Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 74

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

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He lived long enough to see the republic firmly established, he breathing his last peacefully in Otisfield, April 28, 1843. His wife, whose maiden name was Abigail Wight, had died several years before, leaving ten chil- dren, of whom Enoch, Jr., was the only son.

Enoch Spurr, Jr., remained with his par- ents while they lived. After the death of his father he settled on the farm now owned by his son. The cultivation of this, supple- mented by profitable ventures in lumbering, kept him in good circumstances until his death, which occurred in 1883. His wife, Lavinia, was a daughter of Samuel and Susan (Perkins) Gamman, who were married in Gor- ham, Me., and lived for many years in Hart- ford, Oxford County. Mr. Gamman also was a farmer, and spent his last days in Hartford. His daughter, Mrs. Spurr, died in 1856. She was the mother of the following children - Henry P., the subject of this sketch; Joseph, born in February, 1827, who died at the age of twenty-one; Samuel, a farmer, who mar- ried a Miss Millett, of Minot, Me., and lived near Henry P .; Lorenzo, who died at the age of twenty ; Susan Abigail, who died at the age of eighteen; Sumner, a farmer, who married Miss Ada Dudley, of Waterford, Me., and also resided near Henry P. Enoch Spurr, heeding the words of the apostle Paul, "It is not good for man to be alone," took for his second wife Ann Waite, of Poland, Me., daughter of Captain Waite, a well-known mariner, who died in Poland.

She also has passed away.

Henry P. Spurr acquired a fair education in the common schools. After learning the mason's trade in Otisfield, he worked at it as a journeyman until 1857. Then he settled on the old Sylvester farm in Otisfield, and turned his attention to agriculture. One year later he built for himself a house near the one he now occupies, and lived in it for six years. He took possession of his present home in 1863. It is a fine estate, contain- ing one hundred and fifty acres, and has been considerably improved since it came into Mr. Spurr's hands. He carries on general farm- ing, his principal crops being hay, corn, and small grain. He also raises fruit for the market, and keeps some live stock. Mr. Spurr does no mason work now, but gives his entire attention to farming and his real estate interests. Regarding the latter it may be stated that but one citizen of Otisfield pays more in taxes than he.

On June 1, 1857, Mr. Spurr was united in marriage with Sarah E. Sawyer, a native of Otisfield, born August 4, 1834, daughter of Jeremiah Sawyer, one of the pioneer farmers of Otisfield. She died in 1888, having borne two children - Julia A., wife of Walter W. Hamlin, a resident of Otisfield; and Cornelia P., who died at the age of seventeen. On January 20, 1891, Mr. Spurr was again mar- ried, this time to Miss E. Jennie Muzzy, a native of Oxford, Me., born October 5, 1836. Her father was Alexander H. Muzzy, of Worcester County, Massachusetts, a farmer who died in Norway, Me., in 1891. Mr. Spurr is an earnest Prohibitionist. He was formerly a Republican, and cast his first Pres- idential vote for General Zachary Taylor. He has served as Selectman of Otisfield, and filled other offices in the town, where he is highly respected. In religious belief he is a Baptist. His wife is a member of the Con- gregational church.

ARRIS W. JORDAN, formerly a mill superintendent, now a prosper- ous farmer, owning one of the finest-improved and best-appointed farms in New Gloucester, Me., was born March 28, 1844, in the town of Webster,

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Androscoggin County. His father, William Jordan, was born in the same place in 1809.

William Jordan was a son of Joshua Jordan, who was born and reared on Cape Elizabeth, whence he removed to Webster, where he sub- sequently engaged in farming until his death. William succeeded to the occupation of his father, becoming a large farmer and stock raiser. He died March 7, 1870. His wife, who died in 1848, was Adeline Dill, a native of Lewiston, Me. Twelve children were born to them, namely: Peter, deceased; Joshua, who is now living with his brother Harris; Eliza, deceased, who married Isaac Jordan, now a resident of Lynn, Mass .; Joseph, who since the death of his wife, Lucy Ellen Turner, has lived with his brother Harris; Dorcas, widow of Cooley Davis, residing in Lewiston; Lucy, who died at the age of eighteen years; Rhoda, who died at seven- teen; Clara, deceased, who was the wife of L. Maxwell, of Auburn, this State; Hannah, who married Cyrus Longley, of Raymond, Me. (both deceased) ; Maria, widow of Orrin Jordan, living in Auburn; Addie, the wife of Fred Tryon, of Auburn, Me. ; and Harris W., now of New Gloucester.

