USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Harrison > Centennial history of Harrison, Maine > Part 23
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A loan of $1,200 was obtained of George Burnham of Portland, late of the firm of Burnham & Morrill, and the interior finishing commenced, and has been steadily pro- gressing under the workmanship of two competent build- ers, until the final stage of the finishing work is very near the end, and it is now announced that the building will be in one week-on February I, turned over to the use of the Association.
The inside view shows a large room, oblong in shape, with a side room circular at the outer end, superbly lighted in every part by large windows. The walls are wainscotted in ash and the finish and doors are of the same material. The floors of both rooms are of maple and wide folding doors separate the main hall or library section from the social parlor designed for business and social meetings. It is gratifying to state in acknowledgement of the further generosity of Mr. Daniel H. Caswell, that on the eve of his departure, last autumn, for his Texas home, he sup- plemented his first donation to the society by a gift of $500, making his complete donation the amount of $1,700.
And again, the Association, with their beautiful new building practically completed and ready in a few days to receive its dedication to the honorable uses of the in- corporated body of citizens, is asking itself in repetition of that question which expressed their fears when they stood looking at the glowing ashes of their former hall-site, "Well, what shall we do now?"
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It is sufficient to say that, with a mortgage of $1,200 resting on the nice little pile of stones and mortar and superb interior fittings, it seems to be a very interesting situation, and should call into requisition a good share of the same order of genius for which the club with the big name has made itself already known as a powerful social factor.
HARRISON VILLAGE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION.
Incorporated May 3, 1906, by
CHARLES F. RICKER, W. H. BAILEY AND ALANSON DAWES.
OFFICERS : President, FREELAND H. RICKER. Clerk, HOWARD L. SAMPSON. Treasurer, CALLIE H. THOMES. Trustees, DR. CHARLES B. SYLVESTER, HOLLIS H. CASWELL, VICTOR L. JORDAN.
There is an endowment of one thousand dollars ($1,000) given by Hon. Melville E. Ingalls of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the permanent and exclusive care of the cemetery grounds. The parents of Mr. Ingalls, Mr. and Mrs. Ezra T. In- galls, were buried in this cemetery.
PART III.
Genealogical
APOLOGETIC.
The writer of the larger portion of this division of the chronicles of Harrison, submits the results of his work to the inspection of the reader, trusting sincerely that you will exercise the same degree of kindness in your criticism that you have manifested in your ready and liberal contri- butions of genealogical and historical matter, relating to the pioneer families and their descendants, as well as in your exemplary patience and consideration for the difficul- ties encountered in our arduous endeavors to bring the work to an earlier conclusion.
It is almost impossible for many of you to conceive of the amount of correspondence with persons related by descent to the pioneer settlers, of the weeks and months of patient-or impatient-waiting for replies to inquiries for important information for formulating complete family records; and of the journeys taken through the town, inter- viewing people with long memories of their family rela- tions ; and of the numerous transcriptions of mortuary sta- tistics from monuments and head-stones in nearly every cemetery in the town, which have been necessary and un- avoidable in the faithful prosecution of this undertaking. Here you will find as accurate and complete a record of names, dates, and events as it has been possible to obtain in the limited space of time allotted to the preparation of the pages of this book. For the possible errors, mistakes and omissions in writing or compiling, we can only ex- press our regrets.
With respect to the general manner of treatment of the subject of the personal histories of the men and women whose characters and virtues are herewith represented, and
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whose lives reflect an unfading lustre upon the present era, it remains only to say : the example and advice of the chief author and compiler, who wrote a number of the more im- portant and lengthy family histories, has been carefully ob- served and followed with the desire to preserve the proper continuity of the plan of this part of the work. Much of the history of the present time will be noticed, and it will be readily conceded that such a feature of our prepara- tion of these family histories was both necessary and un- avoidable. No person who has figured in the process of history-making, either old or young, has been intentionally ignored or omitted. A spirit of reverential regard for the memories of those gone before us, as well as of the noble men and women in the active life of today, has been the guiding motive of those whose contributions to this history are herein presented; "with malice toward none, but with charity for all."
