USA > Maine > Biographical sketches of representative citizens of the state of Maine > Part 51
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. John1 Thorndike was a native of Lincoln- shire, England, being a son of Francis Thorn- dike and brother of Herbert Thorndike, preben- dary of Westminster, who died in 1672. John Thorndike married, as noted in Pope's " Pioneer," Elizabeth Stratton. He had one son, Paul,2 and several daughters. His daughter Eliza-
beth was the second wife of John Proctor. of Danvers, who was executed for witchcraft. John Thorndike died in England in the autumn of 1668, evidently leaving his daughters Alice and Martha in the care of their uncle, the preb- endary of Westminster. (For copy of will of Herbert Thorndike, mentioning these nieces as living in his house in the Little Cloisters of Westminster, and designating the burial place of his "Brother John Thorndike" as "on the way from my lodging to the church," see Waters "Genealogical Gleanings in England," vol. ii .. or New Eng. Gen. Ref., vol. li.) Paul Thorn- dike, son of John, was baptized at Westminster. April 18, 1662, at the age, it is thought, of about twenty years. He is not mentioned in his uncle's will: was perhaps out of favor in his mature years as a dissenter. He married April 28, 1668, Mary Patch, and settled in Beverly. The town was incorporated in October of that year, and he was elected first Selectman. In 1680 he served as Representative to the General Court. A promontory in Beverly was named for him, Paul's Head. John3 Thorndike mar- ried first, April 20, 1696, Joanne, widow of Joshua3 Dodge, of Beverly, and daughter of John Larkin, of Charlestown, and his wife Joanne Hale. By his first wife he had eight children. His second wife was Christiana West. He died at his home in Beverly in 1760. Rob- ert+ Thorndike, son of John3 and Joanne, mar- ried in 1718 Elizabeth Woodbury. He removed from Beverly to Cape Elizabeth, Me. Their son Ebenezer,5 above named (brother of Ben- jamin), married Lydia Herrick, September 5. 1750. She was the daughter of Joshua+ Herrics (Captain Joseph,3 Henry,2 Henry1), of Beverly. and his wife, Lydia Cushing. He is buried in the church graveyard at Cape Elizabeth.
Captain Israel Larkin® Snow, born May 2s. 1829, son of Captain Israel Snow and his wife Lucy, married November 20, 1856, Luella Austin Keating. She was born November 10. 1838, daughter of Captain Richard and Lillias T. (Snow) Keating. Her father, Captain Richar I Keating, born April 22, 1807, was son of Cap- tain William Keating by his wife, Bethia Thorn- dike, married February 19, 1800. Captain Richard was named for his grandfather, Deacon Richard Keating, born in 1751, in Kittery. Me ..
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who was a soldier in the war of the Revolu- tion. Deacon Richard Keating married Mir- iam Bridges, and came with his family about the year 1773 from New Meadows to Wessa- masskeag (Eaton History). His wife died in 1830, and he in 1839, April 22.
Lillias T. Snow, wife of Captain Richard Keating, was born September 13. 1811, daugh- ter of Elisha Snow, Jr. (born in 1769), and his third wife, Lillias Taylor Mingerson.
Captain Israel Larkin Snow and his wife, Luella A. Keating Snow, became the parents of ten children. The third child, Lillias T., died in infancy; and Frank Ernest, born March 25, 1858, died in 1884 unmarried.
The surviving children are: Richard K., born October 2, 1859: Israel, March 4, 1863; Willis, October 12, 1866; Helen Luella. July 16, 1868; Jolin Ingalls. April 9, 1872; Adelaide Erskine, May 28, 1874; Woodbury Mingerson, February 24, 1SS1; Robert Asabel, March 26, 1883.
Richard K. Snow married Cora E. Griswold, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and resides in South Thomas- ton. They have four children now living: Walter E., born May 14, 1885: Maurice R .. July 25, 1886; Milford J., February 6, 1890: and Helen, December 7, 1900.
