Centennial history of Norway, Oxford County, Maine, 1786-1886, including an account of the early grants and purchases, sketches of the grantees, early settlers, and prominent residents, etc., with genealogical registers, and an appendix, Part 26

Author: Lapham, William Berry, 1828-1894. dn
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Portland, Me. : B. Thurston & co.
Number of Pages: 780


USA > Maine > Oxford County > Norway > Centennial history of Norway, Oxford County, Maine, 1786-1886, including an account of the early grants and purchases, sketches of the grantees, early settlers, and prominent residents, etc., with genealogical registers, and an appendix > Part 26


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JOSEPH H. HERRICK was mustered in Company G, Thirty-second Maine, April 16, 1864, taken prisoner September 30, transferred to Company G, Thirty-first Maine, and mustered out with the regiment.


FRANCIS W. HILL was mustered into the service in Company F, Seventeenth Maine, August 18, 1862, and was discharged for disability October 5, 1864.


GRANVILLE P. JORDAN served as private in Company G, First Maine Volunteers, from the date of its muster, in May 3, 1861, until it was mustered out, August 5, 1861.


ASA D. JORDAN served in Company I, Fifth Maine, from June 24, 1861, to July 27, 1865.


TIMOTHY JORDAN enlisted in Company G, Fourteenth Maine Volunteers, December 12, 1861, and was discharged for disability June 26, 1862.


PORTER G. JORDAN was mustered as Corporal in Company F, Seventeenth Maine Volun- teers, August 18, 1862, was wounded May 3, and discharged September 14, 1863.


ISAAC H. JORDAN was mustered into Company H, Twenty-third Maine Regiment, Sep- tember 29, 1862, and was mustered out with the regiment July 15, 1863.


WILLIAM P. JOHNSON was mustered as a private in Company G, Twenty-ninth Maine, December 16, 1863, was promoted Corporal and Sergeant, and discharged August 22, 1864.


AMOS C. JUDKINS enlisted in Company F, Coast Guards, January 6, 1865, and was dis- charged July 7, 1865.


OLIVER W. H. JUDKINS was mustered into Company F, Maine Coast Guards, January 6, 1865, and was discharged July 7, 1865.


HENRY M. JUDKINS was mustered into Company B, Thirty-second Maine Volunteers, March 10, 1863, and was discharged by order, June 5, 1865.


JOSIAH P. LOVEJOY enlisted in Company G, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861, and was discharged for disability October 1, 1862.


JOHN H. LOVEJOY enlisted in Company D, Sixteenth Maine, August 14, 1862, and was discharged for disability March 5, 1863. He re-enlisted in Company G, Twenty-ninth Maine, December 16, 1863, and was killed at the battle of Cedar Creek October 19, 1864.


LEWIS LOVEJOY served during the term of the Twenty-third Maine in Company H and re-enlisted in Company I, Thirty-second Maine, May 5, 1864.


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


SAMUEL LORD enlisted and was mustered as Corporal in Company I, Thirty-second Maine, May 5, 1864, and was discharged by reason of consolidation of regiments, December 12, IS64.


JOSEPH E. LONG was mustered as Corporal in Company G, Twenty-ninth Maine, Septem- ber 27, 1864, and was discharged for disability May 17, 1866.


HENRY R. MILLETT was Sergeant in Company G, First Maine Volunteers, during its term of service, was mustered as Second Lieutenant in Company G, Tenth Maine, October 21, 1861, and discharged May 8, 1863; re-enlisted as First Lieutenant in Company G, Twenty- ninth Maine, December 16, 1863, was promoted Captain of Company E in the same regi- ment, and mustered out March 14, 1866.


FREDERICK R. MERRIAM served in Company G, First Maine Volunteers, from May 3 to August 5, 1861.


JAMES L. MERRILL entered Company G, Tenth Maine Volunteers, October 4, 1861, and was discharged for disability January 10, 1863.


CHARLES MATTHEWS was mustered into Company G, Tenth Maine Regiment, October 4, 1861, and was discharged with the regiment May 8, 1863.