Harris W. Jordan remained with his par- ents, faithful to the occupation in which he was brought up, until the second year of the late Civil War, when, on September 2, 1862, he enlisted for a term of nine months in Company E, under Captain Almon C. Pray, in the Twenty-third Maine Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel William Virgin Wood- man. With his regiment he was at the front in several engagements, at the battle of Gettysburg receiving two wounds, the scars of which still remain on his head, lasting re- minders of that scene of carnage. At the expiration of his term of service Mr. Jordan was discharged at Augusta, Me., but shortly afterward he re-enlisted, joining the Seventh Maine Battery, under Captain A. B. Twitch- ell, and taking part in the closing campaign before Petersburg, subsequently being mus- tered out of service at Augusta, July 3, 1865.

Returning to his home in Webster, Mr. Jordan remained there but a short time before securing a position with the Hill Manufactur- ing Company in Lewiston, Me., remaining in

their cotton-mill two years. He afterward worked for three years as a section hand in the Androscoggin Mills of that place, having charge of one hundred and sixteen looms. Going thence to Olneyville, R.I., Mr. Jordan held the position of overseer in the fancy weaving. establishment three and one-half years, or until the mill shut down. He was next employed in the Durfee Manufacturing Mills in Fall River, Mass., where for seven months he ran a print weaver with one thou- sand and twenty looms. At the expiration of that time the Durfee Company engaged Mr. Jordan, in whose ability and fidelity they had complete confidence, to go to Langley, S.C., to take charge of the weaving, clothing, slash - ing, and spooling, giving him full control of a fifteen-thousand-spindle mill. He remained there seventeen years, being superintendent of the mill the last ten years, likewise having charge of the four hundred and fifty acres of land belonging to the firm, this giving him virtually control of the entire town.

On his return to Maine Mr. Jordan pur- chased the estate in New Gloucester where he now resides, taking possession of it May 5, 1890. This farm contains two hundred and seventy-five acres of the best tillage land to be found in Cumberland County, yielding bounti- fully of the staple products of this locality, including hay, corn, potatoes, fruit, and small grains. Like the most of the farmers of this vicinity, Mr. Jordan pays especial attention to the production of milk, keeping twenty milch cows, and shipping an average of thirty gallons of milk per day direct to Portland. Mr. Jordan has likewise business interests in South Carolina, whither he makes a trip each year. He is a man who has been the archi- tect of his own fortune. When he left the home farm he had just five cents in his pocket ; and a week later he borrowed twenty-five cents to buy a soldier's cap, which he wore to the war. Since that time he has steadily climbed the ladder of prosperity, being now the posses- sor of a competency and free from debt.

Politically a stanch Democrat, in 1894 Mr. Jordan served his fellow-townsmen as Select- man, being Chairman of the Board. Socially, he belongs to the Grange Society of this place, and is a prominent Mason, having been

W. S. EATON.

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Treasurer of the Albert Pike Lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 176, of Langley, S.C., for twenty years. He also belongs to Custer Post, No. 9, Grand Army of the Republic, of New Gloucester. Religiously, though not con- nected by membership with any organization, both he and his wife are regular attendants of the Universalist church.

Mr. Jordan has been three times married. His first wife, to whom he was married Febru- ary 22, 1868, was Etta M., daughter of Josiah and Pauline Clark, both deceased. She died September 2, 1874, leaving one son, Fred W., who was graduated from the Military School of Charleston, S.C., and, having married Lizzie Schaub, is now engaged in the pip- ing business in Aiken, S.C. On January 4, 1877, Mr. Jordan married Mrs. Ella M. (Loomis) Dockendoff, a widow, whose first husband, Captain Dockendoff, died at New Orleans, La., just a week after marriage. She was a native of Winthrop, Me., daughter of John and Sarah Loomis, neither of whom is now living. Mrs. Ella M. Jordan died August 17, 1883, and her two children - Foster and Conway, are both dead. Mr. Jordan and his present wife, formerly Stella A. Cornwall, were united in marriage on August 27, 1887. Mrs. Jordan was born Jan- uary 2, 1867, in Augusta, Ga., where her par- ents, George C. and Susan (Keith) Cornwall, are still residing, her father being connected with the Southern Express Company. He is a native of Savannah, Ga .; but her mother was born and reared in New York City. Of this union three children have been born, namely: Harry C., the date of whose birth was August 27, 1889; Herbert O., May 15, 1891 ; and Alma E., April 25, 1893.

