USA > Maine > Oxford County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Oxford and Franklin counties, Maine > Part 48
USA > Maine > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Oxford and Franklin counties, Maine > Part 48
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On September 22, 1861, Mr. Morton was united in marriage with Miss Lucelia C. Forbes, a daughter of Elbridge and Julia (Prentiss) Forbes. She is a descendant of Captain Miles Standish in the seventh genera- tion. Mr. and Mrs. Morton have six children, namely : William P., born June 24, 1862, a decorator and painter, who married Mrs. Jennie Whitney; Julia P., born March I. 1866, who is a teacher in the South Paris Academy; Walter E., born June 5. 1867, who
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died at twenty-three years of age, leaving a widow, Elizabeth Whitman Morton, and two children - Isabel and Katherine; George R., born August 17, 1868, the receiver of the West End Railroad at Allston; Harry A., born June 2, 1876, now attending the Bryant & Stratton Business College; Clarence G., born August 2, 1881. On coming to South Paris, Mr. Morton purchased the Morgan House, 30 High Street, which he has remod- elled, and they have a pleasant, attractive home. In politics he is a Republican. Hle was elected on the first Board of Deacons after the erection of the Baptist church here in South Paris.
OHN WYMAN, a thriving agriculturist of Oxford County, and an esteemed resi- dent of Norway township, was born June 23, 1838, in the town of Weld, Franklin County, Me., a son of Daniel Wyman. He comes of patriotic stock, his paternal great-grandfather, Captain Daniel Wyman, having been an officer in the Revolu- tionary War. He lived for many years in that part of Maine then known as Wyman planta- tion, but now called Chesterfield, where his son John, grandfather of John Wyman, the subject of this sketch, was born.
The grandfather was an industrious, hard- working man, engaged as a tiller of the soil during most of his life. He removed from the place of his nativity to Livermore, An- droscoggin County, where he carried on farm- ing until his death in 1862. To him and his wife, whose maiden name was Susan Peterson, were born eight children, namely: John, de- ceased; Daniel, father of John; Sylvanus, deceased; Abram, now living in Livermore ; Alvin, deceased; Louisa, widow of James Lane, residing at Livermore Falls; Rhoda and Susan, both deceased.
Daniel Wyman lived on the homestead in Livermore until attaining mature years, when he removed to the town of Weld, this State, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, be- coming one of the most prosperous farmers in the vicinity. In 1842 he removed to Mount Vernon, continuing his residence there until his demise in April, 1872. He married Miss
Esther Goding, of Jay, Me., a daughter of Jonas Goding, who moved from Roxbury, Mass., to that town when a young man, and was thereafter engaged in tilling the soil until called to depart this life in 1855. Into the parental household were born nine children, briefly mentioned as follows : Elizabeth, deceased; Susan, widow of Peter Albee, living in Auburn, Me. ; Emeline, the wife of George Carr, of Dexter, this State; Charles, who married Diantha Carr, and lives in Mount Vernon, Me. ; Daniel, in California; Esther, the wife of Jonathan Ralph, of California; John, the special subject of this sketch; Par- ker, a resident of Canton, Me., who married Vilanti Rollins; and Uroxa, of Auburn, Me. The mother died in the prime of life in July, 1856.
John Wyman attended the district schools and assisted his father in the manual labors of the farm until twenty years of age, when he went to Nevada County, California, where he had a brother and sister living. For nine years he engaged in mining and lumbering in that locality, and then returned to the scenes of his childhood. Settling in Mount Vernon, he operated a saw-mill for three years. Com- ing thence to Oxford County, Mr. Wyman bought a saw-mill in the town of Newry, where for ten years he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber. Having the misfort- une to be burned out, he next came to Norway ; and here, on November 16, 1885, he bought the farm which he now owns and occupies. He has one hundred and forty acres of good land, which he is managing with profitable results, carrying on general farming, and keep- ing a choice dairy of fourteen cows.
On December 28, 1870, Mr. Wyman mar- ried Miss Ann D. Trask, the daughter of Nathaniel Trask, a well-known farmer of Mount Vernon. She died September 27, 1883, leaving one child - Alfred L., who was born October 24, 1871, and is now engaged in the insurance business, making his home with his father, and occupying a prominent position among the leading young men of the town. On September 14, 1884, Mr. Wyman was united in matrimony with Miss Eldora H. Barker, who was born December 10, 1864, in the town of Albany, this county, where her
JAIRUS K. HAMMOND.
SMITH DUDLEY.
