an early insight into good business methods. As a first step in his mercantile career he became associated with Rufus and Cyrus King and his own brother, George Warren, primarily in the dry-goods trade in Westbrook. The business was originally conducted under one roof by the King brothers, who kept a large general store. After the Warren brothers joined them, Cyrus King and Lewis P. Warren took charge of the dry-goods department, while George Warren and Rufus King, the older members of the firm, managed the grocery department. The firm existed as a whole, and they pooled their profits. It was in May, 1836, that the Warren brothers became interested in the business ; and six years later Lewis P. Warren withdrew from active work in the enterprise, in order to look after his father's farm business. This was in the fall of 1842. At this juncture Cyrus King established a dry-goods house on his own account, George Warren and Rufus King continuing in the grocery trade under the firm name of King & Warren. George Warren owned a share of one-half in the gro- cery business, and Lewis P. owned one-fourth of the whole, but was not an active partner.

From 1845 to 1854 the lumber business established by their father was conducted by a partnership consisting of their uncle, Nathan- iel Warren, brother of the founder of the en- terprise; Lewis P. Warren; his brother George; and Joseph Walker, the donor of the beautiful memorial library of Westbrook, who owned one-half. In 1854 a new copartnership was formed under the name of Brigham, Clemens & Warren. The first member of the firm, Dana Brigham, had for many years been a clerk and book-keeper in the employ of John Warren, and later of the firm of Walker & Warren. This new association was extensively engaged in the manufacture of lumber until 1868, when Mr. Brigham died and George and Lewis P. Warren purchased his share and also that of Clemens, changing the firm name to G. &. L. P. Warren.

This lumber business was for many years one of the largest and most important industries of

Westbrook. In 1878 Mr. Warren closed up the business of the firm of G. & L. P. Warren ; but he still looks after his personal interests, which are quite large. He has promoted other industrial activities in the town, having been connected for some years with James Pennell in the manufacture of weavers' harness and wire, and with the firm of S. T. Raymond & Co., grain dealers. In all his business trans- actions he has maintained such a course as to win and hold the respect of all with whom he was associated, and to his enterprise is attrib- utable much of the growth of Westbrook in population and wealth.

Mr. Warren was married in Otisfield, Me., February 20, 1844, to Miss Sarah Turner, who was born May 21, 1818, in that town. She is the mother of the following children : John W., a retired business man of Westbrook ; Albert F., who is interested with his father, who married Sarah C. Atkinson, and has one child, Edith M. ; Lelia A., with her parents; Edna A., wife of B. F. Joy, a photographer in Ells- worth, Me., and mother of one child, who died April 13, 1896; Benjamin Warren; and Cora B., wife of Albert A. Hawkes, of Cliftondate, Mass., who is connected with a packing house in Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkes have two children - Marion S. and Alberta L.

In politics Mr. Warren is a Republican. He belongs to the Masonic Order, and in relig- ious belief he is a Congregationalist.

EIL W. R. STRAW, M.D., a popu- lar physician in active practice in Gorham, was born in Newfield, York County, Me., April 15, 1854, son of Daniel and Hannah S. (Chadbourn) Straw. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent, and traces its American ancestry to an emi- grant from the north of Ireland, who came to this country early in the seventeenth century. The Straw family has been favorably known in New Hampshire for many years; and one member, Ezekiel, was Governor of the State. Gideon Straw, Dr. Straw's grandfather, was born in Nottingham, N. H., and reared in Epping. When about twenty-one years of age, he went as a pioneer to Newfield, York County. Here, clearing a farm, he estab-

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lished a comfortable home for the rest of his days. He married Mary Robinson, a native of New Hampshire; and they reared seven children - Agnes, Abigail, Betsey, Sarah, Cyrene, David R., and Daniel.

Daniel Straw, who was a native of Newfield, received a good common-school education. On reaching man's estate he chose the inde- pendent calling of a farmer, which he followed in Newfield until his death at an advanced age. His wife was a daughter of Ira Chad- bourn, a well-to-do saddler, of Limerick, Me. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom died in infancy and one, a son, at the age of nineteen. Those living at present are : Mary R., Cyrene A., David R., and Neil W. R.

Neil W. R. Straw, M. D., acquired the rudi- ments of his education in the common schools of Newfield. He afterward studied at Limer- ick and Gilmanton Academies. Subsequently he rcad medicine for one year with Dr. Traf- ton, of Newfield, for two years with Dr. Wight, of Gilmanton, N. H., and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1877. He com- menced practice in Auburn, Me., where he remained two years. He then located in Gor- ham, which has been the field of his labor ever since, and where he has built up a large prac- tice. His skill as a physician has won for him the respect of patients and fellow-practi- tioners, and his generous disposition has drawn about him a large circle of friends. He keeps in touch with the medical world as a member of the Maine Medical Association and the Maine Academy of Medical Science, and he is well versed in all the latest methods of professional work.