OODMAN S. EATON, who has been general freight agent of the Maine Central Railroad since 1885, was born in Portland, October 16, 1846, son of Stephen W. and Miranda (Knox) Eaton. He is of an old and respected Colonial family, whose progenitor, John Eaton, with his wife Anna and six children, came from England to this country more than two hundred and fifty years ago. They were residents of Salis-

bury, Mass., in 1640. John Eaton, of a later generation, great-grandfather of Woodman S., was born in Seabrook, N. H., in 1748, and was one of the pioneer settlers of Buxton, Me. He was the father of Tristram Eaton, who was born in Buxton, and spent the most of his days there, engaged in farming.

Stephen W. Eaton, son of Tristram, was born in Buxton, but spent the greater part of his active life in Portland, engaged first in railroading, later in mercantile business. His first work in connection with the trav- elling public was in the employ of the Cum- berland & Oxford Canal Company; and he was next engaged as one of the engineers in the survey of the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad (now the Grand Trunk), filling the office of freight agent when the road was completed. This office he resigned in 1853 to accept a position on the Michigan Central Railroad. Returning East after a short time, he was employed as railroad superintendent at Leeds and Farmington, next filling the office of second superintendent of the Androscoggin Railroad; and later he was first superintend- ent of the York & Cumberland. This was the last railroad office held by him, his next business venture being in the mercantile line; and for many years his name was on the list of prominent merchants of Portland.

In politics he was affiliated with the Demo- cratic party, and was Surveyor of the port of Portland during the administration of Presi- dent Taylor, serving under Collector Jewett. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, prominent in the councils of the Order. Mr. Stephen W. Eaton changed his residence from Portland to Gorham in 1854 on account of ill health in the family, though still attending to his business in the city; and he died in Gor- ham in 1876 at the age of seventy-one. His wife, Miranda Knox, was a member of an old Buxton family, her father also having been born in that town.

Woodman S. Eaton was the sixth in a fam- ily of eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stephen W. Eaton. He made his first ac- quaintance with books at a private school in Portland, and later attended the Gorham Acad- emy, a noted school at that time. He went to work in 1863, when seventeen years of age,

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entering the employ of the Berlin Mills Com- pany at Berlin, N. H., as an office assistant. He afterward spent some time in Lewiston, in the freight department of the Androscoggin Railroad, where he got his first idea of rail- road work, and was next called to the South, filling a position in the office of the Provost Marshal in New Orleans till the close of the war. Returning to Portland, he was again em- ployed by the Androscoggin Railroad Com- pany, for whom he worked a year as freight checker. He then obtained a position as freight cashier for the Portland, Saco & Ports- mouth Railroad, remaining from 1867 to 1875. In the latter year he was made freight agent of the Eastern Railroad, and in 1882 assumed the greater responsibilities of freight agent of both Eastern and Maine Central. Mr. Eaton has been general freight agent of the Maine Central Railroad since 1885, and during the past decade the road has had its greatest growth. Consequently his care and responsi- bility are yearly increasing. He has now in his office in Portland eleven clerks, and the admirable manner in which the great freight traffic of the road is handled proves Mr. Eaton to be a man of exceptional ability.

October 16, 1867, Mr. Eaton was united in marriage with Judith Annette Colby, of Gor- ham, daughter of the Rev. Joseph Colby, a prominent clergyman of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Eaton two are now living - William Colby and Edward Stephen. The former, who is a practising attorney in Portland, mar- ried Miss Marion Durant Dow, daughter of Colonel Fred N. Dow and grand-daughter of General Neal Dow. Edward Stephen Eaton is in the general freight office of the Maine Central Railroad, associated with his father.

Mr. Eaton is a prominent Mason, belonging to Ancient Landmark Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Portland; Mount Vernon Chapter; Portland Commandery, Knights Templars; and the Consistory, having passed the thirty-two de- grees. He is also a member of Ligonia Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and Eastern Star Encampment, and belongs to the Cumberland and Portland Clubs, the Country Club, and the Bramhall League. He attends the High Street Congregational

Church, and contributes liberally to its sup- port. The Eaton residence, a very handsome and comfortable dwelling, is at 754 Congress Street.

