USA > Maine > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the state of Maine > Part 10
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75
Mr. Scruton's activities did not find their limit in his business interests. They extended to many outside matters. All questions of the public welfare were to him questions of personal concern. He felt himself. an integral part of the business life of the city, and as such cred- ited with certain public duties and responsi- bilities. As a result of this feeling, he gave liberally of his time and effort to the public service. He served the city as Councilman, Alderman, and water commissioner. He was also a member of the famous committee for the reduction of the city debt. At the time of his death he was president of the First Na- tional Bank of Lewiston, of which for years he had been one of the directors. He was inter- ested largely in real estate investments and in the development of the real estate properties of Lewiston. He and the late E. F. Packard were associated in various important business ventures. His great capacity for executive management continued as long as he lived. During the last years of his life he could do an amount of mental work that would have fa- tigued many a man thirty years his junior, and his grasp of business details and his atten-
tion to business seemed as firm as that mani- fested when he was in the prime of his life. As a friend Mr. Scruton was invaluable. A person who had once won his confidence was never afterward forgotten by him.
Mr. Scruton's death took place on November 15, 1896, at the age of seventy-five. His wife, Sarah Folsom Scruton, died on May 30, 1885, aged sixty years. Three sons were born of their union-Fred B., William F., and Edwin F. Of these only the last named is living. Fred, who was born on January 17, 1850, mar- ried Sadie Hilton, but had no children. His death occurred in August, 1878. William F., who married Nellie G. Smart, and had three children-Cora, Fred, and William F., Jr., all of whom are living-died on August 21, 1901. Edwin F. Scruton was born on January 23, 1858. He married Eldora M. Niles, of Lewis- ton, and has two sons: John Yeaton, second, who was born February 9, 1890; and Arthur E., who was born on September 20, 1892. He had one daughter, Sadie E., born May 30, 1SSS. She died October 15, 1892. Edwin F. Scruton is a thirty-second degree Mason; a member of Ashlar Blue Lodge, No. 109, Lewiston; King Hiram Chapter; and Lewiston Commandery, No. 9. He is director of music for the entire State for Consistory and Shrine, also of all bodies in Lewiston.
ON. FREDERIC DANFORTH, C.E., Mayor of the city of Gardiner, 1901 and 1902, is the only surviving son 'and heir of the late Hon. Charles Danforth, of Gardiner, who for over a quarter of a century was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Maine. Judge Danforth came to Gardiner in 1841, and prac- tised law for twenty-three years, in 1861 re- ceiving his appointment from Governor Cony to the supreme bench, a position that he filled till his death in 1890. During the early part of his residence in Gardiner he held vari- ous local offices, as Selectman, Assessor, and Overseer of the Poor. In 1850, 1851, 1852, and 1857 he was Gardiner's Representative in the State Legislature, and in 1855 he was one of Governor Morrill's Council. Politically,
59
.
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
he was a Republican. He was born in Nor- ridgewoek, Somerset County, Me., where his father, Israel Danforth, who was a native New Englander, of English descent, settled early in the nineteenth century.
Judge Danforth married Julia S. Dinsmore, a native of Norridgewock, daughter of William W. and Lucy (Gould) Dinsmore. Two chil- dren were born of this union, namely-Edward Danforth and Frederic Danforth.
Frederic, the second child, was born Febru- ary 8, 1848. He received his early education in the public schools of Gardiner, including the high school, and completed his preparatory studies at the academy in North Bridgton, Me. He then took the scientific course at Dart- mouth College, where he was graduated a civil engineer in 1870. He has since followed his profession continuously, being engaged chiefly in railroad work. He has served as chief engineer in the construction of several railroads in Maine. For six years he was a member of the State Board of Railway Com- missioners, being appointed first by Governor Cleaves in 1894 and subsequently reappointed by Governor Powers. Politically. he is a Re- publican. First elected to the office of Mayor of Gardiner in 1901, he was re-elected in 1902. He is a director and vice-president of the Mer- chants' National Bank of Gardiner.
