Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 76

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

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BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW

the Lodge. He took a keen interest in mili- tary matters, and in early life was Lieutenant of a company for seven years, having received his commission from Governors Kent and Dunlap about the time of the Aroostook War. His commission read as follows :

GOVERNOR KENT as Captain,

ROBERT P. DUNLAP, Governor and Commander-in-chief of the State of Maine,

To JOHN BRADFORD, of Portland, Greeting :

You have been elected a Lieutenant of a Company of the Battalion of Artillery in the Second Brigade and Fifth Division of the Militia of the State, to take rank from the 28th of July, 1837.

(Signed) ROBERT P. DUNLAP, Governor. A. R. NICHOLS, Secretary of State.

Mr. Bradford was an attendant of the High Street Church. He had a pleasant home at 38 High Street, where he lived for many years, and where his widow now resides.

ON. PHILANDER TOLMAN, now living in retirement at Greenwood Villa, his home on the shore of Long Lake, Harrison, was born in Troy, N.H., June 13, 1819. His parents, Henry and Mary (Harris) Tolman, were also natives of Troy, N.H. His paternal grand- father, Benjamin Tolman, who was a soldier in Washington's army, was born in Dorches- ter, Mass. The house where Benjamin's birth occurred, known as the old Tolman resi- dence, is still standing, and has been occu- pied by successive generations of the Tolman family ever since the days of the Revolution.

Henry Tolman, the father of the Hon. Mr. Tolman, was for years engaged in the manufacture of pottery. He moved from Troy, N.H., to Sterling, Mass., where he be- came very prominent as a manufacturer and as a man of much public spirit. He died March 6, 1851 ; and his wife's death occurred August 5, 1857. They were the parents of eleven children, namely: Charles M., born January 21, 1807, who died December 27, 1830; Nancy, born June 17, 1808, who died October 23, 1860; Henry, Jr., born August 13, 1809, who died August 10, 1892; Elisha N., born

June 17, 1811, who died January 16, 1875; Daniel, born November 7, 1812, who died in October, 1885; Mary, born May 5, 1814, who died February 21, 1888; Jacob M., born January 2, 1816, who died December 8, 1873; James, born May 6, 1817, who died January 28, 1821; Philander, the subject of this sketch; Sarah Ann, born December 31, 1824, who died November 2, 1844; and Melvina, born May II, 1828, the wife of Frank Osborn, of Fitchburg, Mass.

Philander Tolman received his early educa- tion in the public schools of his native county. When seventeen years of age he went to Worcester, Mass., and entered the Washburn wire mills as an apprentice. There he remained twelve years, becoming a most skilled workman. In 1848 he went to Harrison, Me., which was then but a strag- gling village, and started in the manufacture of all kinds of iron and steel wire. His first business associate was a Mr. Farley, and the enterprise was incorporated under the firm name of Farley & Tolman. They erected a mammoth building, which soon became the home of a thriving industry. As the business grew, so grew the town. In 1853 Mr. Tolman purchased his partner's interest, and from that time forward the firm was known as P. Tolman & Co. Mr. Tolman was also for some time extensively engaged in the manu- facture of brick. In 1888 he disposed of all his business interests, and retired to Green- wood Villa, an estate of sixty acres, which is one of the most beautiful country-seats in Cumberland County. Mr. Tolman's enter- prise has been a most important factor in the upbuilding of Harrison and the improvement of the country around. A self-made man, he has not only made his own way up the hill of success, but has aided many others in the diffi- cult climb. It is such men as he, steady, self-reliant, enterprising, that have built up the industries of the country, and enabled it to compete in the markets of the world.

On November 3, 1841, while a resident of Worcester, Mass., Mr. Tolman was united in marriage with Miss Laura Kelton. She was born in Warwick, Mass., February 11, 1814, daughter of James Kelton, a well-to-do farmer and lifelong resident of Massachusetts. Mr.

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and Mrs. Tolman celebrated with zest their golden wedding on November 3, 1891. They have had eight children, as follows: Frank Warren, born August 13, 1842, who died July 14, 1877, leaving a widow, Hattie A. (Mor- ton) Tolman, and one child; George Watson, born April 4, 1845, who died September 5, 1848; Theodore M., born March 10, 1847, who married Augusta Hazelton, and now re- sides in Portland, Me .; Georgiana, born No- vember 19, 1848, who died August 30, 1850; Charles Elliott, born July 1, 1850, who mar- ried Mattie Richardson, and is living in Jay, Me .; Emma Frances, born April 6, 1852, who is the wife of Albert F. Richardson, principal of the Normal School at Castine, Me. ; Anna M., now Mrs. Walter S. Dudley, residing with her husband at her father's home; James H., born October 27, 1853, who married Ella Chaplin, and resides in West- brook, Me., where he is Judge of the Munici- pal Court.

