USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Harrison > Centennial history of Harrison, Maine > Part 30
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HANNAH, b. April II, 1748.
HEPSIBAH, b. Sept. 26, 1750.
JOSEPH, b. Feb. 22, 1752.
DAVID, b. Jan. 26, 1754.
LYDIA, b. Dec. 2, 1755.
JOHN, b. Jan. 22, 1758.
DANIEL, b. March 8, 1760.
MARTHA, b. Aug. 4, 1762.
CALEB and LOUIS (twins), b. March 20, 1764.
EUNICE, b. Aug. 1, 1766; married Bronson Emerson, Oct. 16, 1790; had one child, Sarah Emerson, b. Nov. 7, 1791. Later she married for second husband, James Poole; had one child, Eunice Poole, b. June 1, 1808.
JOHN CHAPLIN, son of John and Hepsibah (Jewett) Chaplin, was born January 22, 1758; married Margaret Knowls, and settled in Rowley, Mass., where the first six of their children were born. They left Rowley about 1790, and moved to that part of Bridgton which is now in Naples. It appears that they remained in Bridgton till about 1802, and then moved to Miramichi, N. B., six more children having been born to them while in Bridgton. Two more were born in Miramichi, making a family of fourteen boys, of which it appears that ten grew to man- hood. Their children were as follows :
JOHN, b. April 30, 1780; died in 1784.
JACOB, b. April 13, 1782; married Miriam Jackson, and secondly, Susan Kimball; lived in Naples, Me.
JOHN, b. Aug. 20, 1784; married Lydia Knowles, and lived in Bridgton, Me.
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BENJAMIN, b. Sept. 26, 1786; married Jane Welch, and lived in Miramichi, N. B., and later in Naples, Me .; died in 1872.
CALEB and DANIEL (twins), b. April 22, 1789; Caleb died when young, and Daniel settled in Waterford, Me. WILLIAM, b. Sept. 15, 1791; settled in the East.
ELIPHALET and ROBERT (twins), b. March 17, 1794; both died when young.
WASHINGTON, b. April 15, 1796; married Elmira Martin, and lived in Naples.
THOMAS, b. April 22, 1799; went South.
ELIPHALET, b. Dec. 26, 1801.
CALEB, b. - -; married Ruth Jordan.
ROBERT ANDREWS, b. -; married Priscilla Wight, and lived in Naples.
JOHN CHAPLIN, son of John and Margaret Chaplin, was born in Rowley, Mass., August 20, 1784, and came to Bridgton with his father's family about 1790. He married Lydia Knowles, and settled in Bridgton, Maine. Like many of his relatives, he was noted for being a very large man. The children of John and Lydia (Knowles) Chap- lin were as follows:
MARGARET, b. March 14, 1807; died when about twenty years of age.
RICHARD SMITH, b. Dec. 29, 1808; married Mary E. Jew- ett, and settled in Naples; married for second wife, Clarissa W. Hilton; had eight children :
I. Appleton H., b. May I, 1841; married Lydia Pitts of Naples. He died Mar. 26, 1900. They resided in Harrison. Children: Mary A., b. Sept. 26, 1865; married Chas. Batchelder of Naples and had three children: Myrtle, Perley and Shirley; the last named died when small; Myrtle married Joseph Wiley of Naples and has two children : Bertha and Shirley. Lillian D., b. Mar. 16, 1867; married Her- man Thompson and had four children: Ella, Guy, Norman and Clifford; Ella married Fred Russell
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and has one son, Maurice. Ada E., b. Nov. 4, 1868; married J. Wallace Caswell. (See Caswell family.) Minnie B., b. Dec. 30, 1870; married Ed. Leighton of Windham, and has two children, - and Lottie. Charles H., b. July 28, 1873; married Alice Chap- lin and has one child, Marguerite. Hattie L., . b. Apr. 8, 1876; married Freeman Fogg of Westbrook, and has four children: Geneva, Everett, Ethel and Harvey. Mr. Fogg died Apr. 2, 1905. Mrs. Hat- tie Fogg married 2d, Henry Leighton of Windham. They reside in Harrison. Frank, b. Nov. 15, 1879; married Maggie Tripp.