He married in 1880 Caroline Stevens, of Randolph, Me., daughter of the late Caleb and Julia A. (Clapp) Stevens. Their home is on Pleasant Street. They have four children: George C., born September 9, 1SS1; Margaret, born May 10, 1883; Richard S., born July 26, 1885; and Eleanor B., born October 14, 1SS9.
HARLES EDWARD TILTON, super- intendent of the public schools of Bangor, was born in the town of Nor- ridgewock, Somerset County, Me., Oc- tober 15, 1858, son of Horatio Gates and Ann Maria (Stackpole) Tilton.
On the paternal side he is a great-grandson of Captain Josiah Tilton, of Deerfield, N.H. (born October 27, 1743), and his second wife, Abigail Nudd. The Captain's first wife was
Sarah True, who bore him seven children. The children of his second union were: Abraham True, Bettie, Daniel, and Horton, the last named born in 1797.
Abraham True Tilton, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Deerfiekl, July 27, 1790. He married for his first wife Sarah Bixby, of Bradford, Mass., by whom he had five children, born as follows: Sarah A., April 29, 1816; Horatio Gates, January 3, 1819; George T., May 6, 1821: Abigail F., September 23, 1823; and William, June 9, 1826.
Horatio Gates Tilton, eldest son of Abraham T. Tilton, married February 29, 1852, Ann Maria Stackpole, of Seabrook, N.H. She was a daughter of John and Henrietta (Chase) Stackpole (married in March, 182S) and a descendant, doubtless, of James Stackpole, who was living within the limits of Dover township, N.H., before 1680, his name appear- ing in the tax list as "Stagpole." Her mother, Henrietta Chase, was a daughter of Elisha Chase by his second wife, Harriet Durney. Elisha Chase, born in 1771, died January 28, 1833. He belonged to the family that was founded in this country by the two brothers, Thomas and Aquila Chase, who came from England about 1639, and in 1640 had grants of land in Hampton, N.H., where they were among the original settlers.
In 1646 Aquila removed to Newbury, Mass. He married Ann Wheeler. Their son John,2 born in 1655, married Elizabeth Bingley, and was the father of John,3 who married Abigail3 Chase, daughter of James,2 son of Thomas.1 Jonathan+ Chase, son of John3 and his wife Abigail, married in 1723 Patience Heath. Their son, Nehemiah,5 born in 1744, lived on the paternal farm in Seabrook, N.H. He married Abigail, daughter of Elisha and Mary (Drake) Marston. The manuscript genealogy (compiled by John B. Chase, M.D.), now in the possession of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, names Elisha as one 'of the seven children of Nehemiah and Abigail, but makes no further mention of him, not even giving the date of his birth. He was identieal with Elisha, the father of Henrietta above named.
The children of Horatio G. and Ann Maria
60
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
Tilton were: Charles Edward, of Bangor: Fred Thomas, born September 21, 1861; and George Augustus, born September 28, 1866. Fred Thomas is located at Provo City, Utah, where he is engaged in raising cattle and sheep. George A. lives on the honte place in Norridge- wock, Me. The father, Horatio G. Tilton, died May 21, 18SS. The mother still resides at the homestead in Norridgewock, Me.
Charles Edward Tilton's early years were passed on the parental farm. He acquired his elementary education in the public schools of Skowhegan, Me., afterward attending Colby College, Waterville, from which he was grad- uated in 1SS3 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He received the degree of Master of Arts in course in 1887. For one year, 1SS3- 84, he was principal of the Oakland (Me.) High School, and from 1884 to 1SS9 principal of the high school at Fairfield, Me. He became super- vising principal of the grammar schools of Bangor in 1889, and served in that capacity for eleven years, being elected in October, 1900, to the position of superintendent of the public schools of Bangor, which he still holds.
.
