Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the state of Maine, Part 16

Author: New England Historical Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Boston, New England historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 998

USA > Maine > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the state of Maine > Part 16

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General C. H. Tompkins, Chief of Artillery of the Sixth Army Corps, wrote, "However trying the circumstances, Captain Stevens has always been found equal to the occasion."

At the close of the war Major Stevens was

mustered out of the United States service with his battery, July 6, 1865, having served three years and five months. This battery lost more men in killed and wounded, in the three great battles of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Cedar Creek, than any other battery in a like number of battles in the war of the Rebellion, either volunteer or regular .*

After the war Major Stevens turned to his profession, and opened a law office at West Waterville, now Oakland, Me., where he had a lucrative practice, being engaged in nearly every case in that vicinity. In 1874 he was appointed Assistant Judge Advocate-general on the governor's staff, and held that position during Governor Dingley's administration. In 1875 he represented Waterville and West Water- ville in the Maine Legislature, serving on the Judiciary Committee. In 1877 he was pro- moted to the State Senate, serving as chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs and also as a member of the Committee on Railroads and Military Affairs. Re-elected to the State Senate in 1878, he was appointed Senate chair- man of the Committee on the Judiciary.

In 1882 he was commissioned Colonel and assigned to duty as Chief of Staff, First Division, Maine Militia, under Major-general Joshua L. Chamberlain. He is a member of the Maine Gettysburg Commission and treasurer and secretary of the Executive Committee of that Commission, taking an active part in procuring and locating the Maine monuments on that historic field.

In 18SS he was elected Sheriff of Kennebec County, and in 1890 was re-elected to that position. The administration of the affairs of that important office and his management of the criminal department were characterized by economy, efficiency, and good judgment. The reforms that he instituted have since been followed, and met the approbation of both County and State officials. In 1892 he was elected Judge of the Probate and Insolvency Court for Kennebec County, and was re-elected in 1896 and again in 1900, a position he now holds. In religious preferences Judge Stevens is a Unitarian and in politics a strong Repub-

. See "Regimental Losses in the American Civil War," by William 11. Fox, pages 463 and 464.

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lican, taking often an active part in the political campaigns in his native State.

Judge Stevens married in March, 1856, Mary Ann Yeaton, a schoolmate of his youth and daughter of Richard Yeaton, 2d, an industri- ous and enterprising citizen of Belgrade, Me. Four children have been born to them, Jessie, Don Carlos, Ala, and Rupert, of whom only one, Don Carlos, is now living. He is a graduate of the Theological School at Meadville, Pa. Such a personal history as that of Judge Stevens requires no encomium. Facts speak louder than words. He and his very worthy and esti- mable wife now reside at 44 Green Street in their adopted city.

e RED WAYLAND BARTON, of West Windsor, was born in the town of Wind- sor, Kennebec County, Me., June 3, 1859, . a son of Rufus P. and Eliza (Percival) Barton. He is a great-grandson of. Dr. Stephen Barton, a pioneer physician of Kennebec County. His paternal grandfather was Gideon Barton, who was for many years one of the foremost citi- zens of Windsor, serving as Selectman, Repre- sentative to the Legislature, and in other offices. Gideon Barton was also a Captain in the State militia and a Deacon in the Baptist church of Windsor, being familiarly known as Deacon Barton. He was a man of great activity and high purpose, working devotedly to the better- ment of existing conditions within his sphere of influence and for the welfare of those around him. He accomplished much in these direc- tions, according to the measure of his oppor- tunities, and was a man universally respected and esteemed.

Rufus P. Barton, his son and father of the subject of this sketch, was a successful farmer in Windsor, who died April 12, 1896, after a long and useful life. His wife Eliza survived him but a little over a year, dying August 11, 1897. She was a native of Vassalboro, Me. Their surviving children are: Homer P., who is a resident of Mendocino City, Cal .; Sumner P., of Windsor, Me .; Angie F., wife of A. L. Trowant, of Bremen, Me .; and Fred W., whose name begins this sketch.

Fred W. Barton acquired the elements of

knowledge in the public schools of Windsor. and afterward improved his education by at- tendance at several high schools in different parts of Kennebec County and by a course at the institution formerly known as D. M. Waite's Business College, at Augusta, Me. When in his nineteenth year, he left his Windsor home. and went to Mendocino County, California. where for several years he was employed in the lumber industry, and subsequently. until 1887, in carrying on a hotel and livery business. In that year he returned to his native town. where he has since been successfully engaged in agriculture. He has two hundred and forty acres of land, two hundred of which comprise his home farm, Taking an active interest in the public weal, Mr. Barton has fulfilled the part of a good citizen in responding cheerfully when called upon to give personal service in town affairs. His business ability and his conscientious devotion to duty have been mani- fested in the office of Town Treasurer, which he held in 1891, and as a member of the Boar i of Health and of the School Committee, in both of which positions he is now serving. As a member of the Republican Town Committee he has done good service in advancing the local interests of his party.