EZRA A. MERRILL was mustered as private in Company G, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861, and died of wounds received at the battle of Cedar Creek.


DAVID A. MORSE enlisted in Company G, Fourteenth Maine Volunteers, December 12, 1861, and died at New Orleans September 18, 1862.


WILLIAM D. MERRILL entered Company F, Seventeenth Maine Volunteers, August IS, IS62, was promoted Corporal, wounded July 2, 1863, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.


EDWARD F. MORSE was mustered in Company F, Seventeenth Maine, August 18, 1862, and was discharged June 4, 1865.


CHARLES H. MORSE was a Corporal in Company F, Seventeenth Maine, mustered August 18, 1862, and was wounded May 6, 1864.


FESSENDEN MILLS, mustered in Company C, Seventeenth Maine, August IS, 1862, was wounded in the battle of Gettysburgh, and died of wounds.


CHARLES F. MILLETT was mustered as private in Company G, Tenth Maine, August 6, 1862, and was discharged December 6, 1862, for disability, the result of wounds. He re-en- listed in Company F, Maine Coast Guards, and was discharged therefrom July 7, 1865.


FRANKLIN B. MORSE was mustered as Corporal in Company G, Twenty-ninth Maine, December 16, 1863, and was discharged by order, August 28, 1864.


CHARLES H. MCINTIRE was mustered in Company K, Thirtieth Maine Volunteers, Janu- ary 12, 1864, and was taken prisoner April 23 following.


JAMES MERRILL was a private in Company M, First Maine Heavy Artillery, mustered January 7, 1564, and was killed May 19, 1864.


WILLIAM F. MERRILL enlisted in Company F, Maine Coast Guards, January 6, 1865, and was discharged July 7 following.


WILLARD H. MALLETT was mustered in Company C, Thirty-second Maine, March 10, 1864, was transferred to Company B, Thirty-first Maine, and mustered out July 15, 1805.


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


ANDREW M. MERRIAM enlisted in Company G, Fourteenth Maine, April 5, 1864, and was transferred to the Fourteenth Maine Battalion.


BENJAMIN F. MORSE was mustered as a private in Company E, Tenth Maine, October 16, 1861, and was mustered out with the regiment May 8, 1863.


HARRISON NOBLE was a musician in Company G, Tenth Maine, during its two years term of service, re-enlisted in Company G, Twenty-ninth Maine, as Corporal, December 16, 1863, was wounded at Cedar Creek October 19, 1864, and discharged.


AMOS F. NOYES was mustered as First Lieutenant of Company G, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861, and resigned June 14, 1862. He entered the Twenty-third Maine Regi- ment October 17, 1862, as Captain of Company H, and was discharged with the regiment July 15, 1863. He was mustered as Captain of Company B, Thirty-second Maine, March 10, 1864, was wounded May 18, and was discharged December 1, 1864, by reason of consolida- tion of regiments. A portion of the time during the summer of 1864 he commanded the regiment.


FRANCIS M. NOBLE entered the Fourteenth Maine Regiment in Company G, June i, 1864, was wounded September 19, and was transferred to the Fourteenth Maine Battalion.


WILLIAM H. NOBLE was mustered in Company G, Fourteenth Maine Regiment, Decem- ber 28, 1861, and was discharged for disability. He re-enlisted in Company H, Twenty- third Maine, September 29, 1862, and was mustered out July 15, 1863. He enlisted in Com- pany B, Thirty-second Maine, March 20, 1864, and was transferred to the Thirty-first Maine.


CHARLES M. PRESSEY was mustered into Company G, Tenth Maine, August 18, 1862, and was killed at the battle of Antietam.


CHARLES D. NOBLE was mustered in Company F, Seventeenth Maine, August 18, 1862, and was discharged for disability February 28, 1864.


WILLIAM O. NEEDHAM enlisted in Company G, Thirty-second Maine, April 16, 1864, was promoted Corporal, and discharged July 15, 1865.