2. Zelman A., b. Feb. 21, 1842; died Apr. 18, 1845.
3. George Ambrose, b. Feb. 21, 1845; married Celia Bryant and had one son, Perley, who married Nellie Procter. Ambrose married 2d, Stella Willey.
4. Flora A., b. Jan. 24, 1847 ; married David Jillson of Otisfield. Children: Bert, William, Cora and Neva.
5. Mary A., b. Jan. 26, 1849; married Daniel Rogers of Naples. Children: Dana, Edwin, Loton, Edith and Maggie.
6. Samuel S., b. May 6, 1851; married Lucy Chaplin and had one child, Mary Josephine, who died.
7. Clara L., b. June 4, 1855; married Frank M. Traf- ton of Harrison. (See Trafton family.)
8. Araminta E., b. Dec. 29, 1856; married James A. Trafton of Harrison. (See Trafton family.) They reside in Westbrook.
OSBORN, b. Nov. 13, 1811; married Ruth Merrill, and lived in Bridgton, Me., at Sandy Creek, being the owner of the mills at that place for many years. He is the father of David P. Chaplin, Esq., for many years a lawyer and prominent citizen at Bridgton Village.
JOHN K., b. Jan. 13, 1813; married Jane (Knowles) Lewis, and lived in Bridgton; had two children, Byron and Jennie, the latter being the second wife of Marshall Jordan of Harrison. Mr. Chaplin was noted as being the largest man in Naples.
LYDIA, b. Sept. 4, 1814; married Royal Warren.
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GEORGE W., b. Aug. 15, 1816; unmarried; lived in Bridg- ton, and was associated with his brother Osborn in carrying on the mills at Sandy Creek.
EUNICE P., b. Oct. 5, 1818; married Jonathan Merrill of Bridgton, and lived in that town, a short distance from Sandy Creek. Mrs. Merrill died in 1884, and her hus- band on Feb. 28, 1899. They had three children, Aus- tin P., Thatcher P., and Etta. Both sons are leading citizens of Bridgton, Austin having the proud distinc- tion of being the largest man in town, and Thatcher the honor of being the Chairman of the Board of Se- lectmen. Etta married R. G. Fessenden of Boston.
SARAH E., b. July 29, 1820; married George W. Chaplin, son of Jacob Chaplin of Naples. They lived for many years in Naples, on the "Brandy Pond Road," and had three daughters, Emma, Louise, and Ida, who married, respectively, Alvarado Hadlock, Lincoln Cousins, and William Hadlock, and live at Westbrook, Me. Mrs. Chaplin died in -, after which her husband dis- posed of his farm in Naples, and for several years lived in Harrison with the family of Frank M. Trafton.
ABIGAIL M., b. Dec. 6, 1822; married Caleb A. Chaplin, and lived in Bridgton and Harrison; and, after the death of her husband, resided at Westbrook with her daughter, Mrs. Jas. H. Tolman. Mrs. Chaplin was the mother of five children, of whom hereafter. Mrs. Chap- lin died July 20, 1905.
SAMUEL P., b. May II, 1825; married Lydia Knowles. DAVID, b. April 10, 1830; died young.
BENJAMIN CHAPLIN, son of John and Margaret Chaplin, was born in Rowley, Mass., September 26, 1786, and came to Bridgton, Maine, with his father's family about 1790, remained there till about 1802, and then re- moved with the family to Miramichi, N. B. In 1815, he married Jane Welch, and settled in Miramichi, where their first four children were born. He moved to Naples, Maine, about 1823, and settled a short distance from Edes's Falls, on the road leading to Harrison, over the Plaisted Hill. He lived there until after the death of his wife,
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which occurred September 16, 1854, after which he made his home with his son, Washington C., until his death which occurred in 1872. The house which was his former home was torn down after he vacated it. He was a mem- ber of Oriental Lodge, F. & A. M., and at the time of his death he was the oldest Mason in the State.
