Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the state of Maine, Part 27

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 27


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Mr. and Mrs. Scott are prominently identi- fied with Pittston Grange, No. 214, Patrons of Husbandry, of which Mr. Scott is a Past Master. For a number of years Mrs. Scott acted as secretary and lecturer of the local grange, and for three years she was secretary of the Kennebec County Pomona Grange. She is also a member of Marion Chapter. No. 63, Order of Eastern Star, of Gardiner Highly esteemed for their many excellent qualities. Mr. and Mrs. Scott occupy a high social posi- tion in the community


ILLIAM W. DOANE, of Brewer, was born October 18, 1832, a son of David Buck Doane. He is of English an- cestry, and a descendant in the eighth genera- tion of Deacon John Doane, one of the early settlers of Plymouth, Mass. His lineage is John,' Ephraim,2 Hezekiah,3 Elisha,4 Joseph,5 Ephraim,6 David Buck,7 William W.8


John1 Doane is thought to have come to Plym- outh with his wife in 1630. It is now known that he did not come in the "Fortune," and his name is not in the list of Plymouth settlers who received land in 1627. As shown by the Plymouth Colony records, he was a man of prominence in his day, serving as deputy to the Colony Court for two years from Plymouth and five years from Eastham, on Cape Cod, whither he


removed in 1645. He was a Deacon of the church at Eastham and Selectman for many years, dying in 1685, aged about ninety-five years.


Ephraim2 Doane married first, in 1667, Mercy Knowles, daughter of Richard Knowles, and resided in Eastham. Hezekiah3 Doane, born in 1672, son of Ephraim and Mercy, died in that part of Eastham that is now Wellfleet in 1752.


Elisha Doane, son of Hezekiah and his first wife, Hannah, was born about 1699, probably in Provincetown. Mass. On February 26, 1715- 9, he married Hannah Cole, and settled in Well- fleet. He was captain of a company in the Louisburg expedition of 1745, and later was lieutenant-colonel of militia. He died Decem- ber 7, 1759.


Joseph5 Doane was born about 1720, in that part of Eastham now included within the limits of the town of Wellfleet; he died in Chatham. Mass., in 1778. He was engaged in the whale fishery both in Eastham and Chatham. On retiring from this industry, he kept a public house in Chatham for a number of years. Prom- inent in political and military affairs, he served as Selectman many terms after 1768, as justice of the peace, and as a Representative to the General Court. At the beginning of the Rev- olutionary War he was one of the foremost to prepare for the conflict, and was very active in the Cape Cod service, being for several years Colonel of the Second Regiment of Militia. On April 12, 1739, he married Dorcas Eldredge. who was born in Eastham, Mass., March 15. 1720-1, a twin daughter of Elisha and Dorcas (Mulford) Eldredge.


Ephraim" Doane, born in Chatham, Mass .. July 15, 1759, died in Orrington, Me., February 2, 1804. He was one of the pioneers of Orring- ton, and during the few brief years that he lived there was numbered among its most respected citizens. He married first, March 9, 1780, in Chatham, Experience (daughter of Barzillai Hopkins), by whom he had two children. . He married second, January 23, 1792, Mrs. Nancy Buck Cole, widow of Peter Cole. She was born March 24, 1763. By his second marriage Ephraim" Doane had five children, David Buck being the fourth in order of birth. His widow Naney married for her third husband John Wil- kins, whose dwelling-house was on the present


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site of the Penobscot County Jail. For many years Mr. Wilkins was president of the Kendus- keag National Bank. He was Town Clerk of Orrington from 1806 until 1811; he represented Orrington at the General Court in 1812 and 1813; was the first Register of Deeds for Penobscot County, serving in 1814, 1815 and 1816; and was first County Treasurer of Penobscot County. Resigning as treasurer in 1820, he was appointed Sheriff and removed to Bangor. He was an active member of Rising Virtue Lodge, A. F. & A. M., which he served as secretary in 1806, 1807, and 1808.