Mr. Tilton was married September 3, 1891, to Miss Carrie Evelyn Hodgdon, of Bangor, who was born in Oldtown, Me., being a daugh- ter of John F. and Susan A. (Jones) Hodgdon. Mr. Tilton was made a Master Mason in Salome Lodge, No. 92, at Fairfield, Me. He is also a charter member of the Maine Alpha Chapter, $ A 8 Society.
OHN LESLIE READE, EsQ., of Lew- iston, a leading member of the Andro- scoggin County bar, is a native of Illi- nois. He was born in the town of Quincy in that State on September 29, 1861, but his forbears for generations back were New Englanders. His immigrant progenitor, John Read,1 born in England in 1598, canc to America in 1630, and is known to have been in Weymouth, Mass., in 1637, and in Dor- chester in 163S.
Family in Europe and America," by Jacob W. Reed, published in 1861.)
In 1643 or 1644 John Read, with the Rev. Mr. Newman and his congregation, settled ini Re- hoboth, Mass. His name is the third in the list of purchasers of that township. He ac- quired a considerable property, and became a prominent and highly respected man in the community. For some time he held the chief executive office in the town, that of Constable. For years he kept a public house, living in that part of the town now known as Seekonk. His death occurred on September 7, 1655, at the age of eighty-seven. His wife's name was Sarah.
John Read's son Daniel,2 who was born in Rehoboth in March, 1655, was married on August 20, 1677, to Hannah Peck. He had a son Daniel,3 born January 20, 1650, who was twice married, the first time to Elizabeth Bosworth and the second to Elizabeth Ile. By the first marriage there was a son Ichabod .- born October S, 1708. Ichabod likewise had two wives, and curiously enough each. bore the name of Elizabeth. The first was born Chaffee, and the second Robinson. Eliz- abeth Robinson became the mother of Dani -: Read," the great-grandfather of John Leslis Reade. This Daniel Read was born in Attic- boro on February 7, 1766. He was the first of the family to remove from Massachusetts to the State of Maine. After his marriage with Susanna Hart, he lived for a short time in Vassalboro, subsequently removing to Lew- iston, where he became one of the leading men of his day. He was the first postmaster of Lewiston, being appointed in 179S. The efi- cieney of his service is shown by the fact that he held the position for forty years. For many years he was a Selectman of Lewiston. His son Stephen," grandfather of John Lesie Reade, was born in Lewiston, and died there in 1860. He was a farmer on a large scale. his fine farm being located at Bakerville, near Lewiston. He also owned and operated a saw-mill. Stephen Reade married Abigail Brown, of Yarmouth, Me., who bore him thres children. The only survivor of these is Ad die R., widow of Captain Samuel B. Washburn.
He was brother to William Read, of Wey- mouth, and is supposed to have been a son of a William Read, of England, by his wife, Lucy Henage. (See "History of the Reed | of Livermore, Me. She has one child, Kate
1
61
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
E.,8 now Mrs. J. F. Kellogg, of Avon, N.Y., and the mother of one son, J. F. Kellogg,? Jr.
John Reade,7 the father of John Leslie Reade, was the eldest son of Stephen and Abigail (Brown) Reade. He was born in Richmond, Me., on December 20, 1820, and died on May 23, 1893. He was a civil engi- neer by profession, and took many large civil engineering contracts in the field of railway construction. Among the roads he built were the Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad in Mis- souri, the Sugar River Railroad in New Hamp- shire, the Knox & Lincoln in Maine, the Sandy River Railroad, and the West Amesbury Branch of the Boston & Maine. Mr. Reade made his home principally in Lewiston, and for many years he was practically the only civil engineer there. He laid out many lots in the city, was Street Commissioner for a number of years, and also held the office of clerk of the Water Board and superintendent of the city water works. For twelve years he served as County Commissioner. He took a leading part in politics, and was interested in all public matters. He was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows of the State, as well as Grand Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge. John Reade married Mary Ann Bonney, who was born in Turner, this State, on January 22, 1826. She is still liv- ing, and makes her home with her son, John Leslie. Her elder son, Charles Bonney Reade, was born on August 9, 1852, and died on Au- gust 4, 1894. His widow, Estella May Hall Reade, survives him.
