USA > Maine > Oxford County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Oxford and Franklin counties, Maine > Part 90
USA > Maine > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Oxford and Franklin counties, Maine > Part 90
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After four years of this hardy life he came to New Sharon, where he built a comfortable residence for his father at Sandy River. For thirteen years he occupied the short seasons of warm weather in this way, returning to the logging swamps when winter set in. Mean- while, he was becoming successful, reaping the results of his labors. He had bought the saw-mills at New Sharon, paying one thousand seven hundred dollars for the property ; and for fourteen years he conducted a flourishing busi-
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ness here in that line. As his means in- creased he enlarged his enterprise, and pur- chasing one thousand three hundred acres of timbered land in Madrid, he operated a mill in New Sharon, using timber from his Madrid tract, for three winters. The mill at Madrid was then swept away by a freshet, and Mr. Day sold his land and bought a hotel, which was called the Sandy River House, and was the first erected in New Sharon. The Sandy River House was destroyed by fire July 29, 1886, and in the following year he built the hotel in which he now resides and which he conducts satisfactorily to the travelling public and with profit to himself. Mr. Day has pur- chased a farm of about twenty-two acres of land situated a half mile down the river, and uses the hay cut from the fields for his stables. Since he came to New Sharon he has become one of its most prominent as well as prosper- ous business men, and is a stockholder in the water-works of the town, which forms an im- portant part of the business interests of the place.
Henry L. Day married Miss Judith Pome- roy, a daughter of Benjamin and Betsey (Boy- ington) Pomeroy, of Starks. The following children have been born to them, namely: two now deceased; George, who is a coat maker, and resides at Norridgewock; Edgar, who married Miss Dora Waugh, a daughter of William Waugh, and lives at home; and Effie, who died at seventeen years of age, just in the dawn of womanhood.
Henry L. Day is a Republican in political principles, and a Congregationalist in religious faith. He has won his measure of worldly success by steady industry, honest effort, and the exercise of sound judgment, and few men have a more just claim upon the respect and esteem of his fellow-citizens than he.
J AMES DANFORTH, a prominent citi- zen of Norway, Me., was born here on October 10, 1839, son of Dr. Asa and Abigail C. (Reed) Danforth. He is a lineal descendant of Jonathan Danforth, Sr., the noted land surveyor of Billerica, Mass., whose son, Jonathan Danforth, Jr., married Miss Rebecca Parker.
Their son, the next representative in this branch, was the Hon. Samuel Danforth. His son, Lieutenant Joseph Danforth, who was born in Dunstable, Mass., in the year 1720, married Miss Mary Richardson. Josiah Dan- forth, son of Lieutenant Joseph, married Sarah Blodgett, and lived in Tyngsboro, Mass.
Asa Danforth, son of Josiah, was born Au- gust 18, 1795. Having mastered the common English branches in the district schools, he went into the office of Dr. Thomas, of Tyngs- boro, under whom he studied medicine, at- tending also medical lectures at Dartmouth and Harvard Colleges. On July 20, 1820, he was granted by the censors of the Massachu- setts Medical Society a certificate authorizing him to practise medicine and surgery ; and the following year he started out to find a desir- able place for settlement, travelling on horse- back, and taking with him a well furnished set of saddle-bags. On reaching Portland, he bought an interview with Dr. Cummings, and was advised by him to come to Norway, as even then the town had won a reputation for thrift and progressiveness. At first he boarded, but it was not long before he mar- ried one of the daughters of Norway, and shortly erected the brick house which is still standing at the corner of Main and Danforth Streets, the brick used in its construction hav- ing been made in the meadow back of the village.
Dr. Danforth always lived there, and no man was ever more deservedly respected. The first, and for many years the only physician in the town, none since has been more successful or more endeared in the hearts of the people than this pioneer. Many of his patients lived at a considerable distance, so that he was obliged to take long and wearisome rides; and, as it was difficult to turn produce into money, the Doctor's fee was not unfrequently paid in such commodities as oats. corn, beans, potatoes, or firewood. He was, however, always ready to assist the poor: and he inter- ested himself in the material progress of the community, building a paper manufactory at the lower falls, and becoming a stockholder in the South Paris woollen-mills. In religion he was a Universalist, and he was a member of the committee that erected the church edi-
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fice. In politics he was a Whig in his earlier days, and later a Republican, serving one term in the Maine legislature. Dr. Danforth married Miss Abigail C. Reed, a daughter of William Reed, of Norway. Seven sons and a daughter were born to them, namely: Will- iam R., Josiah, Joseph H., Sarah, Frank A., John, James, Asa, Jr. Dr. Danforth's wife died in 1872, and he died June 16, 1883.