A stanch Republican in politics, Mr. Tol- man has held every civil office within the gift of the town and the county. He represented the towns of Bridgton and Harrison in the legislature in 1860, and was State Senator in 1878 and 1879. Within the past few years, though urged repeatedly to accept town office, he has refused on account of his age. He was Treasurer of Bridgton Academy for twenty years and Trustee of that institution for thirty-three years. Though re-elected to this office, he has declined to serve again. A strong advocate of total abstinence, Mr. Tol- man belongs to a number of temperance socie- ties. Ile is a prominent member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his wife are members of the Baptist church in the town, and take an active part in church work. Mr. Tolman has been Deacon of the church for many years.

APTAIN RICHARD HARDING, a retired ship-master of Yarmouth, Me., was born in Boston, May 1, 1818. His parents having died when he was an infant, he was adopted by Lot and Deborah Harding, who were industrious farm- ing people of Truro, Barnstable County, Mass. ;

and his boyhood and youth were passed in that town. His foster-parents died at an advanced age. They were kind-hearted Christian people, and the early training which he re- ceived at their hands did much in shaping his future course in life.

At the age of ten years the lad began to contribute toward his own support by engaging in fishing, which he followed until reaching the age of eighteen years, when he shipped before the mast on board the "Hull," a full- rigged ship of less than three hundred tons, owned by Binnie & Co. of Boston, and com- manded by Captain John A. Paine, of Truro. His first voyage was from Charleston, S.C., to London, with a cargo of leaf tobacco, the vessel returning to Charleston, the entire trip occupying four months, and he receiving six- teen dollars per month for his services. Dur- ing his first year at sea young Harding saved sufficient means to defray his expenses for two terms at Mr. Rice's Academy in Newton Centre, Mass., at the expiration of which time, his funds being exhausted, he again shipped before the mast. At the age of nineteen he became second mate of the ship "Grafton;" owned by Binnie & Co., which was carrying a cargo of cotton from Charleston to Liverpool. From that time his course was upward and onward. At twenty-seven he stepped upon the quarter-deck of the brig "Star " as its master, inaugurating a career in the mercantile marine, which was for nearly a quarter of a century attended with prosperous results; and he be- came widely known in shipping circles as a thoroughly capable and trustworthy commander.

In 1850 he tried his fortune in the gold mines of California, where he was successful ; and the proceeds of his labor he invested, in company with three others, in the building of the ship "Abbie Blanchard," which regis- tered six hundred and thirty tons' burden, and was completed in 1852, being at that time one of the leading vessels in the American mer- chant service. He continued as master and one-quarter owner of the "Abbie Blanchard " for five years; and then, selling his interest in that, he invested in other first-class vessels, which he commanded with success until 1868, when he retired from the sea and settled in Yarmouth, where he has since resided. He

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has considered Yarmouth his home since 1840, being at the present time the oldest ship-master residing there, with the single exception of one ; and he owns, besides his pleasant residence, some other valuable real estate in the town.

In politics Captain Harding is a Democrat, and has always voted with that party. He was a Representative to the legislature in 1872, has served as Town Clerk, is now a Justice of the Peace and Notary Public; and, with the exception of one year, he has been Sccretary of the local Board of Health since 1887. He has advanced in Masonry as far as the Commandery, and is likewise a member of the Knights of Pythias.

In 1845 Captain Harding was united in marriage with Ellen Mitchell, of Yarmouth. She was a daughter of Captain Thomas P. Mitchell, one of the pioneer ship-masters of Yarmouth, who died there at the age of sixty- eight years. His wife, whose maiden name was Mehitable Stinson, lived to reach the age of seventy-three. Mrs. Harding became the mother of seven children, three of whom died young and four lived to adult age, namely : Ellen, who married Granville Hodsdon, of Yarmouth, and died in November, 1889; Dr. Edward M. Harding, a successful medical practitioner of Boston ; Captain Frank Har- ding, a ship-master who hails from New York ; and Thomas G., who is a travelling salesman for a Boston firm dealing in hats and furs. Mrs. Harding died September 27, 1886.