Helen Luella Snow, who married Hugh A. Bain, of New York, has no children. John Ingalls Snow married Sarah Gilchrist. of Rock- land, and has two children, John and Margaret Alice.
Captain Israel Larkin Snow began in his youth to follow the sea, and for many years was a master mariner. Later in life he gave up his calling, and settled in Rockland, where in 1863 he had purchased an interest in the South Marine Railway. Enterprising and prosperous in business, he was a useful and esteemed citi- zen. He died July 2, 1899, and was buried at Achorn Cemetery, Rockland, Me.
Israel Snow, the third of the name in direct line, first mentioned at the beginning of the sketch of the family, was the fourth child born of his parents. He was educated in the public schools of Rockland. He married in 1889 Mary Eliza Munroe, of Rockland, daughter of William M. Munroe. Mr. and Mrs. Snow have four children: Israel, Jr., born August 6, 1891; Eveline F., born August 6, 1893; Francis M.,
born October 25, 1895; and Kathleen, born April 30, 1898.
Mr. Snow and his brother Richard, both mas- ter mariners, are at present engaged in ship- building, operating and conducting the South Marine Railway at Rockland for repair of vessels. They bought into this business in 1885, and have continued it since their father's death with the other heirs, under the firm nam- of I. L. Snow & Co.
ENJAMIN GLEASON, a prosperous farmer and stock-raiser of Oaklait. is a native of Canaan, Somer-et County, Me., born March 9. 152>. son of Bryant ,and Betsey (Corson) Gleason. Both his parents were natives of Oakland. Me. His paternal grandfather, Elijah Gleason. who was born in Connecticut, was an early settler of Oakland, which town in earlier days was known as West Waterville. Bryant and Bet- sey (Corson) Gleason were the parents of twelve children, of whom but two are now liv- ing: Benjamin, the subject of this sketch: and Elizabeth (Mrs. Orrin MeIntire, of Oak- land).
Benjamin Gleason's boyhood up to the ag- of fifteen years was passed in his native town of Canaan. He then accompanied his parent- to Bingham, Me., where he resided for about eight years. In 1853, partaking of the pre- vailing gold excitement consequent upon the discoveries of gold in California and Australia. he resolved to try his fortune at the diggings. and took ship from New York for Australia. that country being then the scene of the latest discoveries. He remained at the Australian gold fields for a year, meeting with average success: but finding that there, as in Califor- nia, the speedy acquisition of wealth fell to the lot of but few individuals, the experience of the great majority being hard work and hard living for little more than a bare exist- ence, he returned in the fall of 1854 to his native country and State. Settling on his present farm in Oakland, which contains two hundred acres of good land, he has since fol- lowed general farming quite successfully.
Mr. Gleason married March 28, 1855. Caro-
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line V. MeIntire, a native of Bingham, Me., and a daughter of Washington and Betsey (Spaulding) MeIntire. Mrs. Gleason's father, Washington McIntire, was a prominent citi- zen of Bingham, serving not only as Select- man, but also as Representative to the Legis- lature. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason have been the parents of ten children, namely: Carrie Eliza- beth, wife of Chester A. Small, of Oakland, Me .; Benjamin Franklin, who resides in Alton. N.H .; Laura Bell, wife of Andrew Douglas Libby, of Oakland, Me .; Lincoln Leroy, who resides in Oakland, Me .; Charles Sherman, who is now a practising physician in Wareham, Mass .; Harry Claton, a dentist in Boston; Chester Eugene, who lives in Pittsfield, Mass .; Nora Susie, wife of William Leon Corson, of Madison, Me .; Howard Pulsifer, of Worcester, Mass .; and Arthur Augustus, of Oakland, Me.