James Danforth remained with his parents. After obtaining his education, as a young man he took charge of the land owned by his father in and near Norway and on Pike Hill. For a few years he was a travelling salesman for T. H. Huston, a manufacturer of crackers and confectionery at Auburn, Me., also for F. A. Kennedy, of Cambridgeport, Mass. He then purchased a farm in Oxford, but sold it a little later, and eventually settled in Norway, inheriting the farming land owned by his father. In 1862 Mr. Danforth enlisted in Company H of the Twenty-third Maine Regi- ment, with which he served nine months, the larger part of the time being on the mail ser- vice and taking care of horses. He has since been a sufferer from rheumatism brought on by the exposure. The home in which the family now live was inherited by Mrs. Dan- forth. It was formerly the Clark Whitney Hotel, but was entirely rebuilt by Mr. Has- kell, and has since been enlarged so that they have a tenement to rent. Mr. Danforth has purchased land on Pike Hill, and a cottage, where they spend the summer months.
Mr. Danforth married Miss Mary F. Has- kell, a daughter of Charles H. Haskell, of Norway village. They have two sons and two daughters; namely, Charles H., Anna L., Sarah G., and Asa. In politics Mr. Danforth is a Republican. He is a member of Oxford Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M .; Union Chap- ter, No. 36, Royal Arch Masons; and is a charter member of Norway Lodge, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows.
NSEL DUDLEY, an esteemed and in- fluential citizen of Oxford County, Maine, residing at Bryant's Pond, was born on the IIth of April, 1844, in Woodstock, Me., the son of Perrin
and Paulina (Felt) Dudley, of the same town.
David Dudley, Mr. Dudley's grandfather, was a native of Sudbury, Mass., and in carly manhood came to Hebron. Afterward he re- moved to Paris, and in 1820 to Woodstock, exchanging farms with Noah Curtis. His first wife was Rebecca Buckram, who bore him five children. After her death he married Charity Tuell, of Paris. By his second mar- riage he became the father of eleven children, but of all his large family only three children are still living: Perrin, born February 3, 1803; Arvilla M., who married Elijah Bryant, and lives on the old county road in Wood- stock, quite near her father's homestead; and Ansel, born February 25, 1825, who married Augusta Curtis, and resides in Paris.
Perrin Dudley has lived in Woodstock for the last seventy-six years, and has always re- sided on the old homestead. He is held in the greatest esteem by his fellow-citizens, having proved his worth and his faithfulness to the interests of the town by the efficiency and zeal with which he has discharged the duties of various public offices.
As a military man he has showed great ability, and has served successively as Major, Lieutenant-colonel, and Colonel in the Na- tional Guard of Maine. When the late war of the Rebellion broke out, although too old to enter into active service, yet, in order to do for his country what he could, he organized and drilled a volunteer company at Bryant's Pond, and, as a matter of fact, nearly every member of this company subsequently went to the front.
Perrin Dudley was married on May 30, 1828, to Paulina Felt, the daughter of Joshua Felt, of Woodstock. From this union eleven children sprung: Otis S., born January 25, 1830, who died May 2, 1832; Jairus, born October 7, 1831, who married July 3, 1860, Amanda M. Clark, the daughter of Norman Clark, of Bethel, Me., and died in Bethel in 1881, his wife still living; Angelina, born July 20, 1833, married July 4, 1853, Alvin P. Bowker, of Woodstock, where they still reside; Clementine, born May 8, 1835, who died August 15, 1838; Margaret, born June 2, 1837, who died July 15, 1839; Otis
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S., second, born April 11, 1839, who married June 21, 1862, Mahala Curtis, now deceased, of Woodstock; Adelia, born March 29, 1841, married, December 26, 1861, Jeremiah Curtis, of Woodstock, he being now deceased; Ansel D., of Bryant's Pond; Amanda M., born March 31, 1846, who married, January 1, 1868, James Sheram, now deceased; Evelyn O., born De- cember 20, 1849, who married on November 7, 1869, Freeland Young, and resides in Norway, Me. ; and Perrin A., born December 14, 1853, who died on September 16, 1855. Perrin Dudley is still living at his old home, hale and hearty, though ninety-three years old. His wife has been dead some years.