GEORGE E. NEEDHAM enlisted in Company G, Fourteenth Maine Volunteers, mustered January 23, 1862, and died at Ship Island, April 11, 1862.


JOSEPH L. OLIVER enlisted in Company F, Maine Coast Guards, January 6, 1865, and was discharged July 7, 1865.


DARIUS F. PIKE was in the First Maine Regiment during its term of service, and also in the Tenth from its muster in, October 4, 1861, to its muster out, May 8, 1863.


DANIEL PIKE was mustered with Company G, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861, and died in a rebel prison.


RUFUS C. PENLEY enlisted as a private in Company I, Fifth Maine, June 24, 1861, and died December 28, 1862.


EPHRAIM C. PENLEY enlisted as a private in Company I, Fifth Maine Volunteers, mus- tered June 24, 1861, and was discharged for disability October 22, 1862.


NATHAN N. PENLEY was mustered in Company G, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861.


CHARLES S. PENLEY served in Company H, Twenty-third Maine, from September 29, 1862, to July 15, 1863.


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


CHARLES PIKE was mustered as a musician in Company B, Twenty ninth Maine, January 7, 1864, and was discharged by order, April 6, 1866.


ALBERT E. PIKE was mustered in Company F, Maine Coast Guards, January 6, 1865, and was discharged July 7, 1865.


HENRY RUST JR., first entered the service as First Lieutenant of Company G, First Maine, and served during its term. He entered the Tenth Maine as Captain of Company G, October 4, 1861, and resigned October 14, 1851, to accept the position of Lieutenant- Colonel of the Thirteenth Maine, in which he was mustered December 10, 1861. He was promoted to Colonel of the Thirteenth April 23, 1852, and resigned January 6, 1865, as Brigadier-General by brevet.


FRANCIS H. REED served in Company H, Twenty-third Maine, from September 29, 1862, to July 15, 1863, when the regiment was mustered out.


LEONARD D. RANDALL was mustered in Company H, Twenty-third Maine, September 29, IS62, and was discharged July 15, 1863. He re-enlisted in Company B, Thirty-second Maine, April 2, 1864, and was transferred to the Thirty-first Maine, and mustered out July 15, 1865.


CALVIN RICHARDSON served in Company H, Twenty-third Maine, from September 29, 1862, to July 15, 1863, when the regiment was mustered out.


COLUMBUS RICHARDSON enlisted in the Coast Guards January 6, 1865, and was discharged July 7, 1865.


JASON F. ROWE was mustered into Company F, Maine Coast Guards, January 6, 1865, and was mustered out July 7, 1865.


CHARLES S. ROBBINS was mustered into Company C, Tenth Maine, October 5, 1861 ; he was detached as wagoner, and discharged.


GEORGE W. SHOLES served as Sergeant in Company G, First Maine Regiment, from May 3 to August 5, 1861.


WILLIAM H. SMITH was mustered in Company F, Ninth Maine, September 21, 1861, was wounded June 30, 1864.


JOSIAH H. SMITH enlisted as private in Company G, Fourteenth Maine, and died Decem- ber 15, 1862.


FREEMAN H. SHACKLEY was mustered as Corporal in Company H, Twenty-third Maine, September 29, 1862, and was discharged with the regiment July 15, 1863. He was mustered in Company B, Thirty-second Maine, March 10, 1864, wounded in front of Petersburgh June 17. 1864, lost his leg, was discharged September 29, 1864, and died soon after at his home in Norway.


HENRY S. SHATTUCK enlisted in Company H, Twenty-third Maine Volunteers, and died in Portland the day before his company was mustered.


LUTHER L. SAMPSON served in Company H, Twenty-third Maine, from September 23, 1862, to July 15, 1863.


CHARLES THOMPSON served as private in Company G, First Maine, for three months, entered the Tenth Maine October 1, 1861, as Commissary Sergeant, was promoted to Quar-


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


termaster, and discharged with the regiment. Entered the Twenty-ninth Maine as Quarter- master, September 12, 1863, and resigned May 5, 1865.