David Buck7 Doane was born in Orrington, Me., October 13, 1800, and died in Brewer, Me., April 24, 1879. For many years he followed the blacksmith's trade in Brewer. After retiring from this occupation, he was intrusted with the settling of many estates, some of which represented a large amount of property. For sixteen consecutive years he was Treasurer and Collector of Brewer. He was for some time con- nected with the Internal Revenue service, acting as Deputy Assessor under President Lincoln. He married Mehitable Smith, of East- port, Me. They became the parents of seven children, three of whom survive, namely: David Jefferson,8 born April 12, 1830, residing in Brewer; William W.,8 born October 18, 1832, the subject of this sketch; and Samuel W.,8 of Brewer, who was born February 19, 1843.


William W.8 Doane learned the blacksmith's trade of his father when a youth but never fol- lowed it to any extent. Having a strong prefer- ence for mercantile pursuits, he secured a position as clerk in a store, and there acquired a good knowledge of business. Subsequently for two years he kept a retail grocery store in Brewer. Purchasing an interest in the firm of J. A. Board- man & Co., wholesale grocers of Bangor, in 1867, (still residing in Brewer), he was prosperously engaged in trade as a member of that enter- prising firm for thirty-five years or more, the firm early in 1903 closing up their affairs. Mr. Doane is now living retired from active pursuits, having ample time to enjoy the fruits of his long-continued diligent application to business.


Mr. Doane served as Selectman before the town of Brewer became incorporated as a city, and has always evinced a loyal interest in its


welfare. He is prominent in Masonic circles, being a member of Andrew Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Bangor; of the Royal Arch Chapter, of Ban- gor; and of Saint John's Commandery, K. T., of Bangor. He is likewise a member of the Brewer Lodge of the I. O. O. F.


On November 23, 1858, Mr. Doane married Frances M. Holyoke, who was born in Brewer, Me., in April, 1834. Her father, Deacon John Holyoke, was a descendant in the seventh gen- eration of Edward Holyoke, the immigrant ancestor, the line being Edward,' Elizur,? Eli- zur,3 Jacob,' John,5 John," John.7 A more ex- tended account of her ancestors may be found on another page of this volume, in connection with the sketch of Frank H. Holyoke. Mrs. Doane's father, John7 Holyoke, was born March 5, 1804, and died October 2, 1885. He was one of the foremost shipbuilders of his day, and car- ried on a large business, building and launching more than fifty vessels. He subsequently be- came interested in lumbering, and still later was engaged in manufacturing spars and masts in Brewer. For a short time he was associated in business with S. C. Dyer, of Portland, Me. He was an active politician, being at first iden- tified with the Free Soilers, and afterward with the Republican party. He rendered the town of Brewer excellent service as Selectman and as Representative to the State Legislature. Deacon Holyoke married first, February 17, 1831, Julia Ann Holbrook, the mother of Mrs. Doane. She died a few years after their mar- riage. His second wife was Harriet Wheeler. Mr. and Mrs. Doane have one child, Edith Julia9 Doane, who was born'in Brewer, Me., September 30, 1864.


AMUEL M. VEAZIE, a well-known business man of Rockland, dealer in stoves and hardware, was born in Camden, Me., March 17, 1830, son of Abiezer and Grace (Ames) Veazie. He is a great-grandson of the Rev. Samuel Veazie, who settled in Harpswell, Me., in 1767; and he traces his ancestry back to William1 Veazie, a freeman at Braintree, Mass., in 1643, who married, in 1644, Elinor, daughter of the Rev. William Thompson. The line continued through Solo-


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mon,2 who married, in 1680, Elizabeth, daugliter of Martin Saunders (incorrectly given in Bangor "Historical Magazine," vol. ii., as Morton Saun- ders); Samuel," who married Deborah, daughter of Nathaniel Wales; the Rev. Samuel,+ born in Braintree in 1711, who married, in 1742, Deboralı Sampson; Samuel,5 born in Hull, Mass., about the year 1750, who married Lucy Holbrook; Abiezer," of Islesboro and Camden, Me., who married Grace Ames; to Samuel M., above named, who is of the seventh generation of his family in New England.