Mr. Barton was married in August, 1877. to Mary L. Robbins, of Augusta, Me., a daughter of Loyal L. Robbins. She bore him two chil- dren: Annie M., who is employed in the watch factory at Waltham, Mass .; and Winifield S .. who holds a position in a restaurant at Augusta. Me.

Mr. Barton married May 9, 1SS6, his present wife, in maidenhood Isabella Kerr, a native of Peterboro, Ont., and daughter of William and Ellen (Miklejohn) Kerr. Mrs. Barton's father was born in Ontario, and her mother in Scot- land. Of this second union there have been two children, one of whom is deceased. The survivor, Martha E., was born July 18. 1595. .

Mr. and Mrs. Barton belong to Windsor Grange, No. 84, P. of H., at Windsor. Mr. . Barton is also a member of the Dirigo Lodge, F. & A. M., at Week's Mills, Me., in which he has been Master: of Sheepscott Lodge, I. O. O. F .. at Cooper's Mills; and of Lodge 39, A. O. U. W .. at South China.

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PRANK LELAND HOYT, who served on the staff of Governor Powers as In- spector-general, with the rank of Briga- dier-general, and was reappointed to the same office and rank by Governor Hill, January 1, 1901, is a well-known resident of Lewiston, where he has been engaged in business for thirty years or more. He was born in New Portland, Somerset County, Me., April 10, 1849, son of John and Sarah A. (Cutts) Hoyt, and is the only child of his parents now living. His father, John Hoyt, was born in New Portland, Me., in 1819, and died in New Portland in 1876. He was a farmer and drover, going to Brigliton market with cattle. In politics lie was a Democrat.

General Hoyt's paternal grandfather, Moses Hoyt, went from Exeter, N.H., to New Port- land, Me., when he was a young man, and buy- ing land cleared a farm. He married Mary Knowlton, and had eleven children: Moses, Jr .; John, above named: Warren; Lucius; Irving; Ruth; Esther; May; Roxia and Sarah; and one other, Roxia, the wife of Lemuel J. Hastings, of Lowell, Mass .. now (1903) the only survivor of the family.

General Hoyt's mother, whose maiden name was Saralı A. Cutts, was a native of New Port- land, Me., being daughter of Samuel and Dolly (Bray) Cutts. Her father, born in 1798, was son of Thomas and Sarah (Colburn) Cutts and a descendant in the sixth generation of Robert Cutts, who came to New England prior, it is thought, to 1646, and eventually settled in Kit- tery. The line was Robert,1 Richard,2 Thomas,3 Samuel,+ Thomas,5 Samuel."

Educated in the public schools, including the high school of his native place and a private school which he attended after leaving the high school, Frank Leland Hoyt, in his early manhood, went to work as a clerk in a mercantile estab- lishment in Lewiston. In 1873 he established himself in a general grocery business, in which he continued for twenty years. His first partner was a Mr. E. E. Ham, and the firm of Hoyt & Ham continued for two years. After that he was associated with George Pottle, the firm name being Pottle & Hoyt. His interest in that concern he sold out in 1893, and since that time he has been associated with his

brother-in-law, C. D. Lemont, as manager of the business.

Politically, General Hoyt affiliates with the Republican party. He has been in the city gov- ernment of Lewiston five years, three years in the Common Council, one year as clerk, and two years as an Alderman. In 1901 he was elected a member of the Water Board for the term of six years. In February, 18SS, he recruited a military company, the Frye Light Guards, Company B, Second Maine Regiment, and was elected Captain for six years. Appointed Lieu- tenant Colonel on March 22, 1892, he held that rank for four years, resigning in January, 1897. He was made Brigadier-general on July 18, 1898. He is Past Master of the Rabboni Lodge, No. 150, A. F. &. A. M., of Lewiston; Past High Priest of King Hiram Chapter, R. A. M., of Lewiston; Past T. I. M., Dornleaf Council; and a member of Lewiston Commandery, No. 6.

General Hoyt married in 1877 Eliza C. Fisher, who was born in Bowdoinliam, Me., in 1851, daughter of Jeremy and Eliza (Cowan) Fisher. Her father was a native of Bowdoinham, her mother of Lisbon, Me.