HENRY TUCKER was mustered as Corporal of Company G, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861, and was discharged for disability June 30, 1862.


WILLIAM W. TWOMBLY was mustered in Company F, Maine Coast Guards, December 6, 1865, and was discharged July 7, 1865.


OSMOND TOWN enlisted in Company B, Thirty-second Maine, March 10, 1864, and died in hospital June 25 following.


CYRUS S. TUCKER was mustered as Corporal in Company F, Seventeenth Maine, August 18, 1862, was detached as Brigade Saddler, and discharged June 4, 1865.


WILLIAM W. VIRGIN entered the service as Colonel of the Twenty-third Maine, August 18, 1862, and was mustered out with the regiment July 15, 1863.


GEORGE W. VERRILL was mustered as Sergeant in Company C, Seventeenth Maine, was promoted to First Lieutenant and then to Captain of Company E, and was mustered out with the regiment June 4, 1865.


WILLIAM W. WHITMARSH served in Company G, First Maine Volunteers, as First Ser- geant, was mustered as Second Lieutenant in Company G, Tenth Maine, October 4, 1861 and promoted to First Lieutenant October 21, and was discharged with the regiment May 8, 1863. He entered the Twenty-ninth Maine as Captain of Company G, December 16, 1863, and resigned March 3, 1866.


HANNIBAL S. WARREN served in Company G, First Maine, for three months; re-enlisted, mustered as Sergeant in Company F, Seventeenth Maine, August 18, 1862, wounded May 6, 1864, and was discharged January 29, 1865.


BENJAMIN F. WHITCOMB was mustered in Company F, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861, and died from disease.


ORRINGTON WILKINS was mustered in Company G, Fourteenth Maine, December 12, 1861, and was discharged for disability June 20, 1862.


LEVI A. WHITCOMB, a Norway man, enlisted on the quota of Paris in Company F, Sev- enteenth Maine. He was missing at the battle of Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863, and prob- ably was killed.


SAMUEL S. YATES enlisted in Company G, Tenth Maine Volunteers, was detached as wag- oner, and discharged January 19, 1863.


CHARLES A. YOUNG enlisted in Company H, Twenty-third Maine, September 29, 1862, and was discharged for disability December 20 following.


CAPTAIN COBB'S COMPANY OF VOLUNTEER MILITIA.


In addition to the soldiers who enlisted for the front, and those who enlisted in the Coast Guards, there was a company raised in Norway and vicinity called Company H, Light Infantry, Maine Volunteer Militia, for service at Fort McClary in Kittery. The company was enlisted for


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


273


sixty days ; it was mustered April 27th, 1864, and discharged July 9th, 1864. The following is a list of Norway men in this company : -


Sylvanus Cobb Jr., Captain.


Claudius M. Favor, Lieutenant.


Henry Tucker, Sergeant.


James M. Favor, Sergeant. Arthur E. Denison, Corporal. George A. Cole, Corporal. Wallace Foster, Corporal.


PRIVATES.


Benjamin G. Barrows,


William F. Merrill,


James G. B. Bradbury, Charles B. Cummings,


William A. Merrill, Hiram Merrill,


James C. Drew,


Charles F. Millett,


Windom D. Earle,


Charles M. Mallett,


Charles J. Edgcomb,


Benjamin H. Noble, .


William E. Frost,


Edwin J. Newhall,


Charles S. Penley,


Edwin Fisher, Atwood Gammon, Abram Green,


Isaiah V. Penley, Scott Partridge,


Andrew P. Greenleaf,


Frank H. Reed,


Joseph F. Herrick,


Oliver Shackley,


George F. Howe,


Edward F. Stevens,


Frank H. Hamlin,


Clarence M. Smith,


Levi E. Holden,


John Tucker,


George F. Leonard,


Rodolphus Young.


NORWAY MEN IN SERVICE OUT OF THE STATE.


E. WRIGHT BISBEE was promoted to Captain of his company in a Massachusetts regiment. AARON W. BROWN served in a Massachusetts regiment, and died at Falmouth, Virginia.