The Rev. Samuel+ Veazie was graduated at Harvard College in 1736, and ordained as min- ister of Duxbury, Mass., October, 1739. Dis- missed from the church in Duxbury in 1750 and installed at Hull in 1753, he preached there until 1767, when, as stated above, he removed to Harpswell, Me. His son Samuel," who was a mariner, settled in Islesboro, Me.


Abiezer,6 son of Samuel and Lucy (Holbrook) Veazie, died in Camden, Me., about the year 1840, in the fifty-second year of his age. His wife Grace was born in September, 1790, daugh- ter of Jabez and Jane (Gilkey) Ames. Her father was son of Thomas Ames and his first wife, Rebecca Harnie. Thomas Ames came to Islesboro, Me., from Marshfield, Mass. In 1804 he was ordained as a Baptist minister, and until 1809 he was minister of the church at Islesboro. Afterward he was an itinerant, and, it is said, a "worthy and acceptable preacher." He was known as "Elder Thomas Ames."


Jane Gilkey, wife of Jabez Ames and mother of Grace, was daughter of John Gilkey, who settled at Islesboro, Me., at the place now known as Gilkey's Harbor, prior to 1775. John Gilkey married Sylvina Thomas, probably of Marshfield, Mass., about 1766. (See Farrow's History of Islesboro.)


Abiezer" Veazie was a ship-master, making foreign voyages. A skilful navigator, he followed the sea for many years. Captain Abiezer Veazie and his wife Grace had fourteen children, namely -Jason, Lucy, Abiezer, Jr., Grace, Stephen Loring, Jones, Clara, Sewall Watson, twins (one named Betsey), Samuel M., Martha, Abiezer, Jr. (second), and Silas Parker. The survivors (in 1903) are-Grace (aged eighty-eight years), Sewall Watson, Samuel M., and Silas Parker.


Abiezer, Jr., served in the Civil War, enlisting in the Fourth Maine Infantry, and afterward re- enlisting in the First Maine Cavalry. He died in 1898. He was married, and had one child, Freelove A., born in 1852. Sewall Watson Veazie, born in Camden in 1825, married Mary E. Thorndike, of Camden, and has one child, Sarah, born in 1851.


Samuel M. Veazie, the special subject of this sketch, was educated in Camden. After leaving school he learned the trade of tinsmith, which lie followed as a journeyman for three years. He then, in 1852, went to California and estab- lished himself in the stove and hardware business in San Francisco. After an absence of two and a half years he returned to Rockland. Here he has been engaged in the same business from that time to the present. Formerly a Whig, he now affiliates with the Democratic party in poli- tics. He has no aspirations for office. He at- tends the Congregational church, and is a mem- ber of Rockland Lodge, A. F. & A. M.


Mr. Veazie married December 21, 1851, Mary Kimball Sears. She was born November 31, 1830, daughter of Dr. John B. Sears and his wife, formerly Mrs. Priscilla McIntyre. Dr. John B. Sears at one time did a large business as man- ufacturer of Sears' Bloodroot Pills. In 1849 he removed to California. He was born in Thom- aston (now Rockland), Me., in 1807, son of Cap- tain James and Sophia (Bernard) Sears. Cap- tain Sears was lost at sea in 1810. His wife was the daughter of Isaac Bernard, of Thomaston. Mr. and Mrs. Veazie have one child, Morris C .; he was born January 25, 1859.


OHN S. HAMILTON, a business man of Hallowell, who has taken a prominent part in town and county affairs, was born in Waldo County, Maine, April 21, 1837, his parents being Isaac and Elizabeth (Stevens) Hamilton. His paternal ancestors were among the early settlers in Maine, coming, it is said, directly from England. The parents of the subject of this sketch were both natives of Maine, and Isaac Hamilton was a prominent member of the Waldo County community in which he resided, serving as Selectman, Deputy- sheriff, and in other public offices. Their chil-


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dren were: Marilla, John S., Henry C., Mary E., Isaac Q., and an adopted son, Charles R.