In the remembrance of the deep interest universally mani- fested in the progress of the compiling and sketching these family histories, and in preserving the memories of the brave and patriotic fathers of our town, in all their gene- rations; of the bright and noble sons of Harrison, who have achieved honor and fame in the great world of busi- ness, learning and in political life; and of the revered mothers of those sons, we desire to express the fullest meas- ure of gratitude toward every one of our friends who have contributed in any form to the successful completion of this Centennial History.
January 23, 1909.
GRANVILLE FERNALD.
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ABBOTT FAMILY.
HIRAM ABBOTT, son of Theophilus Abbott of New- field, York County, born February 27, 1792, settled in Har- rison about 1820, in the Johnson neighborhood, where John Lakin lived many years. He married Betsy Hazleton of Parsonsfield in 1820. She was born March 19, 1795. The family located subsequently in the northerly part of the town near the head of Anonymous Pond, opposite the fine homestead erected later by his son Samuel, now the property of Osgood Noyes. Mr. Abbott died April 27, 1843, aged fifty-one years. Mrs. Betsy (Hazleton) Abbott died September 14, 1879. Their children were:
OLIVER, b. Apr. 29, 1821; married Nancy Edson of Har- rison, Nov. 20, 1843, and died Jan. 18, 1846. They had one child, Henry Francis; died at one year of age. SAMUEL LORD, b. Aug. 10, 1823; married Eliza (b. Oct. 29, 1821), daughter of Joshua and Eliza (Walker) How- ard of Harrison, Dec. 31, 1848, and settled on a farm which he purchased in odd lots and reclaimed from wild and adverse conditions, and by his industry and genius as a good farmer, made eventually one of the most productive and valuable farms in town. He was early in life a member of the Baptist Church and has always lived consistently with his Christian profession, and much esteemed as a citizen and kind neighbor. Mrs. Eliza Abbott died Oct. 12, 1875. Mr. Abbott married second, Mrs. Emma Heald, Oct. 16, 1877, and in 1884, he sold his fine farm and moved to Florida, settling at Orlando, where he invested extensively in real estate. Mrs. Emma (Heald) Abbott died at Orlando, Fla., Jan. 20, 1906, aged 73. In 1906, Mr. Abbott returned to his native town, and resides at Harrison Village. Ella, an adopted daughter, married Henry Young of Waterford, and has one daughter, Elizabeth Christina, who married George H. Keen.
MERCY, b. Feb. 17, 1826; married, March, 1853, Joseph Kilgore of Waterford. She died in Waterford, Aug. 5, 1905, aged 79 years.
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ZEBULON JOHNSON, b. Aug. 17, 1829; married Mary Car- oline, daughter of Asa and Sally H. Anderson, and settled in Waterford. Their children are:
I. Oliver Nelson, b. Nov. 13, 1861.
2. Kate May, b. Feb. 24, 1872.
Mr. Abbott moved to Harrison Village in - and erected a handsome homestead. He died in Harrison, May 26, 1906.
CHARLES WESLEY, b. Sept. 20, 1831 ; married Sarah Jane, daughter of Ephraim and (Mayberry) Cook of Harrison. They resided in Waterford and in Harrison, and since 1889, have lived on a farm on Bridgton "Ridge." Their children are :
I. Mattie M., b. May 12, 1863, in Waterford; married John Burnham of Norway; they reside in Portland, Me.
2. Forest H., b. Feb. 17, 1866, in Waterford; married Aug. 14, 1888, Lizzie May, daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth (Newcomb) Carsley of Harrison. Their children are: George Nathan, b. in Harrison, Apr. 18, 1893 ; Charles Arthur, b. Nov. 10, 1895; Arnold Linwood, b. May 21, 1901; Ralph Forest, b. Jan. 28, 1906.
3. Eva, b. in Waterford, May 29, 1870; died Aug. II, 1872, in Waterford.
4. Elmer L., b. in Harrison, Apr. 18, 1873; resides in Bridgton.
5. Charles A., b. in Harrison, Nov. 28, 1875; died Feb. 19, 1876, in Harrison.
6. Walter M., b. in Harrison, Oct. 12, 1877; resides in Washington State.
7. Annie M., b. in Harrison, May 16, 1880; married Dr. Sidney Burt Sargent and resides in West New- ton, Mass. They have one daughter, Doris Ab- bott.