During his long career as a master mariner Captain Harding visited many important sea- ports of the world, and his life was one of toil and industry. He has known disaster as well as success and in 1860, a fourteen-ton ship, of which he owned one-quarter interest, be- came a total loss. He is a pleasant, courteous gentleman, sociable and entertaining; and his fellow-townsmen, who delight in referring to him as "our Captain Harding," speak of him in a manner which plainly shows that they know and appreciate the many good qualities of the man. He takes a lively interest in the general welfare of the town, being always ready with his aid and influence in forwarding any movement calculated to benefit the public, with whom he is a general favorite. He is a Unitarian in his religious views.

YMAN M. COUSENS, of the firm of Milliken, Cousens & Short, wholesale dry-goods dealers of Portland, Me., was born in Poland, Me., January 10, 1840. His parents were William and Mary J. (Whitman) Cousens ; and his paternal grandfather was John Cousens, one of the original settlers of Poland. William Cousens was a prominent merchant in Poland. He died in 1870. His wife died in 1846. They had but one child, the subject of this sketch.

Lyman M. Cousens received a good educa- tion, attending the public schools of Poland and Gorham Academy. On leaving school hc obtained a clerkship at Minot Corner, where he was employed four years, at the end of that time establishing a business of his own, which he conducted six years. He then became a member of the firm of Marr, True & Co., flour dealers in Portland, and was afterward for five years a partner in the firm of D. W. True & Co. His name next appears in the sign of Cousens & Tomlinson, which remained un- changed for ten years, at the end of which Mr. Cousens became a member of the firm of Milli- ken, Cousens & Short. This company handle an extensive dry-goods business, dealing with firms all through the Eastern States and in New York; and they are agents for several mills. Their main establishment is a five- story building at 164- 166 Middle Street, Portland, which is fifty by one hundred and seventy-five feet in dimensions; and they have storehouses in different localities. Mr. Cousens is a man of unusual business ability, and is also prominent and popular in social circles, and has a host of friends. He is con- nected with various financial enterprises in Portland, being a Director in the Portland National Bank, a member of the Executive Committee of the Union Safety Deposit and Trust Company, Vice-President and Director of the Falmouth Loan Association, a Director in the Maine Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and one of the Trustces of Evergreen Ceme- tery.

Mr. Cousens and Mary E. True, daughter of John and Mary (Abbott) True, of Portland, were united in marriage on December 8, 1870. They have two children - William T. and Lyman A.

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In politics Mr. Cousens is a Republican, and he has been elected by his party four times to the Common Council. He is a thirty- second degree Mason, belonging to Tyrian Lodge of Mechanic Falls, King Hiram Chapter of Lewiston, and Portland Com- mandery, Knights Templars; and he is a member of Unity Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a member of the Portland Club, and also a member of the Lotus Club of New York City. With his family he attends the Payson Memorial Church of Portland, of which he .is a Trustee. He has a handsome resi- dence at 31 Deering Street, Portland.

AMUEL FITTS, one of the oldest and most highly respected members of the farming community of Free- port, Me., was born in the house which is now his home, October 31, 1817. He is a son of Samuel and Eleanor (Googins) Fitts, both natives of Maine, the former born in Freeport, the latter in Old Orchard.

Mr. Fitts's paternal grandfather, John Fitts, was one of the pioneer settlers of Free- port. He was skilled in wood-working, manu- facturing chairs, wheels, and spinning-wheels, and making articles of furniture of every de- scription. He was an industrious and thrifty man, and owned part of the farm where his grandson now lives, dying at the age of seventy in the house whose roof still shelters his posterity. He reared five children, Sam- uel, our subject's father, being the second son.

Samuel Fitts, Sr., was a cabinet-maker and was also extensively engaged in farming. He was a hard-working and successful man, who attained a fair degree of prosperity, owning the property which is now held by his son. He was a Democrat in politics. In religious belief he was a Methodist, but was not a pro- fessing member of the church. He died in the old home at the age of eighty-four, bis wife living to be nearly eighty-eight. They were the parents of ten children, six of whom have passed away, named as follows: Ebenezer, Eleanor, Joseph G., Elmira, Mary, and Sim- eon P. The survivors are: Susan, wife of Joseph Davis, of Freeport; John, a grocery dealer of Portland; Elizabeth, wife of James