OLONEL JOHN P. PERLEY, for- merly a much esteemed resident of

Bridgton, was born July 31, 1815, on the home farm in that town, son of John and Sarah (Treadwell) Perley. His grandfather, Enoch P'erley, was the original owner of the homestead. John Perley, who was also born on this farm, spent his life there, engaged in agriculture and other pur- suits. He was a prominent man in his time, having held the rank of General in the State militia for several years. He died May 13, 1841. His wife, Sarah, who was a native of Massachusetts, born August 26, 1782, died September 30, 1860. They reared the follow- ing children: John P., the subject of this sketch; Susan H., wife of Dr. Moses Gould ; Mary M., wife of Rensellaer Cram; Augustus; Sarah A., wife of the Hon. Marshall Cram, of Brunswick; Frederick, a graduate of Bowdoin College; and three that died young.

Colonel John P. Perley acquired the rudi- ments of his education in a district school in Bridgton. Subsequently he pursued a more advanced course of study at Bridgton Academy and at Gorham Seminary. Before attaining his majority he was called to the charge of the homestead. Thereafter, for the rest of his life, he gave his attention chiefly to general farming. His real estate possessions included about fifteen hundred acres of land, some of which was the heaviest timber land in the State. The homestead proper contains four hundred acres. Colonel Perley was regarded as a high authority on agricultural questions, and. was a prominent member of the County Agricultural Association. He was a Director of the Bridgton Savings Bank and of the Pondicherry mills, being a large stockholder of each firm; and he was a Trustee of the Bridgton Academy. It was largely through him that the Bridgton & Saco River Rail- road was built.

In politics he was originally a Whig, one of the men who voted for the first Harrison and

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took an active part in the campaign for "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." He joined the Republicans upon the formation of that party, and represented his district in the State legis- lature in 1861, 1862, and 1865. He was also prominent in local affairs, and served as Se- lectman and Town Treasurer for several terms. In religious belief he was a Congregational- ist, working zealously for the advancement of his church. Colonel Perley was noted for his liberality and public spirit, and was univer- sally esteemed. He died November 9, 1890; and his remains are interred in the private cemetery on the homestead.

June 25, 1840, he was united in marriage with Miss Clarissa Ingalls, who was born in Bridgton, May 27, 1817, daughter of Captain Asa and Phœbe (Berry) Ingalls. She died November 3, 1892; and her remains rest beside those of her husband in the private cemetery on the homestead. Mrs. Perley also was a member of the Congregational church. Colonel Perley's adopted children were: Miranda F. Potter, Mary F. and Annette E. Farnham. He gave all the same education and advantages as though they were his own children. The homestead was left to the youngest daughter, Annette E. She was united in marriage with Robert A. Barnard, a young man who was born and reared in Bridgton. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Barnard went to Knight's Ferry, Cal., where Mr. Barnard managed a sheep ranch for some four years. They then returned to Bridgton, and lived at the homestead of Mr. Barnard's father until 1892, when they moved to the Perley estate. Mr. and Mrs. Barnard have two children - Evelyn F. and Ruth A.

HOMAS J. BROWN, of Raymond, the prosperous owner of Lake View Farm, where he has resided since his mar- riage, was born in Raymond, April. 6, 1840, son of Jordan and Catherine (Staples) Brown.

Jordan Brown was a native of North Ray- mond. As both his parents died when he was a small child, he came in early boyhood to Raymond to live in the family of John Small, who acted as a foster-father to the orphan boy. He assisted in the farm work, and as the years

went by became more and more the depend- ence of Mr. Small, for whom he tenderly cared during his last years. At that gentle- man's decease Jordan Brown assumed entire control of the farm, the place on which his son now resides, and was thereafter successfully engaged in mixed husbandry until his death, which occurred February 3, 1894. His wife, Catherine, was a native of Portland, from which place she came to Raymond with her parents while she was young. She also found a home with John Small and his wife, and it was there that the acquaintance was formed that led to her marriage. They were the par- ents of four children, namely: John Small Brown, born June 18, 1838, who married Sarah Shaw, and now resides in Dry Mills, Gray, Me .; Thomas Jackson Brown, the sub- jeet of this sketch; Sarah E. A. Brown, born July 30, 1842, who died April 28, 1843; and Joseph W., born December 5, 1847, who married Annie J. Harris, of New Gloucester, Me., and lives in Portland, where he holds a position with the firm of Twitchell & Co. Their mother died August 31, 1883.