Mr. Gleason is a Republican in politics. He belongs to Cascade Grange, P. of H., and to the local lodge, I. O. O. F., at Oakland. A loyal and intelligent citizen, his vote and in- fluence are always cast on the side of the right as he sees it, and the bettering of existing con- ditions, whether local or general.
HARLES HAINES STEVENS was born in Wayne, Me., April 5, 1846, son of David and Jeannette (Haines) Stevens. His father was born in 1806 at Loudon, N.H., which was the birth- place of his grandfather, John Stevens, who, about the year 1807, moved his family to Wayne. David Stevens was engaged in agri- cultural pursuits during the active period of his life. He took a prominent part in the pub- lic affairs of Wayne, serving as a Selectman and in other town offices. Early in the sixties of the nineteenth century he removed to the farm in Readfield which is now owned by his son, Charles H., and he resided there for the rest of his life. His death occurred March 8, 1898, at the age of over ninety-one years. His wife, who was also a native of Loudon, N.H., died February 15, 1891.
Charles Haines Stevens acquired his ele- mentary education in the public schools, and concluded his studies at the Maine Wes-
leyan Seminary, Kent's Hill. Since leaving school he has given his attention chiefly to the cultivation of the home farm of one hun- dred and fifty acres, which came into his pos- session after his father's death, and which he devotes to general farming, including dairy- ing. Mr. Stevens is well and favorably known throughout his section from his long and honorable connection with the Kennebec County Agricultural Society, of which he has held the important post of treasurer for several years. His able management of the financial affairs of that organization has contributed in no small measure toward its present pros- perity and influence. He is now serving his second term as Treasurer of the town of Read- field. He is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. Politically, he acts with the Republican party.
On Christmas Day, 1879, Mr. Stevens was united in marriage with Miss Lottie E. French, a native of Chesterville, Me., and a daughter of the Hon. E. R. French, of Kent's Hill. Five children have been born of this union, namely- Nettie B., Charlotte E., Mary M., Nellie F., and Robert M. The three now living are: Charlotte E., who is a student at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary and Female College at Kent's Hill; Mary M .; and Nellie F.
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AMUEL DOLLEY, of Readfield, agent of the Kennebec County Agricultural Society, was born in Weld, Me., August 7, 1836, son of Ami and Re- becca (Houston) Dolley. Both his parents were natives of Falmouth, Me. The father, Ami Dolley, settled in Weld when about thirty years old, and resided there until reaching the age of seventy-four. He then returned to Cum- berland County, and died in the town of Gray, that county, when in his ninetieth year. He served in the American army in the War of 1812. He was a grandson of the first repre- sentative of the family in Maine, who, it is said, came from England.
Samuel Dolley was educated in the public schools of Weld, and was carly trained in agri- cultural science. He has since been connected more or less closely with farming interests. In -
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the fall of 1875 he went to California, taking up his residence in Santa Cruz County, that State, where he remained for four years, during the three latter being superintendent of a lime plant at Felton, that gave employment to about sixty hands the year around. Mr. Dolley has held his present position as representative of the Kennebec County Agricultural Society for a number of years. He belongs to Readfield Grange, Patrons of Husbandry.
He was married March 16, 1856, to Mrs. Sarah Folsom, who was born in Phillips, Me., April 13, 1823, daughter of Richard and Abby (Church) Philbrick. Mrs. Dolley's paternal an- cestors were among the early settlers of Read- field, Me. Her mother was born in Phillips, Me., in which place her father, Richard Phil- brick, settled after his marriage. There he served as Deputy Sheriff for thirty years, and his death took place in that town. Mrs. Dolley, before her marriage to her present husband, was the widow of Henry Folsom, of Mount Vernon, Me., whom she married March 4, 1839. Of this first union there were three children, all of whom are now living: Cathers, who resides in Santa Cruz, Cal .; Charlotte, wife of Samuel MeLaugh- lin, of Weld, Me .; and Roscoe H., who resides in Readfield, Me. The last named married Flor- ence G. Raymond, of Readfield, and he and his wife have three children -Ellen B., Charles A., and Lena B.