BETSY, b. Dec. 13, 1833; married Benjamin Kimball Kil- gore of Waterford, Apr. 16, 1857, in Waterford; settled on "Deer Hill" on an excellent farm, where he continued to live the remaining years of his life. He erected a good dwelling house the same year, in which his children grew to maturity. Mr. Kilgore was a man of much public spirit, a prominent citizen ; was a member of the
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TOWN OF HARRISON.
M. E. Church and of Bear Mountain Grange for many years. He died Feb. 24, 1902, aged 71 years. His widow survives him to the present time, and resides in the home established by her husband with her two sons, Clarence and Charles W. Kilgore. Their children are:
I. Clarence, b. May 26, 1860. Is a farmer in Water- ford; unmarried.
2. Jennie Etta, b. Feb. 12, 1862; married B. F. Prat- rick of 1308 Union Ave., No. Portland, Ore.
3. Eugene Kimball, b. Nov. 17, 1863; married Gertrude May, daughter of Calvin and Abby Adams of Water- ford. Children : Beulah May, b. Feb. 14, 1895; Clinton Eugene, b. May II, 1901.
4. Charles Wilson, b. Apr. 25, 1867; farmer, unmarried.
5. Fred Johnson, b. Mar. 22, 1869; married Lillian Agnes Dyer of Waterford, Sept. 5, 1881. Children: Elmer Johnson, b. Feb. 10, 1891; Lulu Agnes, b. May 30, 1892.
ELIZA JANE, b. Dec. 7, 1835; married Daniel Davis of Auburn, Me. Has one son, Frank Elmer; is cashier in sugar refinery; they reside in Portland, Me.
CLARA ELLEN, b. Dec. 27, 1838; married Charles A. Ham- lin of Waterford, b. Aug. 14, 1838; died June 16, 1900. Children :
I. Charles Arthur, b. Mar. 23, 1862; resides in Quincy, Mass .; he is a farmer.
2. William Henry, b. May 7, 1864; resides on the an- cestral estate in Waterford, is unmarried.
3. Lillian Gertrude, b. July 31, 1865; married George Wiley of Fitchburg, and lives in Waltham, Mass.
4. Rosa Etta, b. July 31, 1865; unmarried, lives in Waterford.
5. Herman Roscoe, b. Mar. 3, 1867; lives in Boston.
6. Florence Isabella, b. Apr. 1, 1868; unmarried, lives in Waltham.
7. Clara Ella, b. Oct. 17, 1869; died Feb. 21, -, in Bos- ton.
8. Martha Elizabeth, b. Feb. 28, 1871 ; lives in Waltham.
9. Frank Wetherbee, b. Jan. 26, 1876; married Hilda Harper of Boston.
IO. Baby boy, b. Apr. 13, 1880, died Apr. 14, 1880.
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A HISTORY OF THE
BAILEY FAMILY.
JAMES P. BAILEY was born in Westbrook in 1795. He was a carpenter by trade and was a man of excellent character and noted for his industrious habits. He mar- ried Caroline Hilton of Westbrook, born in Westbrook, April 6, 1800. They moved to Harrison in June, 1840. Their children, all born in Westbrook, were:
ELIZABETH H., married Daniel Olney of Pawtucket, R. I. MARY ANN, b. Oct. 17, 1822; married George F. Whitney of Harrison. (See Whitney family.) She died Nov. 7, 1895.
FRANCES, b. Sept., 1825; married Franklin Walker of Har- rison, Apr., 1847; died June 15, 1904.
NANCY B., b. -; married Comfort Bishop, of Paw- tucket, R. I .; married second, Joseph Lester of Paw- tucket. She died
WILLIAM H., b. Sept. 10, 1837; married Myra Brown of Waterford. They had three children born in Harrison :
I. Harry Clinton, b. Feb. 12, 1867; died Sept., 1868.
2. Gertrude A., b. April II, 1869; married Dr. James Prentiss Blake of Harrison, and resides in Harrison Village.
3. Percy F., b. Jan. 28, 1871; married Susie H. Plum- mer, Oct. 5, 1892, resides in Portland.
EMILY, b. -; married Albert B. Whipple of Worcester, Mass., July 3, 1861.