April 21, 1886, Dr. Straw was united in marriage with Anne Ayer, daughter of James M. Moulton, of Newfield, Me. They have a son, named Palmer, who was born July 5, 1887. In politics Dr. Straw favors the Dem- ocratic party. He is a member of Day Spring Lodge, No. 107, A. F. & A. M., of Newfield; of Eagle Chapter, No. 1I, Royal Arch Masons; of Portland Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templars; of Gorham Lodge, No. 98, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of Dirigo Lodge, No. 21, Knights of Pythias, of Gorham. Dr. Straw and his wife have been

members of the Congregational church for some years, having joined it together.

AMES WILLIAMS KING, manager of the King Manufacturing Company of Portland, Me., was born at Plymouth, Mass., March 21, 1842, son of James and Betsey W. (Hathaway) King, the former a native of Brewster, Cape Cod, Mass., the latter of Plymouth. He traces his descent from John King, who removed from Eastham, Mass., to Harwich about the year 1700, the rec- ords showing that he was in Eastham as early as 1688. His will, which was dated Novem- ber 18, 1752, shows that he was a man of con- siderable means. His eldest son, Roger, was born in Eastham, and settled in the part of Harwich now called Brewster, where he died May 23, 1768, in his seventy-fourth year. His estate was valued at seven hundred and thirty-three pounds, eighteen shillings, five pence, a large amount for those days. Na- thaniel King, the eldest son of Roger, was born March 21, 1726 or 1727, and married Reliance Clark. Their eldest son, who was also named Nathaniel, was born at Harwich, December 25, 1751, and died in Brewster, February 22, 1832. He married Hannah Taylor, of Chatham, in 1771.

James King, first, the grandfather of James Williams, was the fifth child of Nathaniel and Hannah (Taylor) King, and was baptized in September, 1784. He was a seafaring man, and at the time of the struggle of the Argentine Republic with Spain for independence was master of one of the Argentine war-ships, and was quite seriously wounded in the head. At the close of the war he had large grants of land, and prize money from the government to the amount of thirty thousand dollars, the latter not to be taken out of the country. In attempting to get away with it he was ar- rested, carried inland, and confined in a stock- ade. There were six hundred or seven hun- dred others with him. He was chosen leader of the company, and once escaped, but was re- captured. Fully seven years elapsed before his case came to trial. He was then released, given his sword, uniform, land grants, and his passage home. His last years were spent in

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New Bedford as master rigger of vessels. He died in 1857. He was three times married, his first wife, who was the grandmother of James Williams King, being Mrs. Temper- ance Knowles Paddock. She became Mrs. King in 1816; and during the time of her husband's captivity in South America she supported the family, which consisted of four children - James, the father of our subject ; Temperance: David; and Mary- by teaching common-school branches and navigation at her home on Cape Cod.

James King, second, also followed the sea, being Captain of a whaler at twenty-one or twenty-two years of age. He died of heart disease in July, 1868, while fast to a whale, being then but fifty-one years of age. His wife was a daughter of Joshua Hathaway, who was a resident of Plymouth. Captain King's family resided in Plymouth till the subject of this sketch was nine years old, when they removed to Middleboro, making their home on a small farm. Captain and Mrs. King reared three children - Matilda E., who died in January, 1862; James Williams; and Bessie B., who is now the wife of Lyman E. Shaw, of Waterville, Me. Mrs. Betsey W. King is still living, making her home with Mrs. Shaw. She is a member of the Baptist church of Plymouth, Mass.

James Williams King attended the schools of Middleboro, Mass., until fifteen years of age. He spent a year in Mattapoisett, where his family had removed, and August 30, 1858, started on a whaling voyage, going around Cape Horn in the barque "J. D. Thompson " of New Bedford. At Honolulu he saw the first delegation of seventy-two of the ablest men of Japan on their way to the United States and England, to become familiar with the advanced ideas of Western civilization. He spent one season in the Okhotsk Sea and one in the Arctic Ocean, and did not reach home until 1861, the first year of the war of the Rebell- ion, the voyage consuming three years. The first intimation he received of trouble in the United States was from a vessel near Cape Horn, about January, 1861 ; and when near the Azores Islands another vessel threw off some New Orleans papers tied to a stick, which con-