T. Tuttle, of Yarmouth, Me. ; and Samuel, who is the eldest.

Samuel Fitts spent his early boyhood on the home farm. He went to sea when fifteen years of age, and for ten years braved the perils of the treacherous deep, then returning to the old home, where he has lived ever since. He has one hundred acres of good land, which he cultivated for many years with profitable re- sults. He erected most of the buildings on the estate and made many radical improve- ments during his years of activity. He worked hard for the prosperity which he now enjoys, and is well known throughout the lo- cality as one of the most successful as well as one of the oldest farmers of Freeport. Politi- cally, he favors the Democratic party. On religious subjects he has liberal ideas. His nephew and namesake, Samuel Fitts, third, who resides with him, renting and carrying on the farm, represents the fourth generation which has lived on the homestead. This house is one of the landmarks of Freeport, solid and comfortable to-day as it was one hundred years ago.

ON. LEANDER A. POOR, of Se- bago, was born in Vienna, Kennebec County, June 10, 1833, son of Jona- than D. and Caroline M. (Porter) Poor. His grandfather, Jonathan Poor, was a well-to-do farmer, who owned the estate on which the subject of this sketch now resides. His father, Jonathan D. Poor, followed agri- culture for some years in Kennebec County. In 1835 he returned to Sebago, but after a few years went back to Kennebec County, where he died in 1845. His wife had died six years previously, SO that when the father passed away four children were left parentless. These children were: Leander A., the subject of this sketch ; Julia C., deceased ; Martha O., deceased ; and Russell S., who now resides in Pondville, Mass.

Leander A. Poor was left motherless at the age of six, and deprived of his father when he was twelve years of age. He was reared by his grandfather and attended school in Sebago, finishing his course of study at North Bridg- ton Academy. He took charge of a school --

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when nineteen years of age, and was so suc- cessful that he adopted teaching as a life vo- cation. He subsequently conducted schools in Oxford and Cumberland Counties. Desir- ing to defend the Union when the Southern Rebellion broke out, he enlisted October 28, 1861, in the Civil Engineer Corps, Company C, United States Regulars, and for about a year was engaged in the work of building breastworks and other fortifications. Then, his health being seriously undermined, he was discharged for disability at Armory Square, Washington, and returned home with the rank of Corporal. The following spring he joined the Tenth Army Corps at Hilton Head, and was assigned to a clerkship in the quarter- master's department. In June, 1863, he was commissioned Captain and promoted to the position of Assistant Quartermaster in the Fourth Army Corps, under General Sherman's command; and for some time after the close of the war he was stationed at Port Lavaca, Tex. He received his final discharge in 1866, and, returning to his native State, took charge of a school in Denmark. After remain- ing here thirteen years, he removed to his grandfather's homestead, where he has since resided, occupied in agriculture. Mr. Poor taught school for thirty-five years, and is widely known and esteemed through his former pupils. His farm, which comprises two hun- dred acres, one of the best in the township, has been brought by his intelligent manage- ment into a high state of cultivation.

In 1866 he was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Dore, daughter of Jolin and Betsy S. (Farrar) Dore, of Meredith, N. H. They have had seven children, as follows: Howard W., residing in Cambridgeport, Mass. ; Effie L., who died in 1891 ; Eva M., who died in infancy; Nina G., who is teaching in Frye- burg Academy; Saunders C .; Carrie M. and Mattie V., who are living with their parents. Mr. Poor is a stanch Republican. He repre- sented the district in the State Senate for four years, and has held various local offices of trust. While living in Denmark he officiated for a year as Chairman of the Board of Select- men, and in Sebago he has served as Select- man and was Supervisor of the town for five years. He still takes an active interest in

educational matters, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of North Bridgton Academy. As a member of the Grand Army, he belongs to Farragut Post, No. 27, of Bridgton. Mr. and Mrs. Poor are members of the Congrega- tional church.

ANIEL T. KELLEY, manufacturer and dealer in agricultural implements in Portland, was born in County Wicklow, Ireland, three weeks be- fore the death of his father, Thomas Kelley. When he was but eight years of age, his widowed mother emigrated to this country, living for a while in Montreal, but coming to Portland in 1852. Daniel T. completed his education in the public schools of this city, and at the age of fourteen years began to learn the trade of a founder. After serving his apprenticeship, he worked in different places, at length settling down as a journeyman for the Portland Company.