Thomas J. Brown received the advantages of a common-school education. After his school days were ended, he assisted his father on the farm until his marriage, with the ex- ception of one year, during which he was em- ployed in Welchville, Me. He then took charge of the old homestead, and has contin- ued to reside here since that time. In the home place there are about seventy-five acres of land, and he owns forty-five acres in another part of the town. Since he became the owner of the farm, he has made various improvements. He does a successful business in stock raising, making a specialty of Jersey and Holstein stock. The cream from his dairy is marketed at the Gray creamery. Be- sides raising an excellent variety of fruit, he devotes considerable attention to the produc- tion of the staple products of this section; and the close of the harvest season finds his barns and granary well filled with hay and grain. During the summer season the Lake View farm-house is opened for the reception of summer boarders, having accommodation for about a dozen guests.

Mr. Brown was first married on July 2,

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1862, to Miss Althea P. Messer, who was born in Waterville, Me., July 20, 1844. She died on November 11, 1867, leaving one daughter, Lizzie A., born April 11, 1866, now the wife of Frank W. Edwards, of Free- port, Me., and the mother of one child, Flossie Ida. On November 10, 1877, Mr. Brown formed a second union, taking for his wife Miss Nellie A. Brown, who was born in Raymond on January 20, 1848, daughter of Andrew Brown, a prosperous farmer, now de- ceased. No children have been born of this second marriage; but they have taken Frank L. Means, of Freeport, to bring up and edu- cate.

Like his father, Mr. Brown has always been a supporter of the Democratic party. Though he has never been an aspirant for official posi- tion, he has served as Selectman of Raymond and in other offices. In fraternal affiliation Mr. Brown is a member of Siloam Lodge, No. 45, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Gray, Me., and also of the Cumberland Grange Society. He and his family are at- tendants of the Union church at East Ray- mond.

DWIN A. FESSENDEN, M.D., a prominent and successful physician of Portland, where he has an office at 47812 Congress Street, was born in the town- ship of Washington, near Monroe, Green County, Wis., on December 12, 1848, son of Jared and Augusta E. (Pierce) Fessenden. Dr. Fessenden is a descendant of the branch of the Fessenden family that settled in Maine. His grandfather, Solomon Fessenden, removed from that State to New York, whence in later life he went to Wisconsin.

Jared Fessenden, the son of Solomon, was born in Jamestown, N. Y. On arriving at years of discretion, he went to Green County, Wisconsin, and engaged in farming. At that time the settlement of the district had made but little progress, and Jared's life there was practically that of a pioneer. His land had not been previously cultivated; and he was obliged to convey his wheat and other products to Milwaukee, then the nearest shipping point, in order to reach the consumer. In company

with two brothers-in-law he served as a soldier in the Black Hawk War. He was an honored and respected citizen of that community. He served as Supervisor of the town, and lived on his farm up to the time of his death. His wife, who was born in Massachusetts, reared him a family of four children, as follows : Edwin A. Fessenden, M. D .; Eugene, living in Kansas; Flora, the wife of Richard H. Gill, residing near Clyde, Kan. ; and Clara, who married Ernest H. Fessenden, and also lives near Clyde.

Edwin A. Fessenden, M. D., acquired the rudiments of his education in the common schools of Monroe, Wis. When but sixteen years of age, he enlisted in Company G of the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry. The regiment was assigned to the Second Brigade of the Seventeenth Army Corps, commanded by General John A. Logan, which it joined at Morehead City, N.C., as Sherman's army was returning from the march to the sea. That was just before the battle of Goldsboro, after which Dr. Fessenden accompanied his regi- ment to Washington and was present at the Grand Review held in celebration of the suc- cess of the Union cause and the restoration of peace. After this the regiment was ordered to Fort Kearney, Neb., to fight the Indians. It went first to Wheeling, W. Va., thence by boat to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where it arrived July 4, 1865. After receiving neces- sary supplies here, it marched the remaining part of the journey to Fort Kearney. Shortly after it was ordered back, and was mustered out of service at Springfield, Ill., in August, 1865. Dr. Fessenden then returned to his home in Wisconsin. As soon as he recruited his health, he resumed his school work, gradu- ating from the Monroe High School two years later. He then taught school for a time. Subsequently he went to Kansas and engaged in stock dealing and feeding. While there he attended the State Normal School at Emporia. After graduating there, he began to study medicine with Dr. Jeannotte, of Clyde, Kan. He afterward took a course of lectures at the Bellevue Medical College in New York, and graduated in the class of 1889. Shortly after he began the practice of his profession at Clyde, Kan. He came east to Falmouth, Me.,

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 74

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