John Leslie Reade was graduated from the public schools of Lewiston, and subsequently, in 1SS3, from Bates College. For a year after completing his college course he worked as clerk in the water works, his father being at the time superintendent of the works. Fol- lowing that, for ten months he was in the mailing department of the Lewiston post- office. His health being impaired, he then ATHANIEL SNOW PURINTON. private secretary to Governor HEL, was born in Bowdoin, Me .. Feb- ruary 24, 1844, son of the Rev. Albert W. and Sally R. (Jameson) Purinte !. He is a representative of the fifth generath a went to Washington, D.C., where he became correspondent for the Lewiston Journal and for the Portland Press. This was in the fall of 1885. He quickly made his mark among the journalists of the national capital, and became a leader among them. Ilis popularity { of his family in the State of Maine, being line-
.
and his reliability as a newspaper correspond- ent were shown when in 1887 he was put in charge of the Senate press gallery. At the close of the session of Congress, seeking for s more active field of effort, he left Washington and went to New York, the Mecca of journalists. There he quickly found work on the New York Tribune as reporter and telegraph elf- tor. For two years he held this exacting po- sition. Then that home feeling which is so marked a characteristic of the sons of Malta asserted itself, and he felt a desire to retin to the scenes of his boyhood.
Coming back to Lewiston, he connected himself with the Auburn Daily Gazette, of which he was for a time editor-in-chief. In 1504 he began the study of law, and three years later he was admitted to the bar. During one year of the time he was pursuing his low course he was also working as editor of the Morning Sun. The year following his admis- sion to practice he was appointed City - licitor of Lewiston. The same honor was the conferred on him in 1900. In 1902 he was elected Clerk of Courts of Androscoggin County for four years, beginning January 1. 1902. He now ranks among the leading lawyers of the State, and his professional success he- opened the way to his appointment to vari- ous public offices. At the present time he is treasurer of the Lewiston Loan and Built- ing Association, treasurer of the Lewiston Board of Trade, secretary and treasurer of the Bates College Alumni Association. and an official in various other organizations. He has always retained a keen interest in jour- nalism, and since 1889 has been Lewiston correspondent of the Boston Daily Glic. Politically Mr. Reade is a stanch Republi- can, and believes in upholding the traditions of his party in the State of Maine.
62
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
ally descended from the pioneer Humphrey Purinton, Sr., through the Rev. Humphrey, Jr., the Rev. Nathaniel, and the Rev. Albert W., above named.
As stated in the History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Humphrey Purin- ton came from Cape Cod, and settled with his family on the Bath side of the New Meadows River. Among his children were Hezekiah, whose birth date is not given, and "James, born in Truro, Mass., in 1742." Deacon Hezekiah Purinton, the first of this surname on Cape Cod, and presumably the progenitor of all the Purintons that lived in that locality or moved at an early day, received a grant of land in Truro in 1705. He is said to have gone to Truro from Dover Point. He died in Truro in January, 1717, in his forty-second year. Humphrey Purinton and Thankful Harding were married in 1724. (Rich's His- tory of Truro.)
The Rev. Humphrey Purinton, Jr., born at Bath in 1758, son of Ilumphrey, served in the Revolutionary War. The Rev. Nathan- iel Purinton, born in Bowdoin, Me., 17S7, died in 1861. He was a Free Baptist minister. His wife was Priscilla Wilson. They had seven children, namely-Albert W., Nathan- iel, Jr., Thankful, Samuel, Joseph, Priscilla, and Mary A.