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parents, Amos and Betsy Barker, are now liv- ing, her father being a prosperous farmer. Of this union three children have been born, namely : Louisa, who died in infancy; Mabel Louisa, born September 3, 1886; and J. Mur- phy, born April 27, 1890. Mr. Wyman has also an adopted daughter - Jennie Patterson, who has been a member of his household since she was eleven years old.
Politically, Mr. Wyman is a very active and prominent member of the Republican party in this section, which he has served during the past six years as one of the Town Committee. He takes great interest in local public affairs, and was a member of the Board of Selectmen of Norway in 1891. He is a member of Ver- non Valley Lodge, No. 97, A. F. & A. M., of Mount Vernon; and of Bethel Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Bethel; also of Bethel Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of the Norway Grange, Patrons of Hus- bandry. Mrs. Wyman is a member of the Congregational church.
AIRUS KEITH HAMMOND was a lifelong resident of Paris, Oxford County, the date of his birth being Oc- tober 26, 1822, and that of his death February 1, 1892. He was of pioneer stock, his grandfather, Benjamin Hammond having been among the earliest settlers of this town ; and his father, Moses Hammond, was born in the log cabin in which the grandfather first lived. Moses Hammond was a well-known and influential business man of Paris, Me. He married Mehitable Keith, a native of Bridgewater, Mass., who bore him eight chil- dren, five of whom grew to maturity, namely : Mrs. Elizabeth S. Prince; Jairus Keith ; Mrs. Juliet H. Brown, widow of Dr. Thomas H. Brown, in whose sketch, which will be found on another page of this volume, a more ex- tended ancestral history of the Hammond fam- ily appears; Albert M. ; and Frances A.
Jairus K. Hammond obtained a good educa- tion in his youth, pursuing his elementary studies in the common schools of his native town, and afterward attending the academies at Bridgton and Hebron. He early chose farming as his life work, and in addition had
an interest for several years in his father's milling operations. He was an intelligent and skilful agriculturist, thoroughly conver- sant with the various branches of his industry, and had a large portion of his valuable farm in a good state of cultivation. He enjoyed in a marked degree the confidence of his fellow- men, whom he served in positions of trust and responsibility. He held various town offices, including that of Selectman ; was a prominent member of the Norway Grange, No. 45, Patrons of Husbandry ; belonged to the Maine Board of Agriculture three years; and was a Trustee of the Oxford County Agricultural Society several terms. At the time of his decease Mr. Hammond was serving as a Di- rector of the Norway National Bank, as a Trustee of the South Paris Savings Bank, and a Trustee of the Paris Hill Academy.
Mr. Hammond was three times married. By his first wife, Eliza Hooper, he had three sons, only one of whom survived the mother, namely : Herbert P., who was born February 7, 1855, and is now a farmer at Paris Hill. The others were : Charlie A., who died at the age of ten years; and Fred, who died when only eight years old. By his second wife, Sarah L. Dunham, he had a daughter - Helen, born June 24, 1879, who lives at the home of her childhood. On October 25, 1887, Mr. Hammond married Mrs. Lydia H. Stearns Dudley, the widow of Smith Dudley. Mrs. Hammond was born in Paris, Me., June 2, 1835, a daughter of William and Joanna (Por- ter) Stearns. She is now living at Paris Hill, where she has a very pleasant home in which she hospitably entertains her many friends. She is held in high regard throughout the community in which her life has been spent. being an important factor of social and relig- ious circles, and a faithful member of the Bap- tist church. Her father was born in Waltham, Mass., November 8, 1790, and after his mar- riage with Miss Porter, of North Yarmouth, he had a happy wedded life of sixty-one years. He was a son of William Stearns, Sr., a pioneer farmer of this town, and was a gen- erous, public-spirited man, a strong Whig in his early days, and afterward an ardent Repub- lican. Religiously, he was an active member of the Baptist church, and fraternally was the
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oldest Free Mason in Oxford County, having joined the order as early as 1816. He died March 20, 1877, aged eighty-six years; while his wife, who was an unusually bright and intelligent old lady, lived until October, 1894, dying at the advanced age of ninety-six years and three months. They were the par- ents of eight children, two of whom, William P. and James, are dead. The others are as follows : Charles; George; Mrs. Lucy Wood- man; Sylvanus Porter Stearns, of whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this work; Mrs. Lydia H. Hammond; and Mrs. Mary Howe.
