USA > Maine > Oxford County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Oxford and Franklin counties, Maine > Part 16
USA > Maine > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Oxford and Franklin counties, Maine > Part 16
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On January 22, 1887, Mr. Dyer was united in marriage to Ella L .. Perkins, daughter of Orrin Perkins, of Carthage, Me. He is an Odd Fellow of high standing, being Past Grand of Franklin Lodge, No. 58, and Past Chief Patriarch of the Sandy River Encamp- ment, No. 9. In politics he is a Republican. He attends the Baptist church, of which he has acted as usher for the past twelve years.
EORGE H. EASTMAN, an enter- prising and prosperous farmer and a prominent citizen of Lovell, Oxford County, Me., was born in this municipality, March 9, 1850, his parents being Isaac and Katherine (Page) Eastman.
His father was a son of Phineas Eastman, ' an agriculturist of Lovell, and was one of a family of nine children. Isaac Eastman after his marriage settled in the southern part of the town of Lovell, where he carried on farming, and also engaged in lumbering, until his de- cease. He married Miss Katherine Page, a native of Burlington, Me .; and they became the parents of four children - George H., Mellen, Alva, and H. Walter. Mellen East- man married Miss Nellie M. Gerry, and they now reside with his mother on the old home- stead at South Lovell. Alva wedded Miss Alice Eastman; and they now make their home at St. Cloud, Minn. He is a promi- nent man of that city, and is the editor and proprietor of the St. Cloud Journal Press. H. Walter Eastman still resides in his native town, and is engaged in general farming. Mr. Isaac Eastman passed away in December, 1895.
George H. Eastman grew to manhood on the paternal estate, obtaining his education in the common schools of Lovell and in the Bethel and Fryeburg Academy. At the age of twenty-one he began to teach; and for about six years he had charge of the district schools in Lovell, North Waterford, and Fryeburg. During that time he married; and soon after he assumed charge of the homestead of his father-in-law, which was known as the Pottle farm. On this estate, now embrac- ing about two hundred and twenty-five acres, which he has very much improved during his
HARLAN P. DENNISON.
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proprietorship, he is successfully engaged in general agricultural pursuits, devoting less at- tention, however, to stock raising and dairy- ing than to the cultivation of the land.
On November 14, 1874, Mr. Eastman mar- ried Miss Lizzie M. Pottle, a native of Lovell and one of the five children of the Rev. John S. and Mrs. Nancy H. (Hamblen) Pottle, to whom she was born May 17, 1851. Mr. Pottle was a native of Stratham, N.H., and his wife of Limington, Me. Prior to his marriage he removed to Stoneham, Me., where he resided about four years, changing his home then to Lovell, settling on a farm near the centre of that town. He conducted hus- bandry thereon until 1850, when he located on the estate now occupied by his son-in-law, Mr. Eastman, and on which he resided until his decease. The Rev. John S. Pottle and his wife became the parents of five children, namely: Albanes M .; Lizzie M., now Mrs. Eastman; Francina; Lydia H .; and Carrie M. Albanes M. Pottle, who still resides in Lovell, and is engaged in farming and teach- ing, married for his first wife Miss Nellie H. Heald, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Abel Heald, of Lovell, and after her death wedded Miss Mary Heald, a native of Lovell; Francina Pottle is now the wife of C. Adelbert Heath, who is a dealer in dry goods at Brayton, Ia. ; Lydia lives at Lovell as the wife of Henry W. Palmer, who prosecutes there farming and car- pentering and also the blacksmith trade; Carrie is now Mrs. Ezra Heald, whose hus- band is a farmer of Stow, Me. Mr. Pottle de- parted this life on January 10, 1892. His wife still survives, residing with her daughter, Mrs. Eastman.
Mr. Eastman is one of the most influential citizens of Lovell, though he has never been a solicitor for public office. He takes a leading part in town and county enterprises, and is an earnest advocate of every wise project looking to the welfare and advancement of the com- munity. For two years he officiated as Super- visor in Lovell. Mr. Eastman is in affiliation with Kezar Valley Lodge, No. 66, of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, located in Lovell. His political views bring him into fellowship with the Republican party, to which he has always given his allegiance.
Both he and his wife are members of the Christian Church of Lovell Centre. Mr. Eastman is of a genial disposition, and he commands the respect and confidence of a broad circle of acquaintances.
