USA > Maine > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the state of Maine > Part 21
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IMEON G. DAVIS, a prominent busi- ness man of Winthrop, and the pioneer in steamboating on Lake Maranacook, was born in Mount Ver- non, Me., October 4, 1834, son of Benjamin and Mary (Batchellor) Davis. He is of English descent. His paternal grandfather, also named Benjamin, was an extensive land-owner of Mount Vernon, where he settled as a pioneer at an early date. His father, whose death oc- curred in 1861, was a well-known agriculturist of Mount Vernon in his day, and was a life-
long resident of that town. His mother was a native of Chesterville, Franklin County, Me.
After completing his studies at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary. Kent's Hill, Simeon G. Davis was engaged for some time in teaching in the public schools of various Maine towns. In the twenty-fifth year of his age he settled in Winthrop, where he served an apprentice- ship at the blacksmith's trade. He subse- quently established himself in the blacksmith- ing business, which he carried on successfully at Winthrop Village for about seventeen years. and during a portion of that time combining with it the retailing of iron, steel, and coal. At present he carries on an extensive coal and wood business, and also manufactures lumber. In addition to those enterprises he is identified with steamboating upon the lakes adjacent to Winthrop, being the pioneer steamboat man on Lake Maranacook. He formerly owned and operated the pleasure steamers " Amarascoggin" and "Annie." He is now the proprietor and manager of the well-known steamers " Wetwo" and "Davis," the former plying on Lake Maranacook and the latter on Lake Annabes- sacook.
In early life Mr. Davis became actively inter- ested in the abolition of slavery, serving as secretary of an anti-slavery society in Mount Vernon previous to his removal from that town. His first Presidential vote was cast with the Free-soil party, supporting the candidacy of General Fremont. He later transferred his allegiance to the Republican party, with which he has ever since been identified. For several years past he has been a Constable. He is well and favorably known as an enterprising business man and public-spirited citizen, whose influence and active support may always be depended upon for the furtherance of any movement calculated to advance the interests of the general community.
On November 4, 185S, Mr. Davis married Miss Mary E. Wilbur, a native of Winthrop and a teacher in the public schools. Her parents were Israel and Asenath (Allen) Wilbur, late of that town. Her father was born in Rayn- ham, Mass. Removing from the Bay State to Maine, he resided in Augusta and Hallowell prior to settling at Winthrop in 1838. Her
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maternal grandfather, Daniel Allen, served for three years in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. Her mother taught in the publie sehools of Augusta and Winthrop for eleven years prior to 1834. Mrs. Davis was educated at the Cony Academy, Augusta, and the Monmouth Academy, Monmouth, Me. She is a member of the Maine Federation of Women's Clubs and of the Winthrop Women's Relief Corps, having served as president of the latter; and she is also a leading spirit in local literary circles.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis have had one son, George W., who is no longer living. They are both members of the East Winthrop Baptist Church.
USTAVUS SMITH, one of the well- known, substantial, and respected citizens of the town of Readfield, Kennebec County, was born on the farm he now occupies, August 30, 1829. His parents were Carpenter and Reliance (Stone) Smith, both natives of Readfield. The Smith family in this locality was founded by Matthias Smith, a cap- tain in the Revolutionary war, who came here at an carly date from Martha's Vineyard, and es- tablished the homestead on which the subject of this sketch now resides. His son and name- sake, Matthias Smith, second, succeeded him in the ownership of the farm, which he carried on all his life. The latter's wife was Temper- ance Blossom.
Carpenter Smith, son of the second Matthias and father of Gustavus, succeeded in turn to the homestead, which he improved, and whereon he resided until his death in 1852. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, of whom there are now four living, namely: Harriet Laurietta, who resides in Readfield; Gustavus, whose name begins this sketch; Oliver Carpenter, who is a resident of Monmouth, Me .; and Lizzie, who is now the wife of George Kittredge, of Lowell, Mass.
Gustavus Smith acquired his formal education in the public schools of Readfield. Trained in early youth to agriculture, he has made that his chief occupation in life, and has thereby attained a comfortable prosperity. For the most part he has continued to reside on the
old home, but in 1852, when a young nian twenty-three years old, he made the journey to California via the Isthinus of Panama, and there spent over four years engaged in gold mining in Eldorado County. Afterward he followed the same occupation for a time in Oregon. In the spring of 1856 he returned home, and he has since been numbered among the substantial and progressive citizens of his native town. He belongs to Lafayette Lodge, F. & A. M., of Readfield, and is also a member of Readfield Grange, No. 217, Patrons of Hus- bandry. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party, and he is a member of the Universalist church.