Mrs. Hammond's first husband, Smith Dud- ley, was a native of Woodstock, Me., born May 8, 1827. He was reared and educated in this town, whither his parents came when he was two years old. He was an energetic and progressive farmer, and a very highly es- teemed citizen. In politics he was a firm advocate of the principles of the Democratic party, and in his religious belief was liberal. He died February 19, 1883. To him and his wife four children were born, namely : Ella L., who married Henry D. Hammond, of whom a brief sketch appears on another page of this volume, and died at the age of twenty-two years; Charles S., of Paris, Me. ; James S., also of Paris; and Gertrude, the present wife of Henry D. Hammond.
A portrait of Mr. Smith Dudley, and also one of Mr. J. K. Hammond, are published in connection with this sketch.
J OHN DUNSMOORE, formerly a well- known resident of Temple, and an ex- tensive dealer in horses, was born in Temple, January 10, 1817, son of James and Olive (Dresser) Dunsmoore. His parents, who were natives of New Hampshire, settled in Temple when the country was new. Here James Dunsmoore cleared a tract of land now known as the Woods farm, spent the rest of his active period working at his trade of blacksmith and tilling the soil, and died at the age of eighty-seven years. His children were : James, John, and Olive.
John Dunsmoore learned the blacksmith's trade, but, after working at it with his father
for a time, he engaged in stone-cutting. In 1849 he went to California by way of Cape Horn, being one of the first in this section to start for the gold mines. Arriving there during the wet season, he was so unfavorably impressed with the country and climate that he returned after six months. Subsequently, he purchased a farm in the northern part of Temple, and resided there for a time. Later he bought another estate, containing seventy- five acres of land, located near the village, and there' engaged in general farming. Being an excellent judge of horses, he devoted his prin- cipal attention to the purchase and sale of these animals, becoming widely and favorably known as a reliable dealer, and doing a profit- able business for a number of years. In poli- tics he supported the Democratic party. He was a Unitarian in his religious belief. At his death, which occurred at his home in Temple, March 7, 1882, in his sixty-sixth year, he was mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances as an honorable, upright man, and a worthy citizen.
Mr. Dunsmoore was united in marriage to Martha A. Dresser, who survives him. She is a daughter of Oliver and Dorcas (Mitchell) Dresser. Her paternal grandparents were Rufus and Elizabeth (Lawes) Dresser, the former of whom came from New Hampshire to Temple among the early settlers ; and he died when his son Oliver was three years old. Oliver Dresser .was the owner of two farms located in the western part of Temple. He was engaged in farming until his death, which happened at the age of fifty-nine years. His wife lived to be eighty-four years old. Their children were: Martha A., who is now the widow of John Dunsmoore; Pamelia; and Abbie. Mrs. Dunsmoore has had three chil- dren - John D., Martha F., and Oliver M. John D., who was born December 20, 1855, died in 1857. Martha F., born October 13, 1854, married Hannibal Russell, an extensive wood manufacturer of Farmington, and died January 12, 1887. She gave birth to three children, namely : Donald, who died young ; Mattie F. ; and Bernice M. Oliver M., who was born December 22, 1859, now resides with his mother.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Duns-
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moore continued to occupy the homestead until the residence was destroyed by fire. She then sold the estate, and in 1889 bought the Walton place, containing twenty-three aeres of land, situated near West Farmington, where she has sinee resided. By remodelling the buildings and effeeting other improvements in the property, she has made a very pleasant home.
RED W. SANBORN, of the Oxford County Advertiser, was born in Loudon, N. H., February 10, 1855. He is a son of John Shaw Sanborn, who married Dor- cas A. Brown, a daughter of Ephraim Brown, of Norway, Me., and a sister of Ephraim Heald Brown of that town. The subject of this sketch was graduated in 1876 from the New Hampton Literary Institution of New Hampton, N. H. ; and he also took a course of commercial training at Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. During the school year of 1877 and 1878 Mr. Sanborn was assistant teaeher in the New Hampton (N. H.) Business College, resigning that position in July, 1878, to engage in newspaper business at Laconia, N. H. Previous to his graduation he had learned the printer's trade in the print- ing offiees at Laeonia and Lake Village, N. H. and was well fitted to embark in journalism on his own aeeount. In company with Colonel E. C. Lewis, who furnished . the capital, he bought the Laconia (N. H.) Democrat, and they condueted it for nearly four years, Mr. Lewis being its editor and Mr. Sanborn its business manager. During this time, by means of the same push and enterprise that he has displayed in conducting the Advertiser, the eirculation of the Democrat was more than doubled. In April, 1882, Mr. Sanborn re- tired from the firm, and in the following month came to Norway, Me. Not long afterward, or on December 31, 1882, he became the owner and manager of the Oxford County Advertiser, which was temporarily suspended - the estab- lishment, then condueted by S. Drake & Co., having been burned out two or three months previously. Mr. Sanborn has sinee retained his control and ownership of the paper. He takes a great interest in the enterprise, to |
which he is well adapted, and is thoroughly alive to the advantages of what he aptly describes as, "A little affair carefully looked after in a thriving town filled with good people who want to know what their neighbors are doing and are willing to buy and pay for a paper that contains that news." The paper ranks among the best of its class in New Eng- land, and Mr. Sanborn's sueeess in the field of loeal journalism is foreibly demonstrated by its eirculation during the past fourteen years. February 4, 1879, Mr. Sanborn married Laura A. Hill, of Strafford, N. H. She was born in Strafford, November 2, 1856, and is a graduate of the New Hampton Institution, having been a member of the class of 1877. They have no children. Mrs. Sanborn is a lady of rare literary attainments and business sagaeity, and is besides a practical printer. Much of the success of the Oxford County Ad- vertiser is due to her untiring energy and ability.