ARLAN P. DENNISON, of South Paris, Me., the Treasurer of the Paris Manufacturing Company, is one of those men who have made American enterprise proverbial throughout the world. He is a native of Freeport, Me., born April 10, 1849, son of Joseph and Caroline (Blackstone) Dennison. Joseph Dennison was a leading farmer of Freeport, where he died in 1862, when fifty-eight years old. His wife, Caroline, bore him five children, of whom one died in infancy. The others, who all attained maturity, were: Hannah, Ann J., Harlan, and Lucilla. The mother lived until 1891, reaching the age of seventy-two years.
Harlan P. Dennison, left fatherless at the age of thirteen, was then obliged to aid in maintaining the family by going to work in a shoe factory. Possessed of a natural aptitude for any mechanical labor requiring skill, he learned the trade quickly, and was soon earn- ing wages that caused him to be looked to as the chief support of his mother and sisters. Subsequently, becoming expert in the work of all the departments, he demanded and ob- tained the highest remuneration paid. When thirty years old he joined the firm of Denni- son & Lamont, manufacturers of boots and shoes in Freeport. Shortly after he bought out his partner, and conducted the establish- ment alone for a brief period. Then he took R. A. Lewis into partnership, the business being carried on for four years under the name of Dennison & Lewis. Again he became sole proprietor by purchasing his partner's in- terest; and in the ensuing years he made shoes, principally ladies' hand-turned shoes, at the rate of thirty-five thousand pairs per year. In 1891 he came to South Paris to settle, as executor, the estate of his father-in- law, who had recently died. This work brought him into relations with the Paris Manufacturing Company, of which the father- in-law had been a shareholder at his death to
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the amount of eighty-four thousand dollars, and finally led him to abandon the manufact- ure of shoes and invest largely in that com- pany's stock. At the same time he took up his residence in South Paris. In the follow- ing year he was elected Trustee of the com- pany, and thenceforth he became more and more identified with its interests.
The business of the company was first started in 1870 at Paris Hill, under the man- agement of H. F. Morton and G. B. Crocker, with capital raised by the people of the town. In 1883 a new and more commodious building was erected in South Paris, and the plant re- moved hither. Two years after it was de- stroyed by an accidental fire, but no time was lost in rebuilding. The structure covers an area of thirty-nine thousand square feet, has a height varying from one to two and a half stories, and is furnished with the best and most improved machinery, all of which is operated by steam-power. In the large store- house adjoining and in several others in the village the manufactured goods are kept in readiness for shipping. Over two hundred hands are employed, including a number of the best mechanics in special departments. The articles made here are hand-carts, car- riages, sleds, sleighs, desks, chairs, step- ladders, and so forth, for which the timber is bought in the log, and afterward cut and kiln- dried on the premises. It is claimed that no other factory in the country produces these goods in such large quantities or of so high a quality. The company supplies an extensive territory, within which it fears no competi- tors. Every year for some time past it has been obliged to run the factory for a season at night as well as day to keep even with its orders.
In 1872, October 2, Mr. Dennison was united in matrimony with Miss Esther Cush- ing, daughter of Charles and Martha (Brewer) Cushing. Mr. Cushing, who was a native of Freeport, in his youth learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he followed for a number of years. Subsequently he became associated with the firm of Briggs, Cushing & Means, of Freeport, with whom he built several noted vessels, including the "Nor- wegian," "Oasis," "John De Caster," "Gen-
cral Fairchilds," and the "Wilna." He con- tinued in the ship-building business until 1885, when he retired from active occupation. He first became interested in the Paris Manu- facturing Company in 1878. Afterward he continued to buy shares until he was the larg- est stockholder of the company. He died in 1892, aged seventy-two years. Mr. Dennison and his wife have three children, namely : H. Walter, born June 27, 1874; Charles P. and Martha E. (twins), born September 18, 1878. H. Walter Dennison married Madge Stuart, and is the book-keeper of the Paris Manufact- uring Company. Both parents are members of the Baptist church. When a resident of Freeport, Mr. Dennison was Selectman of the town for a time. He is Chancellor Com- mander, Hamlin Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and Treasurer of the local Board of Trade.
EZEKIAH G. MASON, an ex- soldier of the Army of the Republic, who at the close of the war with the South gladly exchanged rifle and cartridge-box for plough-share and spade, and was thereafter for a number of years actively engaged in farming in the town of Mason, is now virtually retired from active pursuits. He was born here, March 28, 1835, his parents being Artemas and Betsey (Bartlett) Mason.