Ansel Dudley, their eighth child, spent his early youth on his father's old homestead, re- ceiving his education in the public schools of his native town, and at the South Paris Academy. In the spring of 1868 he went to Boston, and learned there the trade of moving buildings. Returning to Woodstock in the fall of 1871, he immediately started in upon a prosperous business as a contractor of lum- ber. For twenty years he supplied the Yar- mouth, Me., Forest Paper Company with all the immense quantity of poplar that they needed.
He was married on March 4, 1868, to Jo- sephine Childs, the daughter of Joseph Childs, a wealthy farmer of North Paris, Me. They have two children - Olivia D. and Carl C. Olivia D. Dudley, born November 16, 1875, who is now living at home, received her edu- cation at Westbrook Seminary, Deering, Me., and at Goddard Seminary, Barre, Vt., gradu- ating from the latter institution in the spring of 1894. She then went to Boston, where she attended the Berlitz School of Languages, and also Chauncy Hall School. Carl C. Dudley, born May 15, 1878, spent his early life at home attending the public schools of Wood- stock, and in the winter term of 1894 entered Goddard Seminary in Barre, Vt., where he will graduate in 1897.
Besides his contracting business Mr. Dudley keeps a general store at Bryant's Pond, where he is one of the leading merchants, and he is one of the most prominent men of the entire district, both in a business way and socially. His political belief is stanchly Republican.
He and his family are active members of the Universalist church. He is an Odd Fellow, belonging both to Jefferson Lodge, No. 100, and to West Paris Lodge, No. 15, Indepen- dent Order of Odd Fellows.
OHN D. FURNEL, an enterprising furniture dealer of Wilton, Me., and the leading undertaker in this section of Franklin County, was born in Wil- ton, May 10, 1837, son of Dimond and Mary (Bennett) Furnel. The family name, which was originally Fernald, has been changed to Furnel by the present generation. Mr. Fur- nel's grandfather, David Fernald, was a pros- perous farmer of Loudon, N. H. Further particulars concerning him and his posterity will be found in a sketch of Captain George R. Fernald, which appears elsewhere in this work.
Dimond Furnel, son of David, was born in Loudon. He acquired a district-school educa- tion, and when a young man he learned the cloth-dresser's trade, which he followed as a journeyman in Warren, Me., for seven years. He then came to Wilton, where he bought the Colonel Hodgman carding-mills. Carding the wool into rolls, and having it spun and woven by women at their homes, he then fulled and dressed it; and after carrying on business in this manner for some time he added a shearing machine and dyeing facili- ties, and became the first regular woollen man- ufacturer in this region. He later engaged in the manufacture of yarn, producing a superior quality, which acquired a wide reputation up to 1862, the Wilton yarns being standard goods in the New England market, where they found ready sale at the highest prices. Erect- ing a large mill, he engaged in the manufact- ure of woollen cloth upon an extensive scale ; but his plant had been in operation only three months when he was stricken with pneumonia, and died at the age of seventy-five years.
His business ability and progressive ten- dencies were of great value to the town in de- veloping its industrial resources, and he did much toward increasing its importance in this direction, as well as furnishing many of its inhabitants with steady employment. Pre-
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vious to his death he erected a new residence in the new neighborhood of the factory, also remodelling the stable and other outbuildings. This property is now owned and the business carried on by G. F. Goodspeed. Mr. Dimond Furnel gave the land for the erection of the Methodist Episcopal church to the building fund, of which he donated one thousand dollars, besides assisting otherwise in its com- pletion, and he acted as a Deacon and class leader for many years. He was a Royal Arch Mason, and in politics he acted with the Re- publican party. His wife, who was before marriage Mary Bennett, became the mother of three children, namely: William C .; Al- bert S .; and John D., the subject of this sketch. Mrs. Mary B. Furnel lived to reach the age of sixty-two years.
John D. Furnel began his education in the public schools, and completed his studies at the Foxcroft Academy. In young manhood he became his father's travelling representative, selling the Wilton yarns upon the road, not only making direct sales to customers, but also taking large orders, and he sold as high as five thousand dollars worth at a time to one firm. When his father began the erection of the cloth manufactory, Mr. Furnel went to Braintree, Mass., where for a short time he had charge of a yarn mill. Returning to Wilton, he bought the mill formerly operated by his father, and in company with G. S. Fer- nald engaged in the house furnishing business and the manufacture of office furniture. His partner having retired a year later, he has since carried on the business alone, and has enlarged his factory to its present capacity. He manufactures furniture and caskets, and has a repair and finishing shop. He also does a large business as an undertaker, and his warerooms contain the most varied stock of goods in this line carried by any dealer in this part of the county.