Mr. Dolley is a Republican in his political affiliations. He has been prosperous in ma- terial affairs, and is respected by his fellow- citizens for his personal integrity and progressive attitude in regard to local interests. He and Mrs. Dolley are popular members of Readfield society.
ANIEL C. HALL, whose death April 30, 1903, deprived Fairfield of one of its best known citizens, had re- sided in this town for over half a century. Fairfield, however, was not his na- tive place. He was born in Bowdoin, Me., September 8, 1821, son of Luther and Priscilla (Potter) Hall. His paternal grandfather, John Hall, came to Maine from Marshfield, Mass. Ilis wife and children accompanied him, the
family being among the early settlers of Bow- doin, Sagadahoc County.
Luther Hall was a small boy when he came with his parents to Bowdoin. He was brought up to agriculture, in which occupation he con- tinued during the entire active period of his life, developing and improving the homestead. A man of intelligence and force of character, he won the respect and esteem of his fellow- townsmen, whom he represented in the State Legislature for the sessions of 1832 and 1836. For a number of years also he served the town of Bowdoin as Selectman. By his first wife, Christine Cowen, of Litchfield, he had two chil- dren, Joseph and Elizabeth, both of whom are now deceased. His second wife, Priscilla, who was born in Bowdoin, and who died in 1860, was the mother of twelve children, namely- Christine, Mary, Tabitha, Daniel C., Priscilla, John, Martha, James, Elizabeth, Francis, Den- ham, and Alfred. Those now living are: Mary, who married Alfred Carr and resides in Bow- doin; Denham, who married Amanda Jones and is engaged in farming on the old home- stead in. Bowdoin; and Alfred, who is a ma- chinist, residing in Boston.
Daniel C. Hall was educated in the public schools of Bowdoin. Trained to farm life and labor, he continued to work as an agriculturist, remaining in Bowdoin until some time in 1842, when he came to Fairfield. Here for a number of years he was employed by William Connor, the well-known lumber manufacturer. In 1855 he started in for himself in the lumber business as a member of the firm of Fogg, Hall & Co., and for many years thereafter did a large and successful business, lumbering being one of the principal industries in this section. Later Mr. Hall became president of the corporation known as the Fairfield Boom Company, retaining that office during the entire period of his con- nection with the corporatoin. He sold out his interest therein in 1895, and from that time he was practically retired.
A Republican in politics, he took an active part in public affairs, serving for twelve years on the Board of Selectinen. In 1878 he was a candidate for the House of Representatives, but was defeated. Public-spirited and alive to the necessities of the times, he was accustomed
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to watch public events with interest, lending the weight of his vote and influence to every well-thought-out movement for the betterment of society. He was a member of Siloani Lodge, No. 92, F. & A. M., of Fairfield, which he served as Master; also of the Commandery of Knights Templar at Waterville. Few, if any, citizens of this locality were better known or more gen- erally respected.
Mr. Hall was married October 5, 1856, to Sarah Crawford, of Sidney, Me. She bore him two children, Laura P. and Fred S., both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Hall died Feb- ruary 22, 1901.
ILLIAM H. GLOVER, a successful business man of Rockland, was born in South Thomaston, Me., Decem- ber 14, 1834, being one of the eleven children of Charles and Almira W. (Sayward) Glover. Further notice of his parents and their family may be found elsewhere in this volume in connection with the sketch of his brother, Cap- tain Thomas B. Glover.