Benjamin and Jane (Welch) Chaplin had a family of eight sons and four daughters :
JAMES W., b. July 7, 1816; married Eliza D. Waterman of Poland, by whom he had two sons, one of whom is living in Damariscotta, Me., and the other in Abing- ton, Mass. Mr. Chaplin served in the War of the Re- bellion, in the 6th Mo. Cavalry; was commissioned as Lieutenant, but was taken prisoner before he was mustered in, and thrown into a southern prison. It is told that he was manacled because he would not swear allegiance to the Southern Confederacy, and that he wore the irons until they chafed his wrists to the bone. He was not exchanged until near the close of the war. He returned to Maine, and died in Auburn in 1878, his wife being previously deceased.
JACOB, b. Feb. 19, 1818; married Harriet W. Yates of Bristol, Me., in 1845. She died in 1852, and, for second wife, he married Mary Thomes Brocklebank of Port- land, who is now living in Clay Center, Kan. Mr. Chaplin was in business at Harrison for a time, manu- facturing staves and shook, with his brother, Caleb A., as a partner. Later on he emigrated to Clay Center, Kan., where he died in 1874.
DANIEL, b. Jan. 22, 1820; married Susan Gibbs of Glen- burn, Me., who died in Bangor, Me., in 1903. Mr. Chaplin enlisted during the early part of the War of the Rebellion as a Captain in the 2nd Me. Infantry, and later was commissioned as Colonel of the 18th Me. Infantry. Subsequently the First Maine Heavy Artil- lery. He was killed by a sharpshooter at the Battle of Weldon Roads in June, 1864, while at the head of his regiment.
ELIPHALET, b. in May, 1822; died in 1824.
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CALEB A., b. May 8, 1824; married Abigail M. Chaplin of Bridgton, and lived in Bridgton and Harrison; had a family of five children, of whom hereafter.
ALMIRA C., b. April 27, 1826; married George Lown of Portland, in 1847, who died in Lewiston, Me., in 1897. Mrs. L. in now living in Auburn, Me.
WASHINGTON C., b. July 13, 1828; married Joanna Stuart of Harrison, Jan. 1, 1855, who died in Conway, N. H., Sept. 17, 1905. Mr. Chaplin was a resident of Naples for seventy-four years, but is now living at Conway, N. H., with his only daughter, Mrs. Chas. Robinson. He had six children, Willis, Joseph S., Margaret, Nellie, Daniel G., and Byron. Margaret died when young, and all the others are living. Joseph S. has been many years a resident of Harrison, and has been a member of the Board of Selectmen.
ELLEN C., b. Aug. 1, 1830; married Capt. Jeremiah Staples in 1852, and he was lost at sea in 1854. Later she mar- ried Peter Jerris of Portland, who is also dead.
CYRUS C., b. Sept. 28, 1832; married Angeline Stuart of Harrison, and both are now living at Oxford, Me. He served as a soldier in the War of the Rebellion, being a member of the 17th Me. Infantry. He was in eight battles, and several skirmishes, and received a gun-shot wound in the right ankle at the Battle of the Wilderness. LYDIA C., b. Nov. 14, 1834; married Warren Sanborn of Naples, who died in 1899. Mrs. Sanborn is now living at Bridgton with her daughter, Mrs. John Riley.
MARGARET, b. Feb., 1837; married Melvin Wadlin of Ken- nebunk, Me., in 1858; died in 1863.
JOHN C., b. July 8, 1839; married Emma Hazeltine of Naples, and, secondly, Mrs. Louise Woodbury of Port- land, who is still living. He served in the War of the Rebellion in the Ist-10th-29th Me. Infantry. After his return he lived in Bridgton several years, carrying on the barbering business. Later he moved to Portland, where he died in 1898.