Mr. Sanborn is largely engaged in business outside his newspaper enterprise, being inter- ested in the management of several sueeessful financial institutions and business corporations in this and other States. He has been largely sueeessful in his outside ventures, but it is in local journalism that he takes the greatest pride.
OHN PIKE, a leading merchant of Wil- ton, was born in Freeman, Franklin County, February 1, 1828, son of Jacob and Laurana (Cummings) Pike. His grandfather was John Pike, a native of New Hampshire, who in early life moved to Nor- way, Me., cleared a large farm located just west of that village, upon a hill which has sinee borne his name, and several of his deseendants are residing there now. He mar- ried a Miss Tarbox, who was also a native of New Hampshire, and she reared several children.
Jacob Pike bought a farm in Norway when a young man. A short time later he sold it. and, moving to Freeman, settled upon one hundred acres of unimproved land, which he partially cleared. Selling this property after- ward, he bought another farm of one hundred
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acres, in the town of Kingfield, this county, where he resided until 1838. This property he then sold, removed to Strong, and purchased an estate of one hundred and thirty-five acres. lIere, with his health impaired, he was en- gaged in farming until his death from con- sumption in 1847, at the age of fifty-two years. He supported the Whig party in poli- tics, and was a member of the Universalist church. His wife, Laurana, became the mother of seven children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were: Mary Ann, Jane, Martha, John, Lucinda, and Henry.' Henry resides at the homestead in Strong. The mother, who lived to the age of seventy-seven years, died in 1871.
John Pike obtained a good, practical educa- tion by attending the district school and per- sonal study afterward. He resided at home, and, with his brother, carried on the home- stead farm until he reached the age of twenty- eight. Then he purchased a farm for him- self, and lived on it about ten years. After this he engaged in a general mercantile busi- ness with Anson Mosman in Wilton. The firm had carried on a large and profitable busi- ness at the old stand for twenty-seven years, when the fire of 1893 swept away his building, with all others in the business portion of the village. Immediately rebuilding he erected a three-story structure with basement, the whole of which, except a portion of the second floor, rented to Dr. Rowell, the dentist, he now occupies. He deals in groceries, dry goods, crockery ware, drugs, medicines, paints and oils, hardware, wall paper, etc., keeping a large stock constantly on hand. He has also dealt extensively and successfully in real estate. At the present time he owns the John Gould place, located on Prospect Street, which he has completely rebuilt ; also a double house on Main Street, another at the lower end of the village, together with a farm and some wood lots. He formerly owned the hotel prop- erty which he managed at different times, and rebuilt the stables destroyed in the conflagra- tion of 1893.
Mr. Pike wedded Sarah E. Mosman, daugh- ter of George Mosman, of Farmington, who formerly resided in Newton, Mass. Mrs. Pike has had two children, namely: Charles
who died at the age of fourteen months; and Laurana, who was born November 29, 1876. Mr. Pike is an earnest and influential sup- porter of the Republican party. He served as Deputy Sheriff here for twelve years. The fraternities in which he has membership are : Wilton Lodge, No. 156, A. F. & A. M. ; and Williamson Lodge, No. 20, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being Past Chief Patriarch of the encampment. His prominence here, and the high esteem in which he is held, are the result of his fair dealing in all relations. He is a member of the Congregational church, and contributes generously toward its support.