Mr. Smith married in 1863 Lydia A. Ladd, a native of Winthrop, Me., and daughter of Gorham and Charlotte (Whittier) Ladd, who were born in Readfield. Mrs. Smith died March 21. 1879, leaving four children-Eva Charlotte, Harry Chester. Walter Gorham. and Amy Estelle. Walter and the two daugh- ters reside in Readfield, while Harry is a resi- cent of Somerville, Mass.
DWARD EMILIAN HANLEY, proprietor of the Gardiner Creamery, was born in Pittston, Me., July 21, 1864, son of Francis M. and Katherine S. (Doyle) Hanley. His parents were both natives of Pittston, and his paternal grandfather, Patrick Hanley, was long a resident of that town. His father, Francis M. Hanley, was formerly postmaster at East Pittston.
Having attended the Pittston public schools in his boyhood, Edward E. Hanley pursued a commercial course at the Dirigo Business Col- lege, Augusta, from which he was graduated in 1886. Then turning his attention to mel- cantile pursuits, he was for about four years engaged in general trade at East Pittston. About the year 1890 he became interested in the creamery industry, leasing and carrying on for a number of years the plant of the East' Pittston Creamery Association. Removing to Gardiner in the spring of 1896, he established the now well-known Gardiner Creamery, which, under his energetic and business-like manage- ment, has developed into a profitable enter-
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prise. While residing in Pittston he was for four years a member of the Board of Select- men. He was Town Auditor for two years, and also served as postmaster at East Pittston. He is now serving his second term in the Gardiner City Council. Politically, he is a Democrat but frequently acts independently, supporting such candidates as are in his judg- ment the best qualified to hold public office. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, belonging to Pittston Grange, of Pittston. In his religious belief he is a Roman Catholic.
Mi. Hanley was married January 9, 1895, to Miss Isabel M. Keating, daughter of Joseph Keating of North Whitefield, Me. Their chil- dren are: Carrie C., William F., Ursula K., Mary A., and Ruth I. Hanley.
ILLIAM HENRY HOLMES, a pros- perous agriculturist, of Readfield, Kennebec County, was born in this town, March 21, 1834. His parents were John A. and Abigail (Mace) Holmes, the father a native of New Hampshire, and the mother of Monmouth, Me. His paternal grandfather was Jonathan Holmes. Mr. Holmes's maternal grandfather, Andrew Mace, fought for Ameri- can independence in the War of the Revolution, and afterward was prominently identified with the Maine State Militia.
William H. Holines, the direct subject of this sketch, was reared in his native town of Readfield, and educated in the common schools. He early acquired a practical knowledge of agriculture, and in course of time came into possession of his present farin, which is favor- ably located, and contains one hundred and seventeen acres of well-cultivated land. Here he follows general farming very successfully. The farm buildings, neat, substantial, and com- modious, the well-tilled acres, and the gen- eral air of prosperity about the homestead attest the possession by its proprietor of the typical qualities of his New England ancestors.
Mr. Holmes married January 1, 1856, Hannah J. Blair, who was born in Woolwich, Me., Feb- ruary 20, 1833, a daughter of Charles and Sophia (Libby) Blair. Her parents also were both natives of Woolwich. Mr. and Mrs."
Holmes have had two children, Emma A. and John A., neither of whom is now living.
A Republican in polities, Mr. Holmes has always taken a keen interest in the cause of good local and national government. For- merly, in 1877 and 1878, he served the town as Selectman. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at East Red- field, of which for a number of years he has been a steward. Mrs. Holmes belongs to Reada-LI Grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
BEL D. RUSSELL, who for the last twenty years has been a government employee at the State House. Au- gusta, was born in Well. Franklin County, Me., June 15, 1837. His father. Charles Russell, was born in Weld in 1809. His mother, in maidenhood Hannah R. Dascomb. was born in Bloomfield (now Skowhegan . Ma .. in 1809, the same year as her husbandt. Ste died in 1872.
Mr. Russell received his mental training in the common schools and at Bloomfield Aca i- emy, where he fitted for college. Owing. how- ever, to the death of his father, which occurred in 1853, his ambition for a liberal education was destined to remain ungratified. as he four i himself at the age of sixteen obliged to go 10 work. His first occupation was school-teach- ing, which he followed for twenty-six years. In 1861, the first year of the war for the pres- ervation of the Union, he enlisted in the bar i of the Ninth Maine Infantry, with which Le went to the front. After the war he was & member of the band at Weld for twenty-two years, and for a similar period had charge of the choir connected with the Union Church. He also served in Weld for twenty-five years as a member of the School Committee. was Deputy Sheriff for ten years and Postmaster for five years. He has been employed at the State House since 1881, when he was appointed to the position of engrossing clerk: and he iss resided in Augusta since 1886. He has kept up his interest in educational matters. being now in his eighth year as a member of the School Board of Augusta, and a trustee of the Cony High School.