WILLIAM A. EVANS, of the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts, was killed at Spottsylvania, May 18, 1864.


STIDMAN BENNETT, Wagoner in the First Massachusetts Regiment, died at Mount Pleas- ant Hospital, August 5, 1863.


JAMES L. MERRILL, Sergeant in the United States Signal Corps, died at Norfolk, Virginia, September 13, 1864.


Other Norway men who served in Massachusetts regiments, were Henry O. Beal, Henry T. Merrill, James Merrill, Joseph H. Newhall, Charles E. Newhall, and Charles A. Smith.


STEPHEN C. YEATON served in the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment.


Daniel S. Morse enlisted in the regular army, and Daniel Latham, George F. Latham, and J. C. Davis served in the United States Navy.


There were doubtless Norway born men in Western regiments, but we have no record of them.


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274


HISTORY OF NORWAY.


SUBSTITUTES.


The following Norway men furnished substitutes, the name of which in each case follows that of the principal : -


Daniel W. Beal, Richard Bane.


Jackson Clark, William Sears.


Roswell Frost, William Benson. Nathan A. Foster, Charles Anderson.


David W. Frost, John Harris.


George F. Evans, John Kelley.


Nathan W. Millett, George W. Wilson. Amos K. Town, Charles Nelson.


Ceylon Watson, John McConliff.


William H. Whitcomb, Joseph Huntoon. John W. Parsons, Fred Wilson.


Several men were drafted in Norway, but only one, Leonard Flint, paid commutation of three hundred dollars. William H. Rollins and E. G. Freeman enlisted in the spring of 1865, and became members of the Twenty-seventh Unassigned Company, but the war closed before they left the State.


CONCLUSION.


A brief summing up is all that need be added to the story of Norway in the War of the Rebellion. The record has been made and speaks for itself, and will continue to speak through all coming time. It shows that more than two hundred of the citizens of Norway girded them- selves and went down to the war, to aid in preserving the union of the States of the Republic. A large proportion of them were native born citizens of the town, and all of them had their homes here when they enlisted. Forty-four of them gave their lives for the cause. Ten of them fell in battle, and seven more died from wounds received in action. Twenty-seven died from disease brought on by the exposures and hardships incident to soldier-life in active service. All are equally worthy, and all should receive alike the homage due to those who have given their lives in the cause of the Country. Let their memory be kept fragrant, their graves within the town well cared for, and let the children through succeeding generations be taught the story of their sacrifices, and the manner and cause of their death. The dust of some of them reposes near by where they fell, and the exact spot of their interment will never be known until the day when the grave shall yield up its dead. Some repose in unknown graves in the far South, while a few have found sepulture in the consecrated grounds set apart by the Government for the burial of its fallen heroes. But wherever they


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


sleep, their memory will be cherished and kept green in the hearts of the good people of this town, and be transmitted to their children as a priceless legacy.


Norway sent down to the war more than a third of its adult male population, including its most substantial citizens and the flower of its youth. The character of the men may be judged from the responsible positions they were called upon to fill. Maine furnished thirty-four regiments for the war, and the commanding officers of three of them went from Norway. Five Lieutenants' and ten Captains' commissions were issued to Norway men, and forty-four different commissions in all. Norway had one Brigadier-General, two brevet Brigadier-Generals, one brevet Major-General, three Colonels, one Chaplain, one Assist- ant Surgeon, and one regimental Quartermaster. Norway men were detailed as orderlies, as headquarter and provost guards, as artificers and for staff duty, and whatever places they were called upon to fill, and whatever duties they were asked to perform, they acquitted themselves with credit and honor. Instances of superior merit might be cited, and cases of individual prowess and bravery, but in this record, no invidious distinctions, either of rank or service, shall be made. The personal record of each soldier, as to his time of service, has been given, and it is presumable that each performed well his duty. Distinctions of rank were essential to discipline and efficiency, but here, as elsewhere in the volunteer service, it was often the case that privates were as well qualified to be officers as those who secured the positions, and when the regiments were mustered out of the service, all distinctions of rank were laid aside, and in fraternity, charity and loyalty, all became private citizens of the great republic which they had aided in preserving, and equals.