Mr. Glover early learned the trade of a car- penter and joiner, and followed it until 1862. when he engaged in business in Rockland as a lumber manufacturer and dealer, becoming head of the firm of W. H. & E. K. Glover. Al- bert D. Lawry was at length admitted as a partner, and a short time afterward James Fernald joined the firm, the name being changed to W. H. Glover & Co. After the death of Mr. Lawry the business was continued under the same name until 1893, when it was incorporated under the style of W. H. Glover Company, builders, contractors, and lumber dealers, Mr. Glover being made president. Under his judicious management the company has been very success- ful in its operations, and is one of the leading firms of its kind in the county. Mr. Glover has served as a director of the Rockland National Bank since 1866. He lias taken several degrees in Masonry, and is a Knight Templar. A stanch Republican in politics, he cast his first Presi- dential vote in favor of John C. Fremont, and has since voted for every Republican candidate for the Presideney. He is a member of the Universalist church, and is held in high regard
throughout the community as a man of true worth and sterling integrity.
Mr. Glover married first, August 11, 1859, Emeline F. Fernald, who was born in Vinal- haven, Me., July 27, 1836, and died in Rock- land, February 4, 1861, leaving no children. Her father, James Fernald, born May 25, 1797, was for many years a prominent merchant of Vinalhaven, but during the later years of his life removed to Rockland, where his death oc- curred October 20, 1861. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Calderwell. Mr. Glover married for his second wife Julia F. Fernald, a sister of his first wife and a native of Vinal- haven, Me.
Mr. and Mrs. Fernald have two children. Bertha Emily, born May 21, 1864, married Henry A. Reuter, of Boston, Mass. They have two children: William Glover, born July 4, 1889; and Martha, born in July, 1897.
HARLES H. GALE, one of the best known and most prominent citizens of Winthrop, Kennebec County, was born in that town, December 5, 1832. Hle is of the third generation of Gales in Win- throp, his grandfather, Peter Gale, having been an early settler here; and both his parents were natives of the town. His father, Daniel Gale, served as Road Commissioner of Winthrop for a number of years.
Charles H. Gale was an only child. He was brought up in his native town and educated in its public schools. At the age of thirteen years he entered the construction department of the Maine Central Railroad at Winthrop as an employee, and there remained for about one year. He was subsequently in the em- ploy of several firms engaged in the manufact- ure of boots, mostly in Winthrop.
In the spring of 1869 he became Road Com- missioner, an office he has held continuously ever since, a striking proof of the fact that his services in that capacity have been eminently satisfactory to his fellow-citizens. He is also engaged in agriculture, and has real estate in- vestments in Winthrop.
Mr. Gale was married January 1, 1856, to Helen M. Bridgham, of Winthrop, daughter of
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Tinson and Lydia C. (Kidder) Bridghanı. Mrs. Gale's father was born in Minot, Androscoggin County, and her mother in Temple, Franklin County, Me. Her great -grandfather, John Bridgham, fought as a captain on the Ameri- can side in the Revolutionary War. It is said that, after leaving the army, he lived in Bridge- water, Mass. The Gazetteer of Maine, published in 1881, states that the town of "West Minot was first settled in 1781 by John Bridgham, who had been a captain in the Revolutionary army." The following is his record in "Massa- chusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution," vol. ii .: "John Bridgham, Plymp- ton, Capt. of a company, Col. Theophilus Cot- ton's regt., which marched on the alarm of Ap. 19, 1775, to Marshfield, service 12 days; reported enlisted into the army; enlisted May 2, 1775, commissioned May 26, '75: service 3 mos. 7 days: also company return Oct. 7, '75; also captain, serving as a volunteer in Capt. Win. C. Cotton's co., Col. Josiah Whitney's regt .; engaged July 29, 177S: discharged Sept. 13, 1778, service, 1 mo., 3 days, at Rhode Island." Plympton, above mentioned as the place of residence of Captain Bridgham, is in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Samuel Bridgham and John, Jr., both of Plympton, were in Captain Bridgham's company.
Mr. and Mrs. Gale have had two children born to them, namely: William (now deceased) ; and Harry E., who was formerly in the boot and shoe business, and is now engaged in farm- ing in Winthrop. Mr. Gale is a Republican in politics. He belongs to the Winthrop Lodge of the A. O. U. M. ,He can probably boast of a longer service as Road Commissioner than any other man in the State. Enterprising, honest, and energetic, he enjoys the esteem of his fellow-townsmen. Mrs. Gale is a useful and valued member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Winthrop.