The children of General and Mrs. Hoyt are: Anadine, born in Auburn, Me., in 1878, now the wife of Horace W. Fernald, of Buffalo, N.Y .; John Jerome, born in Lewiston in 1882; and Claudia Fisher, born in Lewiston in 1890. Mr. and Mrs. Fernald have a son, Leland Hoyt Fer- nald, who was born August 22, 1902.

OHN HENRY MCILROY, treasurer and general manager of the Annabessacook Mills, North Monmouth, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, March 16, 1858, son of John and Margaret C. (Crawford) Mc- Ilroy. His parents were natives of Glasgow, Scotland. They came to the United States some forty years ago, and after residing for a time in Hyde Park, Mass., removed to Roches- ter, N.H., and in 1871 settled in Winthrop, Me. John McIlroy, who was an expert woollen manufacturer, was for a number of years con- nected in a managerial capacity with the Nor- way Plains Company in Rochester. He with- drew from their employ in order to accept the position of agent of the Winthrop Mills

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JOHN H. MCILROY.

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Company, which he retained for the rest of his life. In 1SS4 he established at North Monmouth a plant for the manufacture of fine woollen blankets. In the management of these he was assisted by his sons, and he con- tinued as its official head until his death, which occurred July 18, 1891. The late Mr. McIlroy was a typical Scotsman, who succeeded in uniting with the sterling characteristics of his race the spirit of American progress, and his business methods, therefore, were of a nature to. commend him to the esteem and confidence of all with whom he came in con- tact. In politics he acted with the Republi- can party, and his religious affiliations were with the Congregational church. His widow, who inherited his estate, survived him nearly ten years. After her death, January 6, 1901, the property was divided equally among her three sons.

Accompanying his parents to Winthrop at the age of thirteen years, John H. MeIlroy continued his education in the public schools and at the Towle Academy in that town. His business training was directed by his father, who intrusted to hint the superintendency of the North Monmouth Mill upon its establish- ment. In that responsible position he de- veloped superior business ability, and, follow- ing the death of his father, he took full charge of the enterprise as its general manager. After his mother's death the business was reorgan; ized and incorporated as the Annabessacook Mills, with James E. Mellroy as president and Ronald C. MeIlroy as treasurer, John H. continuing in the general management. In May, 1902. he purchased his brother Ronald's interest, thereby becoming treasurer as well as general manager, and at the same time his son, R. Crawford MeIlroy, was admitted a member of the corporation. The plant occupies an excellent water-power privilege, and employs an average force of sixty opera- tives, its products commanding a ready sale.

Mr. McIlroy is a Master Mason and a Knight Templar, being a member of the Blue Lodge in Winthrop and of Trinity Commandery of Augusta. Politically he is a Republican.

On August 19, 1879, he married Miss Mary A. Stanley, daughter of the late Frank Stanley,

of Attleboro, Mass. Their children are-Mar- garet Emily, Ronald Crawford (superintend- ent of the Annabessacook Mills), and Mary Elizabeth MeIlroy. Mr. and Mrs. Mellroy are members of the Congregational church. .

RANKLIN TRASK, who has resided on his present farm in Windsor, Kennebec County, since 1869, was born in Pittston. Me., October 22, 1840, son of John and Eliz- . abeth (Marston) Trask"

John Trask, the father, who was born in Edgecomb, Me., settled in Pittston, Me., when a young man, and became a prosperous and respected citizen of that town, where he died in August, 1877. His wife Elizabeth was a native of Pittston.

Franklin Trask was educated in the public schools of Pittston, and as a boy was initiated into the practical details of agricultural sci- ence. At the breaking out of the Civil War. being then in his twenty-first year, he enlisted (April 24, 1861) in Company C, Third Maine Volunteer Infantry, which regiment was as- signed to the Army of the Potomac. With it he took part in the battle of Bull Run. the battles of Malvern Hill and Williamsburg, and the Seven Days' Fight in the Wilderness, besides numerous skirmishes. Though enlist- ing as a private, for a time he served as hospi- tal steward. Honorably discharged in March. 1863, he returned home to Pittston. In the fall of that year he went to California, where he remained till 1868, when he returned to Maine. In the following year he purchased a farm of one hundred and thirty-six acres in Windsor, subsequently buying the farm adjoin- ing, the two estates forming his present farm of two hundred acres, which he has since carried on with good success.

Mr. Trask's marriage, August 22, 1869, united him with Orilla A. Hysom, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Freeman) Hysom. of Windsor, Me. Mrs. Trask is a grand-daugh- ter of John Hysom, a native of England, who settled at an early date in Windsor. Her father, Thomas Hysom, who was born in Wind- sor, was a prominent citizen of that town, serv- ing as Town Treasurer and Selectman, and also

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representing his district in the Legislature. At first an agriculturist, he afterward became a merchant. He died in December, 1876. He and his wife Sarah had six children -John F., Margaret J., Jeremy D., Ira B., Orilla A., and Benjamin Franklin.