BARROWS FAMILY.
Three brothers of this name have been residents of Har- rison, and were men of sterling character and fine business ability. They were sons of George and Eleanor Hawkes Barrows of Hebron, Maine.
GEORGE WHITFIELD BARROWS, the eldest, was born October 15, 1805. He learned the trade of tanner and currier of Nathaniel Shaw, owner of a small tannery
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TOWN OF HARRISON.
in East Otisfield, in the early part of the last century. He was succeeded in business by George W. Barrows, who carried on the tannery more than twenty years, in con- nection therewith also having a shop for making custom boots and shoes. It was a center of much activity in connection with the local wants of the town; right in the midst of a large school district and a population of thrifty farmers with large families. Here Mr. Barrows, with his brisk tanning business and his farming, raised a family of six children and was prosperous and happy with the respect and esteem of his townspeople. In 1842, he was elected representative to the Legislature and served his district with much credit. In 1846, Mr. Barrows moved to Bolster's Mills, where he was in the tanning business in company with William C. Hobbs for several years.
In 1856, Mr. Barrows was again elected representative to the Legislature from Harrison, during which term, he was prominent in agitating for measures for the establish- ment of the Maine State Seminary at Lewiston, which was afterwards, by a liberal endowment, named Bates College, in honor of the wealthy and generous donor. Mr. Bar- rows lived at Barrows' Mills (since Scribner's Mills) a number of years, subsequently residing in Otisfield. He was from his youth, a man of religious life, a member of the Free Will Baptist Church in Otisfield and a most de- voted adherent to its faith and supporter of all its in- stitutions. He married June 7, 1827, in Otisfield, Dolly Ann, daughter of Benjamin and Betty (Hancock) Wight of Otisfield, born April 10, 1810. Children, born in Otis- field :
GEORGE, b. Apr. 13, 1829; was bred to the trade of his father, and worked in various large tanneries in the State. He married Mary A. Dorman, daughter of Thomas and Abigail Dorman of Harrison, b. Jan. 16, 1837; they had one son :
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I. Frank Merritt, b. Dec. II, 1859; resided in Haver- hill, Mass., a number of years; married Feb. 3, 1900, Gertrude, daughter of Sumner and Ada (Dud- ley) Spurr of Otisfield. He is a prosperous mer- chant in Otisfield.
George Barrows enlisted August 16, 1862, for three years in Captain Almon A. Fogg's Co. H, 17th Regt. Me. Inf. He was promoted to corporal and was in the battle of Chancellorsville and other severe engagements in Vir- ginia in 1863 and 1864. He was killed in a charge upon the enemy at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.
HORACE, b. Oct. 22, 1831 ; married Feb. 2, 1856, Harriet Holden, daughter of Merrill and Rebecca (Chute) Knight of Otisfield; was a member of Co. C, 25th Me. Vol., serving in Virginia from Sept. 10, 1862, to July 10, 1863 ; resides at Bolster's Mills. Children :
I. Charles O., b. Jan. 4, 1857; married Sept., 1888, Hettie B. Gurney; resides in Portland; is a pro- ficient, practical stenographer, has formerly served as professional reporter of court proceedings in the S. J. Court of Maine. He is now a dealer in improved typewriting machines in Portland.
2. Edith M., b. Apr. 22, 1861 ; died Dec. 10, 1882. MARY JANE, b. Sept. 21, 1834; she was bright and schol- arly in youth and became soon fitted for the teaching profession in which she was a number of years success- ful and popular. She married June 26, 1862, Jonathan Hollis Illsley of Harrison. (See Illsley family.)
ELEANOR NUTTING, b. Mar. 12, 1835; married Sept. 6, 1868, Webster C. Turner of Otisfield, where they re- sided on a farm for many years; they removed in 1908, to Oxford Village, Me. They had one son, George Bar- rows, b. Jan. 28, 1879 in Otisfield; married Nov., 1903, Lura A. Foster. They reside in Oxford, Me.