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Mr. Russell was married in 1860 to Ellen H. York, who was born in Weld. Me., being a daughter of Isaac and Hepsibah (Kinney) York. His children, both born in Weld, are: Ethel M., who is a graduate of Colby College; and Maurice W., who is attending Bates Col- lege.
Mr. Russell is a member of Mystic Tie Lodge, No. 154, of Weld, and has since advanced to the thirty-second degree. He belongs to Seth Williams Post, No. 13. G. A. R., of Augusta, also to Capitol Grange, P. of H., of Augusta, and was formerly Master of Blue Mountain Grange of Weld, also of Capitol Grange.
ARROLL WILLIS MORRILL, of Port- land, is a native of Falmouth, Me. Born July 13, 1853, son of Luke and Sarah (Harmon) Morrill, he is a de- scendant of John Morrell, of Kittery (written also Morrall, and more recently Morrill), who was granted land there in 1668 and 1669. This early settler married Sarah, daughter of Nicholas Hodsdon, of Kittery; and in 1674 his father-in-law deeded to him Birch Point in the town of South Berwick, it being a part of his homestead, and he reserving the right to water from a spring, which to this day furnishes an abundant supply of excellent water. Two years later Mr. Morrill sold the land, and bought a farm at Coole Harbor in the present town of Eliot, which property has since remained in the family. John1 and Sarah Morrell had at least six children, namely: Nicholas, who in 1695 married Sarah Frye; Sarah, who married George Huntress: John, who married December 16, 1701, Hannah Dixon; Ednah, who became wife of Jonathan Mason: Hannah, who married John Tidy; and Abraham, who probably died unmarried.
The line of descent from John1 to the sub- ject of this sketelr is through John,2 Jedediah,3 Josiah,+ Ebenezer,5 Aaron," Luke," to Carroll Willis.8
John2 Morrell lived on a part of the old homestead (sharing it with his brother Nicho- las), and was also a large land-owner at Dough- tie's Falls, as then called, in what is now the town of North Berwick. He was a man of
wealth and a slave-owner, prominent in the affairs of the town. His children by his wife Hannah were: John, who married Ruth Dow, of Hampton, N.H .; Thomas, who was not named in his father's will, and who probably died young; Peter, who married Ruth, of Hamp- ton, N.H., and whose son Daniel was ancestor of the late ex-Congressman Daniel J. Morrell, of Johnstown, Pa .; Jedediah, who will receive further mention in this article; Richard, not mentioned in his father's will: and two daugh- ters, Keziah and Mary.
Jedediah3 Morrell was a physician, farmer, and lumberman. He settled at North Ber- wick, and also built mills at Bonnybeag Pond. He married for first, second, and third wives, respectively, Elizabeth Jenkins, Anna Dow, and Sarah Gould. He died in 1776, his will being dated 1761.
Josiah+ Morrell married Hannah Webber, and died in Litchfield, Me.
Ebenezer Morrell, son of Josiah and Han- nah, settled in Windham, and was the ancestor of the Hon. John White of that town. One of his sons, Elijah, went to California in 1849 or 1850.
Aaron6 Morrell, son of Ebenezer, and grand- father of the subject of this sketch, lived in Falmouth. He married Jennie Merrill, and left numerous descendants in Falmouth, Wind- ham, and in Lynn, Mass. His children were Ebenezer, Josiah, Franklin, Luke, and Mark. By occupation he was a blacksmith.
Luke Morrill was born in Falmouth, Me. He died March 18, 1866. He married Sarah Harmon, of Gray, Me., a daughter of John and Ruth (Hammond) Harmon. Their children were Gilford R., Clarence M., Carroll Willis, and Lillian W. Gilford R. Morrill married Katherine Libby, and died June 3, 1893. Clarence M. Morrill died May 12, 1896. By his wife, Ada F. Leighton, of Falmouth, he had Gertrude F. and Charles M., both deceased, and Leroy M., who is now living. Lillian W .. who is the wife of Charles H. Buckman, of Portland, has one ' child, Alta F.
Carroll Willis Morrill, after attending the common schools of Falmouth, fitted for college at Westbrook Seminary. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in the class of 1877.