Mr. Furnel married Emma Fairbanks, daughter of the Rev. Jonathan Fairbanks, a Methodist preacher of the Maine Conference, and by this union is the father of four chil- dren; namely, Guy G., Carl B., Roy G., and Evangeline E. Guy G. Furnel, who is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and possesses much ability, was for three years principal at
the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind in South Boston, later becoming a teacher in the Friends' School in Providence, R.I., and is connected with the Masonic fraternity. Carl B. Furnel was grad- uated at the Philadelphia School of Pharmacy in 1893, and is now in the drug business at Rumford Falls, Me. He is a member of Blazing Star Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Roy G. Furnel is a graduate of Wilton Academy, and of an embalming school, and has charge of the undertaking department of his father's busi- ness. Evangeline E. Furnel is a graduate of the Boston School of Oratory, and is now a teacher of elocution.
Mr. Furnel was made a Mason in Maine Lodge at Farmington in 1864; and, taking his demit some time later, he was instru- mental in founding the Blue Lodge in Wil- ton, of which he is still a member. In poli- tics he is independent. He has acted as a Justice of the Peace for ten years. A few years ago he bought the Matthews place for a residence, and this property he has greatly improved by enlarging and remodelling the buildings. In business and social circles he occupies a prominent position. Both he and his family attend the Congregational church.
A LLEN G. ABBOTT is one of the old- est residents of Sumner, and belongs to one of the first families of the town. He was born here August 28, 1813, son of Daniel and Sally (Tripp)
Abbott. His great-grandfather, Andrew Abbott, who was a Revolutionary soldier, came with the pioneer settlers of Sumner, which was then called the Butterfield Planta - tion, and died here at an advanced age. George Abbott, the grandfather, was born in Massachusetts, and spent much of his life in Cumberland County. He was a sturdy and hard-working farmer, a leader among his con- temporaries ; and he died in Falmouth after a long life. His wife, whose maiden name was Tabitha Sawyer, also lived to be quite old. They reared six children - Daniel, Amos, William, George, Levi, and Hannah. Levi is yet living, and resides in New Hampshire. Daniel Abbott was born in Falmouth in
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1792. He resided for a number of years in Sumner, industriously occupied in agriculture, at which he was quite successful. Mr. Abbott was a loyal Republican from the time of the formation of the party, and a devoted member of the Free Will Baptist church. He died at the age of eighty-two. His wife, who was born in Yarmouth, Cumberland County, 1791, worked as industriously as her husband, and lived to the advanced age of ninety-seven. They were the parents of four sons and three daughters. Of these four are living, namely : Allen G., the subject of this sketch; Marian, now Mrs. Rowe, of Sumner; Alpheus A., re- siding on Franklin Plantation; and James J. The others were: Andrew, Lucy, and Mar- garet. Lucy was the wife of a Mr. Campbell.
Allen G. Abbott was educated in the schools of Sumner, and while attending school aided about the home farm. He now owns a farm of seventy-five acres of good land, where for years he has been successfully engaged in raising general crops. He was married March 6, 1834, to Anna Gowell, who was born in the town of Sumner, December 16, 1816, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Gowell. Mr. Gowell also was one of the early settlers of Sumner. Mr. and Mrs. Abbott have had seven children, namely: Harriet P., born April 24, 1835; George W., who was born March 2, 1837, and died in Libby Prison, November 27, 1864; Luther C., born May 29, 1839; Charles G., born July 7, 1841; Will- iam G., born September 24, 1843; Susan J., who was born February 15, 1846, and died October 25, 1866; and Alpheus A., born March 7, 1848. The parents, who have lived together over sixty years, celebrated their golden wedding in 1884. There is but one other couple in this locality who can boast of a longer term of wedded life. Together they cared for their children in sickness and health, through childhood and adolescence; together they anxiously watched the reports from the Southern battlefields, when five of their sons were fighting for the Union; and together they bore the shock of the news that one had died in Libby Prison. Now, drifted into quiet waters, they see other generations growing up about them, for they have eighteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Mr. Abbott, who is a Republican, has served as Town Assessor, and in other capacities. He and his wife are connected with the Uni- versalist church.