WILLIAM, b. June 4, 1839; he lived with his parents until manhood, and enlisted Dec. 10, 1861, in Capt. Charles S. Illsley's Co. D, 15th Me. Inf. for three years. He served under Gen. N. P. Banks in the Department of the Gulf. He died of disease at Brazos Island, Tex., Dec. 16, 1862.
CLARA MORSE, b. June 19, 1841; lived with parents; is unmarried.
e 29
/03
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TOWN OF HARRISON.
HORACE A. BARROWS, born August 7, 1809, mar- ried Irene Bearce of Hebron, Maine. He was an educated physician and practiced successfully in several towns of the State. He moved from Phillips to Otisfield about 1842, living until 1846, near the church on Otisfield Hill, when he removed to Bolster's Mills and settled permanently in a house erected years before by Rev. Stephen Hutchinson for his own residence. He was for years, while practicing his profession, a manufacturer of family medicines, which were widely celebrated for their restorative qualities. Dr. Barrows was besides being a learned and skilled physi- cian, a man of consistent Christian integrity of life, and of sincere human sympathies. He was deeply interested in public educational improvement and the moral and re- ligious elevation of society. He was a member of the Baptist Church and a liberal contributor to the support of gospel preaching. He was a lover of music, and one of his chief pleasures was singing the dear old sacred harmo- nies to the accompaniment of the bass viol played by him- self. He died June 7, 1852. Mrs. Irene Barrows died in Buckfield, November 17, 1860.
WORTHY C. BARROWS was born December 18, 18II, and early in life learned the trade of tanner and currier with his brother George W., in Otisfield. He mar- ried 1835, Emily, daughter of Timothy and Betsy W. (Ray) Fernald of Otisfield. He settled at Bolster's Mills about 1836, and erected a large building for business and residence purposes. He established an extensive tannery plant with spacious yard for vats; also a convenient shop for curry- ing and finishing leather. He, at the same time, operated a shop for custom boot, shoe and harness making. His busi- ness became one of the principal industries of the town, and as a tradesman, farmer and all-round business man, Mr. Barrows was soon widely known for his enterprising char- acter and success in life. It is hardly possible to recount all the schemes projected by this busy, ambitious man,
1839
1
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while a resident of Bolster's Mills. He erected, in the mid 40's, the stately brick dwelling which stands today as a substantial improvement to his credit. About the same time, 1844 to 1846, he led off in a movement to secure the location of a public road over the plains on the Otisfield side of the river, running close to the river at Carsley's Falls, and leading on by the west side of Porcupine Hill to the county road, near Spurr's Corner. Three or four years after, he influenced the town of Harrison to lay out a road from the main road near George H. Cummings, to the new mills on Carsley's Falls site, already completed and doing a large business.
In 1852, Mr. Barrows sold his mill and other property in Harrison and moved to Portland, where he erected a large brick dwelling and went into trade as a grocer. In 1855, he was appointed City Marshal of Portland, and served honorably through one of the most critical periods of the municipal history of that city. He continued in active business in Portland, till 1875. He died there.
BISBEE FAMILY.
EBENEZER BISBEE settled in Harrison about 1800. He was born in Scituate, Massachusetts, in 1782. He was connected by marriage with the Edsons. He had twelve children :
HULDA S., b. Sept. 12, 1804.
EDMOND W., b. Apr. 5, 1806; died May 22, 1827.
LOUISA, b. Apr. 8, 1808.
IRENE, b. May 4, 1809.
EBENEZER, JR., b. Feb. 24, 18II.
IRA, b. Feb. 9, 1813.
MARTHA, b. Nov. 14, 1814.
WILLIAM, b. Nov. 2, 1816.
JOHN, b. Nov. 5, 1818.
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TOWN OF HARRISON.
SOLOMON B., b. Mar. 30, 1820.
ABIGAIL B., b. Apr. 30, 1822.
HANNAH S., b. Sept. 20, 1825.
The family is said to have removed to Aroostook County, early in the last century. A number of the children were born in Harrison.
1
BLAKE FAMILY.
The names of Grinfill and Francis Blake have been men- tioned under the firm name of "G. & F. Blake," as leading merchants from before the year 1840, extending through two decades until the removal of Grinfill Blake to Phila- delphia, sometime in the forties, and the subsequent removal of Francis Blake to Portland in 1855.