tained the surprising news of the beginning of hostilities. The day the first battle of Bull Run was fought Mr. King was whaling off the Azores. Reaching home August 20, 1861, he rested for a while, and in January of the fol- lowing year went to Waterville, Me., to work for his uncle, C. F. Hathaway, a shirt manu- facturer. In August, 1862, he returned to Massachusetts, enlisting on the second day of the month in Company D, Eighteenth Massa- chusetts Regiment, Volunteer Infantry, which had been in the field with the Army of the Potomac nearly a year. He enlisted as a pri- vate, and joined his regiment at or near Hall's Hill, Va., one week after the second battle of Bull Run. The battle of Antietam was the first action in which he participated, his regi- ment belonging to the Fifth Army Corps; and after that he was in all the engagements of the Army of the Potomac, the last being at Ap- pomattox Court-house, Va., April 9, 1865. . Mr. King was under the command of Gencral Chamberlain, to whom Lee formally surrendered April 13. A new recruit in an old regiment stood little chance of promotion ; but Mr. King was raised step by step from the rank of private to that of Second Lieutenant, being the only enlisted man in his company of the Eighteenth Massachusetts who obtained a commission. At the end of his first term of service he re-enlisted in the old regiment, and was afterward transferred to the Thirty-second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, receiving his discharge July 17, 1865, at the close of the war. He was not wounded during his term of service, but at the first Fredericksburg battle, December, 1862, had his clothing riddled by shot. Of his company twenty-six were there killed or wounded out of fifty-one engaged. At the closc of the war Mr. King returned to Waterville to work for C. F. Hathaway, who eventually took him into part- nership. In 1879 he established a business of his own in Waterville, manufacturing shirts and underwear, but in 1882 returned to the employ of C. F. Hathaway. In 1888 he re- moved to Portland, and engaged in the manu- facture of ladies' and children's muslin underwear, to which he later added wrappers. Starting with but one girl as an assistant, he now employs from eighty to ninety hands,

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and is manager of a prosperous corporate com- pany.

March 16, 1865, while on a twenty days' furlough from the army, Mr. King was united in marriage with Miss Amelia M. Thurber, of North Providence, R. I. Four children were born of this union - Cora A., Jamcs, Ralph T., and Emma M. Cora A. bccame the wife of William C. Crawford. She died in 1893 at Gloucester, Mass., leaving one daughter, Cora. James, who is a graduate of Colby University, was two years Deputy Consul at Halifax, and is now in the insurance business at Chicago. Ralph Thurber rcsides in Provi- dence. Emma M. is with her parents. In politics Mr. King is a Republican. He and his wife and daughter arc members of the Bap- tist Church of Waterville, Me.

APTAIN WALTER K. SWETT, a retired ship-master of Falmouth, Me., was born in this town, August 19, 1839, son of Simon M. and Margaret S. (Davis) Swett. Captain Swctt's paternal grandfather, Josiah Swett, was a resident of Falmouth, where he owned and conducted a good farm during the active period of his life. He married Eunice Noyes, a native of Fal- mouth, and reared a family of four children, of whom there are now no survivors.

Simon M. Swett, son of Josiah, was born in Falmouth, and when a young man he learned the ship carpenter's trade. He diligently and skilfully followed that occupation for many years in his native town, where he was held in high estcem by the entire community as an upright, worthy, and exemplary citizen. He died in 1876, aged sixty-three years. In poli- tics he was originally a Whig, and in his re- ligious faith he was a Congregationalist. His wife, Margaret S. Davis, who was born in Fal- mouth, became the mother of four children, two of whom are living, namely : Leander N., a resident of Falmouth; and Walter K., the subject of this sketch.

Walter K. Swett received his education in the common schools and at the Falmouth Academy. After the completion of his course of study hc adopted a scafaring life, the first three and a half years being spent before the

mast on board of a vessel engaged in foreign trade. He was then able to perform thc duties of third mate; and, being naturally in- telligent and progressive, hc so rapidly ac- quired a knowledge of the science of naviga- tion and the art of managing a ship that he rose through the rank of second and first mates in the short space of two years, at the end of that time becoming master of a merchantman. He commanded different vessels, among which were the ship "C. F. Sargent " and the "Rufus E. Wood," which were engaged ex- clusively in the foreign trade, his voyages al- ways proving profitable both to himself and his owners; and he continued to follow the sea until 1889, since which time he has lived in retirement in Falmouth.

He owns the old Norton homestead, border- ing on Casco Bay, consisting of thirty-five acres, a part of which is woodland ; and he has made various improvements on the buildings. He occupies the house he built in 1873. Thc tillable portion of his farm is very fertile, and he devotes his time and attention to its culti- vation with satisfactory results. The estate contains a valuable spring, which resembles in character the well-known Underwood Spring of Falmouth, and is claimed by many to equal it in purity. Politically, in town affairs Captain Swett is not governed by any one party, but votes independently, support- ing the candidate for office whom he considers the most capable to serve; but otherwise he is a Democrat. He has been three times elected a Selectman, serving his last term as Chair- man of the Board; and at the present time he is Collector of the town.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 65

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