.


John S. Hamilton was educated in the com- mon schools of Waldo County. He remained on the home farm until reaching the age of eighteen, and then, in the hope of bettering his condition, went to Boston, Mass., where he remained for several years. Returning subse- quently to his native State he settled first in China, Kennebec County, but after two years went to Augusta, where he obtained the position of Superintendent of the Augusta Poor Farm. Two years later he came to Hallowell, and was here Superintendent for two years of the City Poor Farin. In 1SSS he engaged in business as a dealer in coal, hay, and straw, and has been thus occupied up to the present time. A Re- publican in politics, he has served as Alder- man of the city for a number of years, and was six years Street Commissioner. In 1890 he was elected a County Commissioner of Kennebec County, serving one term of six years, during a part of which time he was chairman of the board. His public spirit and useful activity are generally recognized by his fellow-citizens. While a resident of China, Kennebec County, in 1S69 and 1870, Mr. Hamilton was a Selectman for both years. He is a member of Dirigo Lodge, F. & A. M., also of the Knights of Pythias and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen.


Mr. Hamilton married in 1858 Sarah Bell, a native of Dorchester, N.B. They have had three children, of whom two survive, namely: Nellie, who is the wife of Levi T. Williams, of Augusta, Me .; and Annie, who is now Mrs. Horace Turner, of Hallowell. Their other child was Charles V., who in 1SS1, on account of poor health, went to St. Domingo, and in the same year started for home in a sailing vessel which was never afterward heard from.


RA EDMUND GETCHELL, of Winslow, Kennebec County, was born in this town, March 9, 1832, a son of Edmund, Jr., and Desire (Priest) Getchell. Both his parents were natives of Maine, the father's birthplace - being Arrowsie Island and the mother's Vassal- boro. Edmund Getchell, Sr., father of Ed- mund, Jr., and grandfather of Ira Edmund, was


an early settler in Kennebec County, residing successively in Augusta, in Vassalboro, and in Winslow, where he died in 1831. He had nine children.


Edmund Getchell, Jr., was one of the prom- inent citizens of Winslow in his day. He was engaged chiefly in the lumber business. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. As a Select- man, justice of the peace, and Town Collector. he proved himself a capable public official, and gained tlie respect and esteem of his fellow- citizens. He had four children, namely: Mary Wiggin; Leonard Eaton; Williams; and Ira Edmund, whose personal history is outlined below.


Ira Edmund Getchell was reared to man's estate in his native town, and educated in the public schools, including the high school. He has since pursued mathematical and other studies with a view to practical use, being engaged more or less in surveying and civil engineering. as well as in farming. Of agriculture he makes as much as possible a scientific pusuit, endeavor- ing to realize the greatest results from the soil in proportion to the labor expended upon it. His farm of one hundred and sixty acres, de- voted both to dairying and the raising of crops. is in a flourishing condition, giving evidence of thrift, industry, aud competent management. That he has attained success as a practical and scientific farmer is evidenced by the fact that he has been officially prominent in the leading societies hereabouts for the advancement of agriculture. He was president and for some years a trustee of the North Kennebec County Agricultural Society, has been president of the State Board of Agriculture and also vice-presi- dent of the same. He is a director of the' Mer- chants' National Bank at Waterville, Me., and a trustee of the Kennebec Water District. Dur- ing the session of 1892 he served as a member of the House of Representatives from the towns of Winslow, Clinton, and Benton. He married January 18, 1857, Cornelia Bassett, a native of Winslow, Me., and daughter of Deacon Will-, iams and Sibyl (Howard) Bassett. Her father. Williams Bassett, came to Winslow when a young man from Bridgewater, Mass., married here, served as a Selectman for a number of years, and resided here until his death in 1877.