CALEB A. CHAPLIN, fifth son of Benjamin and Jane (Welch) Chaplin, was born in Naples, May 8, 1824, and
HON. CALEB A. CHAPLIN
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came of good Revolutionary stock, as his grandfather, John Chaplin, and great grandfathers were soldiers in that war, and Lieut. John Chaplin, great grandfather, was in Ar- nold's expedition against Quebec, and often told the story of the sufferings of the men in their march through the Maine wilderness in the late autumn of 1775; how they were almost upon the verge of starvation, and obliged to resort to such extreme measures as trying to obtain food from boiled boot legs and cartridge boxes; and how they marched almost barefooted over the frozen ground, leaving bloody footprints at almost every step; a story that is amply verified by the chronicles of history. Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, another relative, also served in the Rev- olutionary War in 1775-77; and in 1799, he graduated from Brown University, and was the first President of Colby College, Waterville, Me.
The subject of this sketch received his education at the common schools, and at Bridgton Academy. He was an apt scholar, especially in history and mathematics, hav- ing a most remarkable memory. Some of his sayings were : "There is no such thing as forgetting;" "No one ever forgets anything which he once knew. It may slip his mind, but he can readily recall it again.". He did a great deal of studying at home, and his children tell of hearing him say that he never required any help in arithmetic until after he got through the "Rule of Three." During the time that he was acquiring his education he taught school during the winter in Naples, and nearly all of the sur- rounding towns; and later in life taught in many towns in Illinois and Wisconsin.
It is related of him that while he was attending Bridgton Academy, the pupils were required to declaim on Wednes- day afternoons, and when his turn came he would always have some kind of an excuse. Finally Principal Soule told him that, positively, no further excuses could be ac- cepted, and that he must declaim on the next Wednesday
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afternoon. The time arrived, and when young Chaplin's name was called he marched to the platform and recited from beginning to end, Byron's "Siege of Corinth," which fills twenty-one closely printed pages, and when he had finished that, started in on Bryant's "Thanatopsis." Mr. Soule stopped him, and told him that he could be excused from declaiming further on that occasion; and it is fur- ther related that Mr. Chaplin was not called on for fur- ther declamations during his attendance at the Academy.
In 1849, Mr. Chaplin married his cousin, Miss Abigail M. Chaplin, daughter of John and Lydia (Knowles) Chap- lin of Bridgton, and settled in that town. For a time he carried on his farm in the summer and taught school in the winter, and then he entered into trade, keeping a dry goods and grocery store in the "Union Store" at Sandy Creek. He was also for a time, about 1858, associated with his brother Jacob in the stave and shook business at Harrison.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he was a strong Unionist, and organized a company, of which he was to be the Captain, but he could not pass the necessary medical examination on account of injuries which he had received in his childhood. He could enter the service as a quarter- master without an examination, and did so, serving nine months at Fortress Monroe, Ship Island, and at New Or- leans under Gen. Butler. He was then discharged for disability, and sent home. When he was carried aboard the transport at New Orleans it was thought that he could not live to get home, but as they came to northern waters and cooler breezes he began to improve, and when the ship reached Boston, he was able to assist to some ex- tent in the removal of the more unfortunate ones who had grown worse as they neared home. Four of his brothers were in the army at the same time that he was, but he never had the good luck to encounter any of them, as they chanced to be in different parts of the South.
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After recovering his health to some extent, he decided to study law, and did so in the office of Hon. Nathaniel S. Littlefield at Bridgton. In the fall of 1865, he moved his family to North Bridgton, and opened a law office at Harrison, he being then forty-one years of age. The next year he moved his family to Harrison, and was a resident of that town until his death, or about twenty-four years, continuing the practice of law all of the time, except for the very short time that his health prevented. He was a lawyer of no mean ability, and he was universally re- spected by his fellows of the Cumberland Bar. Hon. A. S. Kimball, in his Historical Address delivered before the Alumni of Bridgton Academy in 1882, said of him: "Among the scholars at this time we see C. A. Chaplin of our Board of Trustees, who has shown us what a man with but small means can accomplish by industry and perseverance. He was one of a large class of students who have gone from this Institution, having acquired by their own efforts a good academical education, and making successful men and women."