Artemas Mason was a native of Gilead, Ox- ford County, and spent the early years of his life on a farm in that town. Coming to Mason when a young man, he purchased a farm, on which he spent the remainder of his life. Naturally energetic and industrious, by careful management he was able not only to support his family in comfort, but to lay by for the days of enforced idleness. From the formation of the Republican party he was one of its stanch supporters. He served as Select- man of Mason several years. His wife, whose maiden name was Betsey Bartlett, was born in Cumberland County, Maine. For her first husband she married Hezekiah Grover, who died leaving her with two children - Amos A., residing in Norway; and Mehitabel J., wife of E. G. Wheeler. Three children were born of her union with Mr. Artemas Mason, of whom Minerva Ann died at twenty-eight
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years of age, and Francis at seventeen, the only survivor being Hezekiah G., of this sketch. Artemas Mason died at eighty-three years of age, and Mrs. Mason in middle life. Both were members of the Congregational church.
Hezekiah G. Mason lived at home until some time after the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1863 he enlisted in the Seventh Maine Battery, with which he went out as a private, and was gone about two years, most of the time being spent in Virginia, the seat of many of the severest battles of the war. Among those in which he participated were the battle of the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Spottsylvania, besides many smaller engagements. At Petersburg he was wounded in the left hand, and for two months he was in the hospital at Washington. . At the close of the war Mr. Mason returned home, and engaged in agriculture on the farm where he has since resided. He has, however, re- cently sold the farm to his son-in-law, Ernest Morrill; but he continues to live here, having laid by ample means for all his requirements.
On January 2, 1861, Mr. Mason was married to Miss Susanna Watson, of Norway. She died January 20, 1879, leaving three children, namely: Luella, wife of Rufus Morrill, of Norway Lake, Me .; Willard H .; and Betsey B., the wife of Ernest Morrill. The Republi- can party has in Mr. Mason a loyal supporter. He is a member of Pleasant Valley Grange of West Bethel and of G. Brown Post, No. 84, Grand Army of the Republic, of Bethel.
IDWIN SAWYER, an ex-member of the Maine legislature, now living in retire- ment at West Farmington, was born July 5, 1831, in Temple, this county, son of Nathaniel and Polly (Richards) Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer's father, who was a native of Hancock, N.H., resided there until he was eleven years old, when he accompanied Thomas Russell to Temple, and worked for him as a farm as- sistant for ten years. He then entered the employ of Benjamin Abbott, with whom he remained for the same length of time. After that he purchased a tract of land that included three small clearings, and engaged in farming
on his own account. In time, by perseverance and hard work, he became the owner of three hundred acres of fertile land, most of which was cleared for tillage purposes. Through his unabated toil and the assistance of his sons he accumulated a competency sufficient to insure a comfortable subsistence for his declining years. He passed his last days in retirement, and died at the age of eighty-five years. Be- sides an unusual amount of energy he pos- sessed extraordinary physical strength. He has left a monument of his industry in a stone wall sixteen feet broad and five feet high, which still stands upon the farm. His kind and agreeable disposition, besides endearing him to his family, made him a general favorite with his neighbors. In politics he supported the Democratic party, while his religious views were liberal. His wife, Polly, who was a daughter of Mitchell Richards, bore him nine children; namely, Mary, Pamelia, Leon- ard, Albion K., Abiel, Sophia A., Dennis, Edwin, and Phirilla. All of them attained maturity, and several are still living. The mother died at the age of seventy years.
Edwin Sawyer was educated in the town schools. At an early age he began to assist his father in carrying on the farm. He re- sided with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-seven years, when he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in his na- tive town. Here he entered upon the life of an independent farmer with a spirit of deter- mination that foreshadowed the success he has achieved. He set out a fine orchard, com- pletely remodelled the buildings, and made other improvements which greatly added to the convenience, as well as to the value, of his property. For many years he was con- sidered one of the ablest and most successful agriculturists in the town of Temple. In poli- tics he is an active supporter of the Republi- can party, and his prominence in public affairs has been the means of creating for him an extended acquaintanceship throughout this section of the county. For ten years he served as a member of the Board of Select- men. He was Town Treasurer for eight years; and he represented his district with marked ability in the legislature during the years 1879 and 1880.