Mr. and Mrs. Trask are the parents of three children - Everett E., Lulu M., and Clyde E. Mr. Trask is a member of Sheepscott Lodge, No. 122, I. O. O. F., of Cooper's Mills, in which he has filled several chairs, being now Right Sup- porter to the Noble Grand; of the Vining Post, No. 107, G. A. R., of Windsor, which he has served as Adjutant for several years; and of Windsor Grange, P. of H., of which his wife is also a member In politics he is a Republican, and he is known to his fellow-townsmen as a public-spirited citizen, ready at all times to cast his influence on the side of good local gov- ernment and the moral and material progress of the community.

ILSON MARSHALL HATTIN, of Litchfield, Kennebec County, is a native of Ware, Mass., having been born in that town, February 24, 1823, a son of William M. and Thankful (Michaels) Hattin. His parents also were both born in Massachu- setts. When he was six years old, they took up their residence in Palmer, that State, where he remained until reaching the age of fourteen. He then began industrial life in a cotton fac- tory in Palmer, and the next twenty years of his life were spent chiefly as an employee in cotton factories, both in Palmer and in other towns and cities in different parts of the United States. In 1854 he left Massachusetts, of which State he was then a resident, and, coming to Maine, settled in Litchfield, where he has since resided. Turning his attention to agriculture, he has made a success of that occupation, and now owns a flourishing, well-located, and pro- ductive farm of two hundred acres. He has served the town as Deputy Sheriff and as Tax Collector, which latter office he held for three years. In politics he is a Republican. In February, 1865, Mr. Hattin enlisted in Company K, Fourteenth Maine Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was ordered to Darien. where he was

detailed as wagon-master, and where he re- mained for six months. He was honorably discharged in September, 1865, having gained the rank of Sergeant in his company.

Mr. Hattin was first married in 1843 to Achsa Holden, of Palmer, Mass., who bore him a son, Charles M. This son, who is now in Kansas, also served in the Civil War. By his second wife, Sarah Holden, of Palmer, Mass., Mr. Hattin had a daughter, Annie, who resides in Hinsdale, N.H., the widow of James Kenyon.

After the death of his second wife Mr. Hattin married Marcia Crawford, of Gardiner, Me. She died May 21, 1890. On March 15, 1895, Mr. Hattin married his present wife, who was then Mrs. Martha Williams, of Litchfield, Me., the widow of Rufus C. Williams, of Boston, Mass. Mrs. Hattin, who was educated at the Litchfield Academy, where she graduated, is the daughter of Isaac and Eliza P. (Libby) Randall, natives and residents of Litchifield. For a short time before her marriage she was engaged in teaching school, and showed a natural adaptability for that exacting profession. With her husband, she belongs to Mystic Chapter, No. 69, of the Eastern Star, at Litchfield Corner. Mr. Hattin belongs to Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., also located at Litchfield Corner. Practically de- pendent upon his own resources from early boyhood, he has fought his way upward to an honorable and prosperous condition in life by virtue of his own innate qualities of courage, industry, and perseverance. He is respected by his fellow-townsmen as a citizen who has performed good public service in local affairs, who has helped to build up the community, and who in the closing year of the Civil War gave militant evidence of his patriotism. His popularity is shared by his wife, who capably presides over their domestic comforts with the skill and forethought of a model housekeeper.

YRUS INGALLS BARKER, of Lewiston, was born in Bridgton, Cumberland County, Me., November 11, 1827, son of Jonathan and Catherine (Mit- chiell) Barker. His paternal grandfather was Asa Barker, a fariner of Bridgton, Me., whose father, Asa Barker, Sr., lived in Massachusetts.

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Jonathan Barker, who was born in Old Ips- wich, Mass., like his father carried on farming in Bridgton, where also he died. His wife, Catherine Mitchell, was a daughter of Josiah Mitchell, of Raymond, Me. They were the parents of eleven children, of whoin the sub- jeet of this sketch, who was the tenth in order of birth, is the only one now living.