He was thoroughly versed in legal matters, his remarka- ble memory carrying him in this respect beyond some of the more pretentious lawyers of the city. His counsel and advice were always entitled to respect, and he was a faithful worker for those who entrusted their business to him. But he had a great hatred of shams and subter - fuge, and always wished his clients to be open and frank, sometimes carrying this desire to such an extent as to shock some who were inclined toward a different course. In one case a client of his had agreed to leave his case to referees. Mr. Chaplin was somewhat late in arriving, and was surprised that the hearing had not commenced, as his presence at the start was not necessary. Inquiring the cause of the delay, he was told that his client refused to sign the necessary agreement, although the man on the other side had readily done so. Turning to his client he
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asked him why he did not do as he had agreed in respect to the matter of reference? The client undertook to ex- cuse his conduct, and laid considerable stress upon cer- tain entries in a small note book, which he read from. This he continued until Mr. Chaplin was thoroughly vexed, when he startled his client by sharply exclaiming: "Stick that little book into the fire, and sit down and sign that agreement !" He did the signing forthwith, and the incident is a good illustration of the straightforwardness of Mr. Chaplin.
He did a lucrative business at his Harrison office as long as his health permitted him to work, and he held out to almost the very last, going to his office day after day when he was so feeble that he could not travel the whole distance without stopping to rest on the way. He was also an excellent land surveyor, and this accomplish- ment added not a little to his income, and was of great assistance to him in cases where boundaries were in dis- pute. For many years he did a great portion of the sur- veying in Harrison and adjoining towns.
While he resided in Bridgton, he served on the Board of Selectmen, and was three times chairman of the Board while in Harrison. He was frequently called upon to serve as Moderator in Harrison town meetings, always to the satisfaction of those who elected him, though he was sometimes in the desk when considerable nerve and good judgment were required. He was County Com- missioner of Cumberland County for 1865-67, and was a member of the State Senate in 1871-72.
He was greatly interested in educational matters, and was a member of the Superintending School Committee in 1871-73. He was liberal and progressive in his ideas and did his utmost to secure better educational privileges for the scholars of Harrison, being instrumental, with others, in securing the Free High School which was kept for a time at the two villages, and always advocated lib-
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eral appropriations for the common schools. During the long and hotly contested fight for the adoption of the Town System, he was earnestly in favor of it, and worked to his utmost in favor of its adoption as long as his health permitted him to take part in the town meetings, believ- ing that it would equalize the schools, and give the same educational advantages to the scholars in all parts of the town. He further believed in the educational advantages to be derived from a good library, and was an earnest worker for the old Village Library, the first institution of the kind at that place, and started at a time when the benefits of a library were not regarded in the light that they now are.
Not only was he greatly interested in the schools in the town of his residence, but he had a great love for Bridgton Academy, the school which he attended during the principalship of Moses Soule, about 1846. In 1876, he was chosen as a member of the Board of Trustees in place of Dr. Moses Gould, deceased, held the position until his death in 1890, and was a constant attendant upon the meetings of the Board. He was also one of the trustees of the State College, Orono, now University of Maine.
While a resident of Bridgton, Mr. Chaplin was bap- tized, and became a member of the Free Will Baptist Church. After his removal to Harrison he was for many years an active member of the Free Will Baptist Church at the Village, though later in life he became estranged from it to some extent on account of certain differences of opinion which existed between him and some of the other members, his course in this being in strict accordance with the independence which characterized his actions in all other respects. He believed in developing the very best that was in one, and in making the most out of the pos- sibilities of life. He was kind hearted, not only to his own, but to the stranger as well, always willing and ready to help the young in their efforts for an education.