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On March 27, 1859, Mr. Sawyer wedded Aphia J., daughter of Warren and Lucy Voter, who represented an old and progressive family of Farmington. Mrs. Sawyer, who has in a great measure contributed to her hus- band's advancement, is the mother of four children, as follows: George E , born January 16, 1860, who died June 3, 1865; Persia E., born September 3, 1861, who is now the wife of Charles R. Hall, an extensive farmer and stock dealer of Wilton, and has two children -- Edwin S. and Orie L .; Ernest G., born February 17, 1867, who died July 18, 1873; and Bernice E., born May 20, 1876, who is now the wife of Charles B. Goodwin, of Livermore Falls. Retiring from active labor in 1896, Mr. Sawyer sold his property to Mrs. Harriet F. Cony, and moved to West Farm- ington, where he bought the Greenwood stand, one of the best and most desirably located residences in the village. Here he is passing his time in comparative leisure after a busy and successful career. He has always pos- sessed a robust constitution; and, with the ex- ception of rheumatism, contracted through hard work, he enjoys good health, and is as active as a much younger man.
ENRY W. PARK, a prosperous mer- chant in the village of Mexico, Ox- ford County, Mc., is widely and favorably known in these parts, having long been prominent, not only as a successful business man, but as a political leader in the Republican ranks and as one of the town officers. He was born in Dixfield, the town adjoining Mexico on the east, on March 13, 1834, son of Isaac and Emeline (Smith) Park.
Isaac Park was born at the residence of his parents, near the corner of Franklin Street, Boston, Mass. After attending school in that city until he was fourteen years of age, he went to Newton, Mass., to learn the trade of carpenter. Going with his employer soon after to Paris, Me., he there remained until the completion of his apprenticeship, when he removed to Dixfield, to work at his trade. He served as Captain of the old State militia, and officiated for nearly twenty years as
Sheriff, being subsequently a member of the legislature. In politics he attained honor and distinction in the ranks of the Demo- cratic party. Captain l'ark was a public-spir- ited citizen and a man of liberal views, being in religion a Universalist. His busy career was ended by death at the age of fifty-seven. His wife, Emeline, who shared his cheerful religious faith, was a daughter of John Smith, of Readfield, Kennebec County, Mc. She died at the home of her son, Henry W. Park, on January 28, 1878, at the age of seventy-two years.
Henry W. Park was the eldest of the three children born to his parents. He spent his early life at home, attending the common school and later the high school in the vil- lage until the age of fifteen, and during the next three years being employed in his father's general merchandise store in Carthage, Frank- lin County, Me. When he was eighteen he went to Boston, there serving four years as salesman in a clothing house. After his father died he returned to Dixfield, and worked at the carpenter's trade till 1859, when he came to Mexico, and rented a farm. The following year he moved to Mexico Corner, where he now resides. In March, 1861, Mr. Park purchased the store that he now owns, continuing in trade until the early part of 1864, when he sold out and went to Washing- ton, D.C., where he served as clerk of the Ordnance Department until the close of the war. Returning to Mexico in July, 1865, he bought back his old store at the corner, and revived his trade, which is now (1896) in a flourishing condition.
In politics Mr. Park is a decided Republi- can, ever alive to party interests. His high standing in the estimation of his fellow-citi- zens is shown by his frequent election to important offices. He has served as Crier of the Courts four years, Selectman of Mexico three years, Town Treasurer twenty-five con- secutive years, and in 1875 he was Represent- ative to the State legislature. He has been for twenty-one years a member of Blazing Star Lodge, No. 30, A. F. & A. M., of Rumford Falls; and he is a charter member of Tuscan Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Dixfield, which he named at the time of its
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organization. Besides being a store-keeper, Mr. Park is an active temperance worker and an able correspondent of the local papers. It is hardly needful to add that he has an exten- sive acquaintance and a large circle of excel- lent friends.
Mr. Park has been three times married. His first wife, Ellen R. Phelps, of Dixfield, with whom he was united in June, 1857, died in August, 1862, leaving two children - Al- bert Dexter, who is now Register of Probate for Oxford County; and Henrietta, who mar- ried John E. Richards, and resides here. His second wife, formerly Miss Ellen C. Reed, of this place, whom he wedded on July 3, 1865, died in January, 1875, leaving one son, Ellery C., who became a lawyer in Bethel, Me. The maiden name of his present wife, to whom he was married in August, 1875, was Enna L. @Gleason. Four children have been born to them, namely: Helena O. and Lucy E., both of whom are teachers; and Henry W., Jr., and Eva Grace, who are still at home. Mrs. Park is a native of Mexico, Me.