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He was a son of William Bassett, of Bridgewater, and his wife, Abiah Williams, and a lineal de- scendant in the seventh generation of William1 Bassett, who came to Plymouth in the "Fort- une" in 1621, and some years later was one of the original proprietors and settlers of West Bridgewater.


Mrs. Getchell's mother, whose maiden name was Sibyl Howard, was born in Winslow. She was a daughter of Ambrose Howard, who came to Winslow from Bridgewater, Mass., where his immigrant progenitor, John Howard, settled two hundred and fifty or more years ago.


Mr. and Mrs. Getchell have been the parents of three children, of whom there is now only one survivor, Williams B., who is city engineer of Augusta, Me. He married Harriet E. Whit- tum, daughter of Clifton Whittuin, of Searsport ; and they have three children - Irene, Cecil Clifton, and Alton Edmund. The two deceased children of Mr. and Mrs. Getchell are George E. and Nellie L. Mrs. Getchell is a graduate of the State Normal School in Bridgewater, Mass., class of 1851, and she taught school in Massachusetts for some years before her marriage.


ILLIAM WHITE CASE, of Rockland, was born in this city in 1860, son of the Hon. John S. and Lucy C. (White) Case, and is descended from early settlers of Knox County. His great-grandfather, the Rev. Isaac Case, was the pioneer Baptist preacher of South Thomaston, having removed thither from Harps- well. Born in 1761, he married (intentions pub- lished June 23, 1785) Joanna Snow, who was born January 2, 1767. Her father, the Rev. Elisha Snow, born March 26, 1739, O. S., in Brunswick, Me., married December 6, 1759, at Cape Elizabeth, Betsey Jordan, and settled in South Thomaston, where his death occurred January 30, 1832.


Ambrose Case, the grandfather of William W. Case, was born about 1790, being the fourth of the ten children of the Rev. Isaac and Joanna (Snow) Case. He married, first, Susan Sawyer, of Litchfield, who bore him five children, four of whom-John S., Isaac, Ann S. (Mrs. Gay), and Mrs. Nancy Case Weston-are deceased, the only survivor being George W. Case, of


Rockland. He married second, January 16. 1836, Mrs. Hannah Spear Robbins, by whom he had three children, namely: Mary E. and Charles A., bothi deceased; and Frank, of Rock- land.


The Hon. John S. Case was born in Belgrade. Me., February 15, 1823, and died at his home in Rockland, May 10, 1902. He was reared in Belgrade and in East Thomaston, living in the latter place from the time he was eleven years old until he had completed his schooling. Be- ginning his active career in 1840, he went first to Milltown, N.B., where he remained a few years, then to Isle au Haut, Me., where he was engaged in business for a while. Return- ing to East Thomaston, now Rockland, in 1847. he secured employment with the firm of B. W. Lothrop & Co., and remained as salesman until familiar with the business. Subsequently form- ing a copartnership with William Wilson. he embarked in the dry-goods business as junior member of the firm of Wilson & Case. Dis- posing of his interest in the firin to his partner in 1857, Mr. Case became associated with Fran- cis Cobb and Hezekiah W. Wight, who had then a well-established business; and on January 1, 1858, he became a member of the firm of Cobb, Wight & Case. These enterprising gentle- men continued their lime-manufacturing, ship- building, and grocery business, and in addition began the manufacture of granite, opening quarries at Spruce Head. In this industry they met with great success, and managed the business until the Spruce Head Quarries were merged in the Bodwell Granite Company. of which John S. Case became a large stockholder and a director, at the time of his death being the vice-president. Withdrawing from the firm of Cobb, Wight & Case in 1868, he entered into partnership with his father-in-law, Jonathan White, and for many years thereafter carried on a very extensive mercantile business, engaging also in the manufacture of lime, the firm name being White & Case. This firin is still in ex- istence. In 1876 Messrs. Cobb, Wight & Case were among thie promoters of the Glencoe Lime Company, of St. Louis, of which Mr. Case was president at the time of his demise. He was also president of the Rockland National Bank. a position to which he was elected in 1889. He


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was a trustee of the Rockland Savings Bank, which he served five years as president, and was president of the board of trustees of the Rockland Public Library.