The advent of the Blakes to Harrison, their participa- tion in the business, political, religious, and social interests of our people, deserve particular notice in this connection. I have the esteemed privilege to give a brief account of the origin, and the historic antecedents of this distinguished family.
GRINFILL BLAKE, son of Samuel Blake (b. in Taun- ton, Mass., 1747) and Abigail (Rickard) Blake, was born in Turner, Me., July 27, 1781. He married Eunice, daugh- ter of Major Daniel and Mehitable Brett Cary, at Turner in 1805. He was of "Mayflower stock," being descended in a direct line from Governor Carver, the first governor of Plymouth Colony. His children, through their mother, Eunice Cary, had a double descent from John and Priscilla Alden.
Grinfill Blake lived in Hartford, Me., in 1808. In that year he changed his property in that town for Mr. Samuel Gammon's farm in Otisfield. "Squire" Blake (as he was generally called) was a man of education, and his qualifi- cations for the transaction of business requiring knowledge
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of statute law at once gave him a high standing in the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens of the lately incorporated town. He was often chosen as road surveyor, selectman, moderator of town meetings; was frequently chosen as a member of important committees, and, in 1818, was elected as a Representative of his district to the General Court in Boston.
In 1821, Esquire Blake exchanged his farm in Otisfield for Mr. James Sampson's property in Harrison, which con- sisted of a house and other buildings erected by Mr. Sampson, with the lands connected, also the water-power and mills located thereon, being the stream running from Anony- mous to Long Pond. The house in which Esquire Blake lived, and in which he died August 9, 1824, and in which his widow died January 20, 1832, is the one which his son, Harrison Blake, occupied while living in this town.
Esquire Blake was forty-three years of age when he became a citizen of Harrison, but in the three years which transpired before his decease he had, by his public spirit, his talent for useful service to his fellow citizens, and in the parish, greatly endeared himself to the people of the town. His death in the midst of active life duties, and in the expectation of a lengthy career of public useful- ness, was a severe loss to the town, and particularly to the community in which he lived; but, more than all, to the youthful family of which he was the respected head.
The children of Grinfill and Eunice (Cary) Blake were: HARRISON, b. in Turner, Me., Sept. 12, 1805.
ZIBEAH, b. in Hartford, Me., Jan. 27, 1808 ; married Charles Washburn, a young lawyer in Harrison. She died in Worcester, Mass., Aug. 12, 1845.
GRINFILL, b. in Otisfield, Me., Dec. 18, 1811; married Elizabeth Farnsworth Perley, daughter of Maj. Thomas Perley of Bridgton. He died in Princeton, N. J. (where he had resided about two years), Dec. 27, 1884.
LUCIA, b. in Otisfield, -; died at the age of three years. EUNICE, b. in Otisfield, Nov. 5, 1813; was never married. She lived in Portland several years, and died in that city.
HON. HARRISON BLAKE
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TOWN OF HARRISON.
FRANCIS, b. in Otisfield, July 12, 1816; married Cornelia E., daughter of Cyrus Shaw of Oxford, Me. He died in Portland, July 25, 1859.
JOHN, b. in Otisfield, July 31, 1819; died the same day.
HARRISON BLAKE married Susan Brett Cary, daugh- ter of Alanson Cary (born in Williamsburg, Mass .; died in Turner, Me.) and Susan (Brett) Cary (born in Bridge- water, Mass .; died in McIndoe's Falls, Vt.), Oct. 3, 1836. He was the heir and successor to the business interests and the homestead of his father, and actively engaged in pro- moting the prosperity of the estate. He also took a deep interest in the local affairs of the town, and in the Con- gregational Church, of which he was a devoted member. He possessed a fine intellect, and a memory of unusual power. When only a youth he often distinguished him- self by reciting lengthy passages from books after a single reading. (My father, the late Otis Fernald, who was a schoolmate and intimate friend of Mr. Blake, is my au- thority for the last statement.) He was a natural pol- itician, and as a Whig was elected twice to represent his district in the Legislature of Maine.
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