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The next four years of his life were spent as a teacher in the Bath High School, and as a law student in the office of the Hon. M. P. Frank. Admitted to the bar of Cumberland County in 1882, he began practice in Portland, where he has since remained. Besides being very successful in his profession, he has seen much of public life. A stanch Republican, he has been for many years active in political affairs, having done good service to his party on the stump and in other ways. He was the first president (for four years) and one of the prime movers in the organization of the Lin- coln Club of Portland, which owes its success to the substantial lines upon which it was founded. He was secretary of the County Republican Committee for eight years. In 1893 he was elected Representative to the State Legislature, and was there chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs. In March, 1897, he was made City Solicitor. He was re- elected to that office in 1898, and again in 1899. In all these positions Mr. Morrill has shown a capacity and a devotion to the pub- lic interests that amply justify the confi- dence of his fellow-citizens. Being still in the prime of life, it is not unreasonable to infer that he has yet many more days of usefulness before him.
He married. Miss Jennie Crockett, daughter of John and Augusta (Huston) Crockett, of Portland. Mr. and Mrs. Morrill have one child, Ruth Shirley, who was born in Portland, Me., March 3, 1895.
AMES MONROE PIKE, of Wayne, Ken- nebec County, was born in the neigh- boring town of Franklin, July 12, 1836. His parents were James and Augusta E. (Godding) Pike, and he is a grandson of Heze- kiah Pike, a native of New Hampshire, who was an carly settler of the town of Fayette, Kennebec County.
James Pike, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Fayette, and resided there for many years, being engaged for the most part in agriculture. He served in the American army in the War of 1812. His wife Augusta was a daughter of Jonas Godding, a Revolution-
ary soldier. The early progenitors of the Pike family in America are said to have come from Holland, while the Goddings are of Scotch blood. The children of James and Augusta Pike were: Seth B., Cornelius, Esther A., Maria, Miranda, Lucinda E. (all deceased), and William S., Jonas G., James M., Sylviroe V. (living).
James Monroe Pike was reared in Jay, Frank- lin County, Me., and attended the schools of that town and of East Livermore, Androscog- gin County. The years of his carly manhood were spent mostly in agricultural pursuits. In 1859, when he was twenty-two years old, he went to California, making the trip from New York City to San Francisco, via the Isth- mus of Panama, in twenty-seven days. The next twenty years of his life, with the excep- tion of a short time in the army, was spent in- gold mining, mostly in Sierra County, Cali- fornia. Though not acquiring a sudden fortune, he was in the long run fairly successful. In 1881 he returned East, and settled in Wayne, where he has since resided. His home farm contains one hundred and eighty-five acres of land, all under good cultivation and includ- ing one of the best orchards in the town, if not in the State.
Mr. Pike enlisted November S, 1864, in Company K, Seventh Regiment, California Volunteer Infantry, with which he served eighteen months in Arizona, fighting the Apache Indians. Discharged April 26, 1866, he re- turned to Sierra County, where he resumed his mining operations.
On June 25, 1870, Mr. Pike was married, in California, to Amineh A. Walker, who was born in Quincy, Ill., a daughter of Judge William and Charlotte (Bush) Walker. Mrs. Pike's father, who was a native of England, accompanied his parents to America when he was an infant two years old, and was brought up in Pennsylvania, in which State the parents settled. Mrs. Pike's mother, a native of Hanover, Germany, came to America with her parents when she was eighteen, the family settling in Illinois. On her marriage to Mr. Pike she accompanied him to Sierra County, California, and subsequently to Maine. Her domestic qualities are seen in the order, thrift, and cleanliness that pervade the household.
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Mr. and Mrs. Pike have been the parents of five children, namely: Florence A., wife of Harry M. Gibbs, of Kent's Hill, Me .; Frances M., wife of Charles G. Johnson, who resides in Coaticook, Province of Quebec; Albert J., a resident of Wayne; Mabel C .; and Laura A. (both successful school teachers), who reside at home with their parents.
Mr. Pike is a Republican in politics. Both he and Mrs. Pike belong to Starling Grange, P. of H., and are members of the Baptist Church of Wayne, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Pike is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to Asylum Lodge, No. 133. A. & A. M., of Wayne, in which he is a Past Master; a member also of Pocasset Lodge, No. 6, A. O. U. W., and of Lewis Wing Post, G. A. R., No. 166, of which he has been Commander.
JLIAS H. KENT, a prosperous Kennebec County agriculturist, residing at Fayette Corners, was born at Fayette, Me., January 8, 1826, a son of Barker and Eliza (Hunt) Kent. Mr. Kent's paternal grand- father was Charles Kent, who with his brother Warren was one of the original settlers of Kent's Hill, which place was named in their honor. They were doubtless of English an- cestry. Barker Kent was born at Kent's Hill, while his wife was a native of Readfield. Their children were-Charles F., George H., Elias H., Daniel H., Robert M., and Gardner M.