ARIA B. LOWELL, of Chester- ville, an able and successful school teacher, was born in Chesterville. January 30, 1825, daughter of Reuben and Lois P. (Bradbury) Lowell. Her grandfather, Joshua B. Lowell, was one of the early settlers of Chesterville Hill. Reuben Lowell, who was a native of Chesterville, bought a part of his father's farm, and en- gaged in agriculture at an early age. He was an honest, hard-working farmer, who made the most of his opportunities of advancing him- self. He engaged in lumbering during the winter season, carrying his shingles by ox- team to Hallowell, Kennebec County, from which place they were shipped to Portland and Boston. He was also, to some extent, en- gaged in bridge building. Taking much in- terest in bees, he had a large apiary. In poli- tics he supported the Democratic party, while he was liberal in his religious views. He died April 5, 1867, aged sixty-four years. His wife, who was born in Chesterville, May 26, 1806, daughter of John Bradbury, of York, Me., became the mother of nine children - Maria B., James M., Nathan R., John S .. Joshua B., Arthur D., Jennie D., Julia F., and Albert C. James M., who was born in 1827. died in 1886; Nathan R., born in 1829, now resides in Oakland, Cal .: and Jennie D. is now the wife of the Rev. George B. Ilsley. of Bangor. The mother, who was a Calvinist Baptist, lived to the age of eighty-four years.
Maria B. Lowell acquired her education in the district schools of Chesterville and at the Farmington Academy. After teaching in the district schools of her native town for several years, she was similarly employed in the pub- lic schools of Bangor, Me., for four years, and in Rossville, Ia., for three years. Subse- quently, in Haddonfield, N. J., she taught for three terms of ten months each, including in her work the instruction of an evening school for colored children during three months each year. After some years passed at her home
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in Maine, during which time her father died, she went to Gibsonville, Cal., where she taught for two years in the mountain districts, also spending some time in Sonoma and Napa Valley. She returned East in 1873, and has since resided with her brother, Joshua B., at the old homestead. Her brother's wife, Mrs. Joshua B. Lowell, died in 1873, leaving one daughter, Carrie L., who was afterward reared by Miss Lowell. Carrie L. is now Mrs. Plaisted, and resides at the home farm. Miss Lowell's last term of school was taught in her old school-house in Chesterville after her return from California. Since then she has lived in retirement. Her most gratifying re- flection to-day is the fact that the educational work she has done has been fruitful in good results. Miss Lowell is a Baptist in relig- ious belief, and a member of the First Calvin- istic Baptist Church of Bangor.
OLLIN N. STETSON, an esteemed Selectman of Sumner, was born here, September 15, 1866, son of Abel and Adeline H. (Howe) Stetson, and grandson of Abel Stetson. Both the latter and the parents were likewise natives of this town. Hezekiah Stetson, the great- grandfather, who was born in Pembroke, Mass., about the year 1751, fought in the Revolutionary War. After peace was declared he, with other Revolutionary soldiers, settled in Sumner on a tract of land which he cleared and developed, building a log cabin at first. In 1796 he erected the frame dwelling that is now occupied by his grandson, Deacon Josiah T. Stetson. He died in 1833, aged eighty-two years. He married Elizabeth Tillson, who bore him eight children, all of whom reared families. They were: Elisha, Zenas, Abel, Tilson, Hezekiah, Lydia, Ephraim, and Mary.
Abel Stetson was born on Sumner Hill. He was the original settler on the land now occupied by his grandson, Rollin N., erected the present dwelling-house, and died there at an advanced age. In political preferences he was a Democrat, in religious belief a Congre- gationalist. Abel Stetson, Jr., father of the subject of this sketch, was one of the elder
sons in a large family. He was born January 21, 1824, and spent his active period in the pursuit of agriculture, residing for a num- ber of years on the home farm. He voted the Republican ticket. In religious belief he was a Baptist. He died October 29, 1891. His wife, who was born January 10, 1822, is now residing with her son, Rollin N. She has two other children -- Cornelia B., the wife of J. F. Moody, of Massachusetts; and Carlton B., residing in Waterville, Me.
Rollin N. Stetson, who is the youngest of his parent's children, acquired a good educa- tion in the schools of his native town. Hav- ing begun to take an interest in farm work in boyhood, he is now one of the ablest farmers in the locality. He raises general crops, keeps some live stock, and is up-to-date in his methods. Though only thirty years old, he is regarded as a representative farmer of the lo- cality. Mr. Stetson was married December 21, 1890, to Ada B. Heald, of Buckfield, daughter of B. F. Heald. They have one daughter, Althea H., born November 7, 1891. Mr. Stetson is a popular member of the Dem- ocratic party, and he served on the Board of Selectmen for two years. He is an esteemed member of the Baptist church.
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