ARCUS MORTON SMART, one of the stirring and progressive farmers of Fryeburg, Oxford County, Me., and a scarred vet- eran of the Civil War, is a native of this town. He was born January 10, 1841, son of Ira and Esther (McIntire) Smart. His grandfather, Daniel Smart, who was the first of the family to settle in Fryeburg, was a native of Ossipee, N. H., and came here about the year 1812. He bought a farm located in the eastern part of the town, and resided thereon until his death, which took place December 7, 1870. He served as a soldier in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War, and in his declining years received a pension from the government. He married Rhoda Davis, who was born in Nottingham, N. H., September 25, 1787, and had a family of eleven children, namely : Moses D. ; Daniel; Ira; Rebecca L. ; Rhoda D. ; Noah D .; Susan D .; Daniel, second; Winthrop; Ephraim K. ; and Sarah H. Mr. Smart's grandmother died September 6, 1867.
Ira Smart, son of Daniel Smart, was born in Prospect, Me., May 11, 1813. In early man- hood he settled upon a farm situated on what is known as Smart's Hill, where he resided until 1866, when he bought the property where his son, Marcus M., now lives; and his last days were passed upon this farm. He was one of the most able farmers and useful citizens of his day, always manifesting a lively interest in the welfare and progress of the community ; and his death, which took place December 14,
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1887, was deeply regretted by his fellow- townsmen. His wife, Esther McIntire, who was born in Chatham, N. H., July 8, 1820, was the mother of ten children, as follows : Marcus Morton, the direct subject, of whom see fur- ther mention in next paragraph; William T., formerly Postmaster and now Collector of Lewiston, Me., who was born October 6, 1842, and married Sarah Fuller; Laura A., who was born January 20, 1845, and is residing with her brother at the homestead; Daniel, who was born February 2, 1848, and died in May, 1868, in Montana; Esther E., who was born December 31, 1849, and died December 27, 1853; twins, who died in infancy; Ira G., who was born November 14, 1851, married Martha Plummer, and is now a practising physician of Blue Earth, Minn. ; John W., who was born April 15, 1858, married Fanny Wyman, and is now engaged in the meat business in Boston; and Esther J., who was born November 28, 1862, and died on the 15th of August, 1882. The children all acquired a good practical education, and two of them became teachers. Mrs. Esther M. Smart died February 5, 1894.
Marcus Morton Smart, the first-born of the ten, was a pupil in the common schools in his boyhood, and he resided at home until he was twenty years old. At the breaking out of the Rebellion his patriotism was aroused, and on October 15, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company E, Twelfth Regiment, Maine Vol- unteer Infantry. The officers of the regiment were Colonel Shepley, Lieutenant-colonel William K. Kimball, and Major D. R. Has- tings; and Captain Enoch Knight commanded Company E. The Twelfth was first attached to the department of the Gulf, under General Butler, and participated in the capture of New Orleans, the battle of Irish Bend, the siege and capture of Port Hudson, and other engage- ments upon the lower Mississippi; afterward it took part in the Shenandoah Valley cam- paign under General Sheridan, rendering valiant service at the battles of Winchester, Cedar Creek, and Fisher's Hill; and later, joining the army of the Potomac, it assisted in the important operations which resulted in the fall of Richmond. After the completion of his first term of enlistment Mr. Smart re-
enlisted in Company C, of the same regi- ment, January 1, 1864; and, serving until April 18, 1866, was discharged at Savannah, Ga. During his long period of service he saw a great deal of hard fighting, but fortunately escaped serious injury ; and the only mishap which occurred to incapacitate him from active duty was caused by a wound from a spent ball at the battle of Cedar Creek, the scar of which is still visible. Immediately after his return from the army he bought a farm in the town of Sweden, where he resided for fourteen years, and he then moved to Fryeburg village, where he was engaged in jobbing for some seven years. In March, 1887, he bought his present property, which is known as the Uncle Barnes Walker farm. This estate consists of one hundred and twenty acres of well improved land, which he devotes principally to the cul- tivation of hay, corn, and potatoes; and he also owns some outlying woodland.
In May, 1863, previous to his re-enlistment in the army, Mr. Smart was united in marriage with Ruth E. Charles, his first wife, who was born in Lovell, Me., daughter of Carlton Charles, a prosperous farmer of that town; and by this union there were two children, namely : Nellie G., who was born in Septem- ber, 1865, and is now the wife of William F. Scruton, a book-keeper and salesman in a clothing store in Lewiston; and Ruth, who died at the age of eighteen months. Mr.
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