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He was public spirited, interested in everything pertain- ing to the interests of his town or its people, or that tended towards the elevation of his fellow men, morally, intel- lectually, or spiritually. He was loyal to his native State to a remarkable degree, and was greatly attached to the town which had been his place of residence for so many years. At one time, when addressing an agricultural meet- ing, he told of his experience in several other States in which he had sojourned for a time in his early life, and of what he had seen in them, ending with substantially these words: "After all of my experience in many States out- side of Maine, and especially in the West, I am firmly of the opinion that Maine is the best State in the Union, that Cumberland County is the best county in Maine, and that Harrison is the very best town in the County of Cumberland;" and no one who heard him when he uttered those words could doubt that he was thoroughly in earnest in what he said.
Although the law was his chosen vocation, and he was greatly in love with his calling, yet he never forgot his experience on the farm in his early days, and was always much interested in agricultural matters. He was for many years an active member of the Harrison Farmers' Club, serving on many occasions as one of its officials. For a long time he was a constant attendant at the meetings of this club, always taking an active part in its discussions, and sometimes delivering an address upon some agricul- tural topic, which address was sure to be able and thought- ful, and sometimes founded upon the experience which he had had while carrying on his Bridgton farm. He was a great reader upon almost every topic that was be- fore the public, and his hearers were sure to get the ben- efit of what he learned in this way, including the expe- rience of practical farmers, as well as the scientific side of farming, which was then in its infancy in this vi- cinity.
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Politically, Mr. Chaplin was in his early life an ardent Republican from the very foundation of the party, and was very active in forwarding the interests of that party, serving on town and county committees, and often speak- ing in the campaigns. Later in life he became dissatis- fied with some of the acts of the party, and believed that a long lease of power was making it corrupt. True to his independent nature, he refused to endorse what he did not fully believe in, and became "disgruntled" politically.
In 1878, he became interested in the "Greenback Move- ment," which was attracting much attention in the polit -- ical field, especially in Maine. After due investigation and consideration, he endorsed the new party fully, and entered into the campaign in its behalf with the same energy that had always characterized all of his political work, quite a number of his fellow Republicans in Har- rison following him into the "enemy's camp." When the Greenback party died out, Mr. Chaplin became an out- spoken Democrat, and during the remainder of his life, he was in full sympathy with that party, and an earnest worker in its behalf. It is needless to add that he was a leader in his new position, for his natural abilities would always carry him to that place, no matter where he might be, or what work he was engaged in.
He was an earnest, energetic speaker, never at a loss for words, always going straight to the point, and ex- pressing himself in such a manner that no one could mis- take his meaning. When dealing with that which he re- garded as deserving condemnation, he never "minced mat- ters" in the least, and was apt to be very severe, al- though he never failed to command the close attention of his hearers, and even his strongest political opponents al- ways respected him for his plain speaking, which left no one in the dark as to his position.
The writer remembers that upon one occasion, Mr. Chap- lin was associated at a political meeting with a speaker
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from abroad who proved to be extremely mild, seeming to be inspired throughout his speech by the desire to say nothing that could possibly "hurt the feelings" of any of his hearers, there being times when it was almost im- possible to tell where the speaker really stood upon the questions that he was pretending to discuss. Mr. Chap- lin was manifestly uneasy, and showed plainly that the speech was not the "strong meat" that suited him. When he took the platform he had evidently made up his mind to give his hearers something that would be a decided opposite to what they had been hearing. He let loose his power of invective upon the opposition, and such a "tongue lashing" was seldom heard in Harrison. But there was no lack of argument backed up by facts, driven home and clinched, followed by condemnation of the party that would be guilty of such things, in the most terribly severe lan- guage that the speaker could summon to his assistance. it was just what the speaker delighted in, for he entered into his work with all of his might, and was a "radical of radicals."
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