ERE H. WINSLOW, a retired farmer and cattle dealer of South Paris, Oxford County, Me., was born in the town of Paris, January 18, 1823, son of Jacob and Betsey (Pratt) Winslow. Mr. Winslow's father was a native of Fryeburg, Me., where he was brought up in the family of a Mr. Hutchins; and in young manhood he settled upon a tract of unimproved land in Paris. He cleared a portion of his property into a good farm, which he cultivated during the rest of his active period. His wife died in 1869; and he spent his last days at the home of his son, Luther P., where he died in 1877, aged eighty-nine years. He was an energetic, hard-working man; and he was highly re- spected as a worthy citizen. In politics he was originally a Democrat, later supporting the Republican party. He was an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, Betsey Pratt, was a daughter of Luther Pratt, who came from Middleboro, Mass., to Paris, and was among the most enterprising and progressive of the early settlers of this town. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Winslow had
three children, namely: Luther P. ; Albert; and Jere H., subject of this sketch, who was the youngest-born.
Jere H. Winslow resided at home until he was nineteen years old, when he went to Mas- sachusetts, and engaged in farming and team- ing. Being a strong and capable man, he re- ceived good wages wherever he worked, always giving satisfaction, remaining in one place until a better one presented itself; and by carefully saving his earnings he at length amassed a sufficient sum to make a start in life for himself. His father being already well advanced in years, Mr. Winslow re- turned to his native town to care for his par- ents, and here engaged in farming on his own account. He advanced rapidly in prosperity, from time to time adding more land to his possessions; and he improved the homestead farm by rebuilding the house and erecting two new barns. Dealing in cattle was his prin- cipal pursuit for many years; and in that business he realized financial success, buying good stock, and selling it on time to farmers in this vicinity. He has also carried on lum- bering operations to some extent with profit- able results, and, being naturally of a stirring and energetic disposition, has never lost an opportunity to advance his material interests. Besides his original estate he bought two other farms.
In 1877, selling his farms in Paris, with the intention of retiring permanently from ac- tive labor, he bought the Samuel Deering place, situated on High Street in South Paris ; and he has since enlarged and remodelled the buildings, and otherwise improved this prop- erty. He has erected two houses upon his large lot here for investment purposes, one double and the other a single tenement. which yield him a good income. His early-ac- quired habits of activity preventing him even now from being idle, he still keeps busy at some useful employment. During the past winter, 1895 and 1896, he sawed and pre- pared seventeen cords of wood, "just to pass away the time," as he expresses it. It is scarcely needful to say that he enjoys good health. He has considerable capital invested in financial enterprises, has been a Director of the Paris Savings Bank and a Trustee of the
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Oxford County Fair, and is well known as one of the substantial residents of this section.
On May 1, 1853, Mr. Winslow was united in marriage with Lucetta M. Swan, a daugh- ter of William, Jr., and Hannah (Locke) Swan. Mrs. Winslow's father was born in Paris, May 18, 1792, and, when a young man, settled upon a farm in Woodstock. He finally returned to his native town, where he long continued to till the soil. His death took place at the advanced age of ninety-one years. He was held in high esteem by his fellow-townsmen as an active, intelligent, and progressive citizen. He married Hannah Locke; and their children were: Lodiska, Urania, Lucetta E., William R., Leander S., Lucetta M., and Hannah E. The mother died at the age of sixty-one years.
Mr. and Mrs. Winslow have had three chil- dren, as follows: Ella J., who was born Feb- ruary 10, 1856, married Franklin Burbank, an architect and builder, and has one son, Frank W., born March 6, 1886; Lizzie A., who was born July 19, 1859; and Nellie, who was born February 1, 1867, and died July I, 1 889.
As a man of good judgment in financial matters and of recognized integrity, Mr. Wins- low commands the esteem and confidence of his fellow-townspeople; and he has been employed to settle several estates. In poli- tics he has always been a Republican since the formation of the party, and both he and his wife are Methodists in their religious views.
APTAIN SILAS D. PERHAM, of Farmington, Me., a progressive and prosperous farmer, was born at his present home, August 6, 1814, the son of Silas and Hannah (Jennings) Perham. He is of the fifth generation of his family in this country, the first having been represented by John Perham, an Englishman, who settled in Chelmsford, Mass., and whose son, John, Jr., was Captain Perham's great-grandfather.
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