Having labored industriously for some years, by judicious economy accumulating some money, Mr. Kelley started in business on his own account, operating a foundry only for a few years. He subsequently added the manu- facture of ploughs, cultivators, and mowing machines, for some fifteen years making the Kelley mower, which had a large local sale. The firm, which now includes Mr. Kelley's two elder sons as well as himself, has recently begun the manufacture of a new and improved machine, the National, which has all the latest features, it having proved so successful in the past summer that the manufacture will be continued during the next season on a much more extended scale. This enterprising firm deals in farming tools, implements, and ma- chinery of all kinds, having a large warehouse three stories in height with a frontage of one hundred and sixty feet, the foundry, seventy by one hundred and ten feet, being in the rear. Mr. Kelley is the only manufacturer of mow- ing machines in the State, and in the busy season he gives employment to thirty-five or forty men. On Cross Street he has another shop, where he does custom foundry work only, his increasing business having necessitated the erection of this factory.

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On November 29, 1866, Mr. Kelley was united in marriage with Ellen L. Shay, of Newburyport, Mass. This union has been hallowed by the birth of nine children, six of whom are living, namely: James A. and George F., who are in partnership with their father, the firm name being Daniel T. Kelley & Sons; Susie A., wife of John A. McGowan ; Ellen G. ; Mary J. ; and John William. For sixteen years Mr. and Mrs. Kelley have resided at 38 Pleasant Street, Deering, a charming lo- cality. Both he and his wife are members of the Cathedral Parish. James A. Kelley mar- ried Miss Josephine Best, who has borne him one child, Daniel James. George F. Kelley married Miss Georgia Andrews ; and they have one child, Phyllis P.

HARLES M. LANE, a prominent farmer and fruit grower of Gray, was born in this town, October 4, 1845, son of Joseph H. and Marinda (Merchant) Lane.

Mr. Lane's father, who was a native of Gray, followed the sea for many years. He resided in Gray until 1870, when he moved to Yarmouth, Me., and, settling upon a farm, made that town his home for the rest of his life. He was an able and successful farmer, a man of good principles, and in every way an intelligent and worthy citizen. He died in 1886. His wife, Marinda Merchant, who was born in Gray, survived him about two years, dying in 1888. They had six children, as fol- lows: Ariel D., who married Lizzie Jordan, and resides in Yarmouth; Frances E., who married Beacher True, of Yarmouth; Alva, a boot and shoe dealer of Portland; Charles M., the subject of this sketch; Lucretia, who mar- ried John P. Caswell, and is no longer living; and Caroline, who died at the age of eleven years.

Charles M. Lane was educated in the common schools of Gray, and at the age of twenty years he was employed as baggage master on the Grand Trunk Railroad. After continuing in that position for a few months, he relinquished railroading, and returned to Gray, making his home with his parents for two years. He then bought the farm of one

hundred acres which he now occupies, being at the present time one of the leading farmers in the town. He produces grain to some extent, and raises considerable stock, but he makes a specialty of fruit growing, which he finds to be a source of much profit, his large and well- kept orchard being one of the finest in the county. He is a Republican in politics, hav- ing always supported the principles of that party ; and he is a member of the Grange in New Gloucester.

On July 4, 1867, Mr. Lane was united in marriage to Frances A. Young, who was born in South Paris, Me., January 15, 1847. Her parents, George W. and Laura T. (Field) Young, were natives of Oxford County, Maine. Mr. Young, who was a blacksmith by trade, followed that occupation in South Paris for many years. He finally retired from active labor, and passed his latter years in Braintree, - Mass., where he died November 6, 1893. His wife, Mrs. Lane's mother, died in Febru- ary, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Lane have had ten children, as follows: Frederick F., who was born May 25, 1868, married Addie L. Call, resides in South Boston, and is a fireman on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road ; Edgar C., who was born May 31, 1870, married Mary S. Mayall, and is a travelling salesman for a Boston boot and shoe firm; Carrie L., born April 18, 1872, died Septem- ber 10 of the same year; J. Caswell, who was born July 29, 1873, and travels for a boot and shoe house of Boston; George T., born August 31, 1875, employed as a clerk in a shoe store in Boston; Laura A., born November 1, 1878, died June 1, 1880; Winfield A., born August 6, 1880, who resides at home; Lester E., born April 27, 1882, died September 27 of that year; an infant who was born February 24, 1884, and died March 5 of that year; and Vera E., born September 30, 1885, who re- sides at home.

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Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Cumberland County, Maine, Part 76

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