Cyrus I. Barker acquired his education in the public schools of his native town. After completing his studies, he worked on a farm for one year, and then, going to Saco, entered the employ of the York Manufacturing Com- pany. Here he remained until 1860, acquir- ing a thorough knowledge of the process of cotton manufacture. He then went to Law- rence, Mass., where he established the Everett Mills for carding and spinning cotton and wool. From Lawrence he went in 1865 to Philadelphia as agent for A. Campbell, a large manufact- urer, whose plant was situated on the Schuyl- kill River; and while in his employ he built for him a large mill at Manayunk. In 1868 he came to Lewiston as agent for the Bates Man- ufacturing Company, in which capacity he continued for nineteen years, retiring from the position in 18SS.

He has been the promoter and director of many flourishing business and industrial enter- prises in Lewiston and elsewhere, in some of which he still has interests; and he has probably done as much as any one man in building up Lewiston, and giving employment to thousands of people, freely using his money in this work. Among his other enterprises he built the Barker Mill at Auburn, Me., and was its president for many years. With his son-in-law, Frank H. Packard, he built in 1882 the Avon Mill. This mill they still own, of which he is president, his son, A. D. Barker, agent, and Frank H. Packard, treasurer. He became president of the Lewiston Machine Shop Company in 1870, and still holds the office. For almost nineteen years he was vice-president of the Manufact- urers' National Bank of Lewiston, as well as one of its directors. He is also president of the People's Savings Bank, having been a trustee of the institution for the last twenty-seven years. He was one of three men who founded the Lewiston Trotting Park.

In the early period of Lewiston's history as a eity he was in the council, and also served as Alderman for two or three years, his politi- cal affiliations being with the Republican party. He was on the committee that built the first city building of Lewiston, and also on that which put in the water works. Mr. Barker is a Free Mason, belonging to the Saco Lodge, A. F. &. A. M., and is a member of Golden Rule Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Saco, in which he has held all the chairs. He attends the Universalist church. He is one of the trustees of the Maine State Agricultural Society. He was the first president of the Lewiston Board of Trade, holding this office for six years. He was also vice-president of the Maine State Board of Trade for several years, always taking an active part at its meetings.

Mr. Barker married, in 1847, Elmira Jewett, who was born in Denmark, Me., in 1826, a daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Harmon) Jewett. Her grandfather, Joseph Harmon, Sr., was a Revolutionary soldier. Mr. and Mrs. Barker have two children, Alvarah D. and Sarah Ida.

Alvarah D. Barker, born in Saco, Me., June 29, 1849, married Georgia Sanderson, and has one child,-Grace, born January 20, 1874. Sarah Ida Barker, born September 9, 1855, married May 5, 1875, Frank H. Packard, of Auburn. Me. They have one child, Cyrus Franklin Packard, born in Lewiston, April 15, 1881, now in Bowdoin College.

AMES NELSON CHANDLER, of Bangor, is a native of the Granite State, having been born in Concord, N.H., September 14, 1826, son of Ezra and Charlotte (Wood) Chandler.

He is a descendant in the ninth generation of William1 Chandler, who with Annis, his wife, settled in 1637 in Roxbury, Mass. They brought with them from England four small children; and a fifth child, Sarah, was born to them in Roxbury. William Chandler was a very religious man, and lived a godly life. He died in 1641 of consumption, after a lingering illness, exhibiting to the last in full measure the Christian virtues of patience and resigna- tion.

100

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The line of descent to the subject of this sketch is William,1 Thomas,2 Captain John,3 Ensign Jolin,+ Lieutenant Nathan,5 Nathan," Nathan," Ezra,8 James Nelson.9

Thomas2 Chandler, who was the second child of his parents, was born in England in 1630. He married Hannah Brewer, of Andover, of which town he was one of the pioneers and early proprietors, his name being twenty-third in the list of householders in the order as they came to town. He was Representative to the General Court in 1678 and 1679. He died in 1703. His wife died in Andover, October 25, 1717, aged eighty-seven years.

Captain John3 Chandler, born March 14, 1655, married December 20, 1676 (O. S.), Hannah Abbot, of Andover. Born June 9, 1650, she died March 2, 1741. He was mod- erator of the town meeting March 6, 1709-10, and on that day was chosen Selectman. This office he held for several terms, being first Se- lectinan in 1715. He also served as Highway Surveyor. He died in Andover, September 19, 1721.

Ensign John4 Chandler, born in Andover, March 14, 1679-80, was a farmer on the Chand- ler homestead in the West Parish. He died in Andover, May 3, 1741. His wife, Hannah Frye, whom he married June 4, 1701, was born April 12, 1683, and died August 1, 1727. She was a daughter of Samuel Frye and his wife Mary, who was a daughter of John Aslett or Aslebee.

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Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the state of Maine, Part 16

Author: New England Historical Publishing Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Boston, New England historical publishing company Number of Pages: 998

Author: New England Historical Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Boston, New England historical publishing company
Number of Pages: 998