The Rev. Albert W. Purinton was born in Bowdoin in 1811. He married March 11, 1S36, Sally R. Jameson, daughter of John and Mary (Hewey) Jameson, and grand-daugh- ter of William Jameson, a native of Scotland, who emigrated in 171S, and was an early set- tler of Old Orchard, Me.
Her father, John Jameson, was a contractor and builder in Topsham and Brunswick. Her mother, Mary Hewey, who was of Scotch de- scent, being a daughter of James Hewey, of Topsham, lived and died on the farm where she was born, on the banks of the Andros- coggin River, where also she reared her ten children.
Nathaniel S. Purinton acquired his elemen- tary education in public and private schools, and afterward attended the Maine State Semi- nary at Lewiston. In the latter part of the Civil War he enlisted in Company E, Twenty-
first Maine Infantry, from which he was sub- sequently detached as a member of the signal corps, and served in the Nineteenth Army Corps, Department of the Gulf. After his return from the South he was engaged in the manufacture of lumber and in mercantile business at West Bowdoin, where he has since made his home.
Taking an active interest in public affairs, he contributed on several occasions to the advancement and success of his party, and his fellow-townsmen soon began to look upon him as a desirable public servant. He was accordingly elected to various offices of trust and responsibility, serving as Selectman for eleven years, as a member of the School Board for twenty-seven years, and as Auditor and County Commissioner for six years. He was a Representative in the Legislature in 1SS1, and State Pension Agent from 1889 to 1893. Subsequently he became executive clerk and messenger to the Governor until 1901, when he became private secretary to Governor Hill.
Mr. Purinton is a trustee of Bates College, also a member of the Board of Oversight and Control of the Cobb Divinity School, a depart- ment of the college. He belongs to Ancient York Lodge of Masons, No. 155, of Lisbon Falls, Me .; also to Post Berry, No. 10, G. A. R., of Lisbon; and to the Sagadahoc Grange, No. 31, which he served as Master.
He was married December 5, 1865, to Jen- nie E. Williams, of Woolwich, Me., a daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Harnden) Will- iams. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Purinton, namely: Henry T .; Lester G .; Frances E .; Royce D .; Newman A., who died April 10, 1901; and Sally Louise. Lester, who is a graduate of Bates College, 1896, and Bowdoin Medical College, 1900, is now practis- ing as a physician in Yarmouth, Me. Frances E., a graduate of Bates, class of '97, is the wife of Rufus E. Springer, an attorney- at-law at Lisbon Falls, Me. Royce D., a gradu- ate of Bates College, class of 1900, is learning the paper and pulp business at Lisbon and Rumford Falls, Me. Sally Louise is now a Sophomore in Lisbon Falls High School in her college preparatory course.
1
63
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
OSEPH ASHTON HOMAN, retired printer and publisher, residing in Au- gusta, was born in Marblehead, Mass., January 12, 1816, son of Joseph and Nancy (Verte) Homan. He is a descendant on the paternal side of Edward Homan, one of the early settlers of Marblehead, 1640-70.
His mother, Nancy Verte Homan, was the daughter of a French Protestant, or Huguenot, who came to America previous to the Revolu- tionary War, in which he took part against the British. The wife of this hardy immigrant was a worthy helpmeet to him. She was ac- customed, during the early part of the war, to carry to him provisions and clothing, for that . purpose walking from Marblehead to Cam- bridge and back.
Joseph Homan, father of the subject of this sketch, was a seafaring man, and during the War of 1812 he served against Great Britain on the privateer "America," which was very successful in taking prizes. He was once taken prisoner by the British, but was subsequently recaptured, and later served on board of the "Constitution." After the war he made for- eign voyages on mercantile vessels, rising to the position of mate. On his last voyage, in 1822, from Charleston, S.C., to Cronstadt, Russia, the vessel was lost, and he was never more heard from, having undoubtedly perished in the wreck.