The boyhood days of Elias H. Kent were passed in his native town of Fayette. He acquired his elementary education in the pub- lic schools, and subsequently attended for a time the Maine Wesleyan Seminary at Kent's Hill. In 1849, at the age of twenty-three, he went to Rhode Island, where he resided for thirty-two years, being connected in an official capacity with various hotels on Narra- gansett Bay. At one time he represented the town of Warwick, R.I., in the Rhode Island Legislature; and he also served as a Council- man of that town. In 1881 he returned to Maine, and, settling in his native town of Fayette, has since resided here, his occupation being that of general farming. He has been very successful, and is now one of the leading
agriculturists in this part of the county. He is also a leading citizen of the town, which he served as Selectman for several years, dur- ing a part of that time being chairman of the board. He belongs to Asylum Lodge, F. & A. M., at Wayne, and to Starling Grange, P. of H., at North Fayette, his wife also being a men- ber of the grange.
Mr. Kent married October 11, 1856, Amanda M. Judkins, who was born at Fayette Corners, a daughter of Daniel and Sallie (Baldwin) Judkins, both her parents being natives of Fayette. Mrs. Kent's paternal grandfather was Benjamin Judkins, a well-known citizen of Fayette in his day. Her maternal grand- father was the Rev. Cyrus Baldwin, of Fayette. a pioneer preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this region. Daniel Judkins, Mrs. Kent's father, was for many years Postmaster at Fayette Corners, and was a prominent citizen of the town. His children were as follows-Cyrus B., Rosalind L., Jessie A., Mary A., Sarah F., and Amanda M. (Mrs. Kent), the last mentioned being the only sur- viving member of her father's family.
Mr. Kent was for two years one of the Trus- tees of the Kennebec County Agricultural Society, and he served for an equal length of time as its president. Mr. and Mrs. Kent are among the most highly respected residents of the town of Fayette. They have had one child, a daughter Lilian, who is no longer living.
DELBERT JEREMIAH TOLMAN, Sheriff of Knox County, is a well- known and highly esteemed resident of Rockland, where his birth occurred May 13, 1855. He is a son of Jeremiah Tolman, who, as an intimate friend and admirer of Han- nibal Hamlin, was long prominent in the po- litical affairs of Maine; and he comes of hardy pioneer stock, being a lineal descendant of Isaiah Tolman, one of the early settlers of, Knox County.
Isaiah Tolman, son of Thomas+ (Thomas,3 Thomas,2 Thomas1), was born May 28, 1721, in that part of Dorchester, Mass., which later became Stoughton. In 1769 he came with his
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family to Knox County, and took up five hun- dred acres of land lying around that body of water long known as Tolman's Pond, but now called Chiekawauka Lake. He subsequently removed to Matinicus, where he spent his re- maining years. He was three times married, and was the father of twenty-one children. His first wife, Hannah Fuller, who was born in Dorchester, November 10, 1725, daughter of Jeremiah Fuller, bore him eight children, Jere- miah. the next in line of descent, being the fourth in order of birth. His second wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Robbins. bore him eleven children. After her death he married Jane Philbrook, of Vinalhaven, by whom he had two children.
Jeremiah Tolman, the great-grandfather of Adelbert J., was born in Stoughton, Mass., February 8, 1753. As a lad of sixteen years he came with his father to Knox County, and here spent the remainder of his life, dying No- vember 25, 1827, in Rockland. On January 26, 1784, he married Martha, daughter of John Calderwood. Among their children was a son Thomas, who was the grandfather of Adel- bert J.
Thomas Tolman was born in Thomaston, Me., November 20, 1784. He was engaged in seafaring during a large part of his active life, residing in that part of Thomaston that is now Rockland. He was held in high regard as a man of ability and intelligence, and was active in local affairs, serving as Selectman and hold- ing other important town offices. On Deeem- ber 3, 1810, he married Lydia Ingraham.
Jeremiah Tolan, son of Thomas and Lydia and father of Sheriff Tolman, was born in Thom- aston, Me., November 3, 1811. Reared to agri- cultural pursuits, he became a farmer from choice, and met with success. He was a man of sterling integrity and strong individuality, progressive in his views, and wielded a decided influence in the affairs of town, county, and State. He was at first an old-time Whig, and after the passing of the Whigs he joined the Democrats, and became one of the leading men of that party. He filled the various local offices within the gift of his fellow-townsmen, and served for four years as a Representative in the Legislature, becoming a Republican at the for-
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