A man of ability, integrity, and sound judg- ment, Mr. Case was often called to serve his city in a public capacity, and did much to advance its material interests. In 1854, when Rock- land was incorporated as a city, he served as one of the first Councilmen, being five years in that position, and subsequently serving as Alderman one year. In 1880, 1881, 1883, 1884, he was Mayor, filling the office during the most critical period of the city's history. Prior to 1SSO, the Knox & Lincoln Railroad had been built at an expense of two million eight hundred thousand dollars, Rockland subscribing one hundred thousand dollars in cash, and issuing six per cent. bonds to the amount of seven hun- dred and thirty-five thousand dollars, as its share of the cost. Owing to the financial depression of that time, many of the city tax-payers were in favor of repudiating the debt; but through the strenuous efforts of Mr. Case a way was found of solving the problem, the six per cent. bonds being recalled, and for the most part exchanged for four per cent. municipal bonds. Thus the honor of the city was saved.


--


Mr. Case was sent as a Representative to the State Legislature in 1868, 1869, 1880, and 1881, each term serving on committees of importance. A stanch Republican in politics, he was active in the party, being a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1880, elector at large in 1884, and president of the Electoral College when Maine cast its vote for Blaine and Logan.


On August 4, 1852, the Hon. John S. Case mar- ried Lucy C. White, who was born May 19, 1834, the only child of Jonathan and Emily (Spear) White. Her parents were married October 21, 1831. Jonathan White, born in 1805, removed from Belfast, Me., to Rockland, where he worked for many years as a shipbuilder and as a house- joiner. He subsequently engaged in the man- ufacture of lime as head of the firm of White & Case, and carried on a large and lucrative business. He was prominent in public affairs, and served as Representative in the State Leg- islature, being elected on the Democratic ticket, which he invariably supported. Mr. and Mrs.


Case had two children, namely-Emily W. and William W. Emily W., born in 1856, married Dr. Francis E. Hitchcock, and became the mother of one child, Mary E. Hitchcock, who was born in Rockland in 1SS2.


EVI WYMAN WESTON, founder and head of the firm of L. W. Weston & Co., president of the Skowhegan Loan and Building Association, of the Skow- hogan Manufacturing Company, and of the Coburn Hall Association, is a native resident of Skowhegan, Me., the shire town of Somerset County. Born October 9, 1824, son of Jolmn W. and Sally P. (Walker) Weston, he is a worthy representative of one of the oldest families of Skowhegan, his great-grandfather, Joseph Wes- ton, having come here with Peter Heywood and Isaac Smith in 1771, they being the first settlers in the town. Skowhegan was formerly a part of Canaan, and at one time the south side of the river where they settled was known as Bloomfield. In the fall of 1775, Joseph Weston, with his two sons, Eli and William, accompanied Arnold's expedition part way up the Kennebec River, being engaged to go as guides and helpers; and, taking a violent cold on his return, he died October 16, 1775. He had seven sons and two daughters.


Samuel Weston, son of Joseph and his wife Eunice Farnsworth, and grandfather of Levi W., was born in Concord, Mass., in 1757, the name in the printed records being Wesson. He set- tled in Canaan, Me., and was for many years one of the leading citizens of that locality, being the first clerk and Justice of the Peace in the plantation of Canaan and the first store-keeper, and also well known as a land surveyor. He served in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1787. As agent of the Plymouth Land Company, which in colonial times received grants of land in the district of Maine from King George III. of England, he did much surveying and selling of lands for the Plymouth Company. He surveyed the famous million-acre tract (forty miles square) in Somerset County, sold by the State of Massachusetts to one William Bingham, of Philadelphia.




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