Joseph Homan and his wife Nancy had five children, three sons and two daughters, of whom only Joseph Ashton, the eldest son, is now left. His elder sister, Nancy, widow of Charles E. Thayer, of Greenwood, Mass., deceased October, 1902, at the age of eighty-eight years, leaving three children-Ashton H., Mary H., and Nannie H.
At her husband's death Mrs. Nancy Verte Homan was left in Marblehead perfectly desti- tute; but, being of an energetic and self-helpful nature, she mnet misfortune bravely, made the best of the conditions confronting her, and succeeded in supporting her children until they were able to care for themselves. This she did by accepting a position as housekeeper for Thomas Motley, of Boston, father of John Lothrop Motley, the historian, leaving her chil- dren, in the meanwhile, in the care of a sister.
She thus continued until 1824, when she began housekeeping in Boston for herself and her children. Shortly after she married Aaron Trull, a Boston distiller and a worthy man, who proved a good husband and step-father. By him she had four other children, none of whom are now living.
Joseph Ashton Homan was about eight years old when he went to live with his mother in Boston. Their residence was on South Street, and he was sent to a school on Fort Hill, which was under the charge of a Mr. Stickney as head- master. Perhaps the most notable experience of this period of his life, and one that he well remembers, was on the occasion of General La- fayette's visit to Boston, in 1824-25, when the noted Frenchman, friend of Washington and of America, was received everywhere with the greatest enthusiasm. A feature of the Boston celebration was a parade of the school-children and review on the Common. Here, as the chil- dren from the Fort Hill Square School were stationed on the Common street mall, General Lafayette passed down the line to the end, at which was standing young Homan, to whom the general gave a hearty shake of the hand.
Hlis school-days were short, however, for on reaching the age of ten he had to go to work, obtaining his first employment in the office, on Court Street, of William G. Crosby, who was afterward governor of Maine (1853-55). Subsequently he obtained a position in the office of Judge Orne, who also removed to Maine, becoming one of the prominent citizens of Penob- scot County and founding the town of Orne- ville, of which he owned the greater part. After- ward Mr. Homan worked in several different places in subordinate capacities, among them the New England Type Company's foundry:
At the age of fourteen he obtained a place in the printing office of the Independent Chronicle and Patriot, which was under the edi- torship of John Brazier Davis. He remained with this paper for two years, when it was merged into the Boston Daily Advertiser,-in the office of which he became an apprentice. When nearly twenty-one he left the Advertiser to work on the New England Galaxy, which was the first purely literary paper published in Boston. After attaining his majority and com-
-
64
AMERICAN SERIES OF POPULAR BIOGRAPHIES
pleting his apprenticeship, he worked in con- nection with Isaac C. Pray, the poet, and Henry F. Harrington, who started the first penny paper in Boston, the Boston Times, which, however, failed in 1837 after a brief existence.
About this time Mr. Homan became con- nected in a literary way with various publica- tions, to which he contributed both poems and prose articles. Soon after he became strongly interested in private theatricals, and with some of his associates fitted up a stage in a building on Hawley Street, where Charlotte Cushman, then at the beginning of her great career, used sometimes to come and sing for them. The stage continuing to have a strong fascination for him, he not long afterward made a public ap- pearance at the old Tremont Theatre in the part of. Ambrose in "The Two Friends," and after- ward played other roles in the Hawley Street Theatre. Up to this time he had continued his connection with the printing business; but he now discontinued it, and, going to Albany, N.Y., joined the stock company of William Rufus Blake, with the view of serving a regular apprenticeship to the dramatic profession. He went through the usual drudgery, was given small parts and afterward those of more in- portance, which he played very acceptably. In Albany he played on the stage with Charlotte Cushman, and also with Forrest, taking the part of the slave in "Damon and Pythias." But after some months' experience as a regular member of the profession he made up his mind that he was not cut out for a star, and the atmosphere of the theatre becoming less con- genial to him, he renounced the stage and started for New York, where he landed, prac- tically without funds. Here, however, he met a friend, through whose assistance he managed to reach home.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.