ELVIN CUTTS WADSWORTH, a Civil War veteran and an ex-member of the Maine Legislature, residing in West Gardiner, was born in Pittston, Me., February 11, 1842, son of Spen- cer F. and Catherine (Cutts) Wadsworth. His
immigrant progenitor, Christopher Wadsworth, the founder of the family bearing this surname in America, came from England early in the seventeenth century, and settled at Duxbury, Mass. Among the descendants of Christopher1 may be mentioned Major-general Peleg® Wads- worth, the poet Longfellow's maternal grand- father, who was born in Duxbury in 1748, and died in Hiram, Me., in 1829. Mr. Wadsworth's maternal ancestors of the Cutts family and name were among the early settlers of Pittston, which was the birthplace of his mother; and his father, who was a native of Litchfield, Me., resided for the greater part of his life in Pitts- ton, his death occurring in 1882.
Melvin Cutts Wadsworth in his early years attended the Gardiner public schools, including the high school, where he was fitted for college. He entered Bowdoin College in the class of 1866, but in 1862 he relinquished his studies in order to take up arms in defence of the Union. Enlisting on August 1 of that year as a private in Company B, Sixteenth Regi- ment, Maine Volunteers, he served with the Army of the Potomac, participating in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancel- lorsville, and Gettysburg. At the battle of Fredericksburg he served as . Corporal, and while holding that rank the command of his company devolved upon him, his superior officers having all been killed or wounded. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. In the course of the first day's fight at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, he was taken prisoner, and during the long period of his captivity, which lasted for nearly two years, or until the close of the war, he suffered the discomfort and ill-treatment experienced by Federal soldiers in Confederate prisons, being confined successively in Libby Prison, Rich- mond, Va .; at Danville, Va .; Macon and Sa- vannah, Ga .; Charleston and Columbia, S.C. Honorably discharged from the army June 14, 1865, he returned to Pittston, and in the fol- lowing year engaged in the manufacture of furniture in Gardiner, where he carried on a successful business, chiefly wholesale, for thirty- four years, or until his retirement in 1900. For the past three years he has resided upon his farin of eighty aeres situated in West Gardiner.
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A Republican in politics, Mr. Wadsworth has taken a lively interest in the public affairs of both the city and the State, serving with credit as a member of the Common Council and of the Gardiner public and high school boards, and for the years 1877 and 1878 repre- senting Gardiner in the lower branch of the Maine Legislature. He is a Master Mason, belonging to the local Blue Lodge: a comrade of Heath Post, No. 6. and Past Senior Vice Commander of the Department of Maine, Grand Army of the Republic. His religious affiliations are with the Congregational church, of which he is a Deacon.
Mr. Wadsworth married for his first wife Georgie Muzzey, of Gardiner, and for his second, Mary E. Chamberlain, of Bethel. Vt. Of his second marriage there are two daughters, namely, Kathryn and Mary E. Wadsworth.
ENNISON JOSEPH HAYNES is one of the oldest residents of Norridge- wock and a well-known citizen, hav- ing served in former years as trial justice of Somerset County. He was born July 29, 1823, in one of the primitive log houses in the locality then known as East Pond Plan- tation, now the town of Smithfield, Me. His parents were Dennison and Rebecca (Wood- worth) Haynes, the father a native of Haver- hill, Mass., and the mother of Nova Scotia.
The elder Dennison Haynes, who came to Smithfield as a pioneer settler, resided there probably half a century, dying in his eighty- fifth year. A farmer by occupation, he was a citizen of influence, serving as a Selcetman and as a justice of the peace. He was a son of Joseph Haynes, of Haverhill, Mass.
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