It is quite remarkable that no citizen of Norway enlisted either in the Cavalry or Light Artillery. All save two, enlisted in the Infantry, and these two, though enlisting in the Heavy Artillery, performed infantry service, and one of them was killed at the front. It is worth recording in this connection that one of the first soldiers who gave his life to the cause of the country was Norway born. His name was Sumner Henry Needham, son of Evi and Maria (Latham) Needham, born in Norway, March 2d, 1828. When the first call was made for


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


men to defend the national capital, he was living in Lowell, Massachu- setts, and was a member of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment of volunteer militia. Almost the entire regiment responded to the call for troops, and Needham was among those who enlisted. He was killed by the mob as the regiment was passing through Baltimore. His remains were brought to Lowell, and his funeral was made the occasion for such a demonstration, as is rarely witnessed in case of the death of a private and humble citizen, and such as became one of the first three martyrs of the war.


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CHAPTER XX.


NORWAY PRINTERS AND NEWSPAPERS.


THE Oxford Observer was first published on Paris Hill in 1824, and this was the second paper in Oxford County. The first was Russell's Echo started at Fryeburg in 1798, and published about nine months. The publication of the Oxford Observer was commenced by Asa Barton, who conducted it in connection with other business. He was not a practical printer, but kept what he called the Oxford County Book- store. In 1826 he moved his press and paper to Norway, the transfer being made in the night time, by means of a yoke of oxen and cart, and unbeknown to the people of Paris. In 1828 Mr. Barton associated with himself William P. Phelps, and the firm continued one year, when Barton sold his interest to William E. Goodenow, who was a practical printer. In October of 1830, Goodenow bought the remainder of the concern, and published the Observer until July of 1832, when he changed the name to The Politician, with William A. Evans as editor. The Politician was an exponent of Whig views, and was continued until April, 1833, when the establishment was purchased by Horatio King, who was publishing as the successor of the Observer at Paris Hill, the Jeffersonian. The Politician antagonized the Jeffersonian, and the purchase was made for the purpose of killing it off. In June, 1830, Mr. Barton published a few numbers of the Village Spy, and in 1833, commenced the Oxford Oracle, an independent paper, but after issuing seven numbers, he sold out to George W. Millett and Octavius King, who moved the office to Paris Hill, and commenced the publication of the Oxford Democrat. In April, 1832, Mr. Goodenow commenced the publication of the " Journal of the Times," a small weekly, but after three months he discontinued it because he thought it interfered with the subscription list of The Politician. None of these papers had a remunerative list, and the advertising brought but a small income in those days. Probably the circulation of neither of them reached three hundred.


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


The Norway Advertiser, a four-column paper, was started in Norway by Ira Berry and Francis Blake Jr. in 1844. Near the close of the second volume, Mr. Berry sold out to Edwin Plummer, who at the end of two years sold to Albert B. Davis and Cyrus W. Browne. Mr. Plummer was a graceful writer, and made of the Advertiser a good family paper, fully keeping up the reputation established for it by Mr. Berry.


Thomas Witt was the next owner of the Advertiser. He was a practical printer, a graduate from the Jeffersonian office, and the son of Benjamin Witt, an early settler of Norway. Witt sold the paper first to Rev. T. J. Tenney, whose imprint is on one issue only ; Witt took it back and sold it to Mark H. Dunnell, Principal of the Norway Liberal Institute, who changed the form to a quarto, and the name to Pine State News. He soon found that he had purchased an elephant, and at an expense of several hundred dollars, learned that a good school teacher may not know how to run a newspaper successfully, and in January, 1851, the paper was discontinued. During its seven years of existence, the paper changed hands six times.


In July, 1851, Moses B. Bartlett Esq., an attorney-at-law, who had become possessed of the material of the Pine State News, started a new paper with the old name, and after issuing a few numbers, he sold out to Colonel George W. Millett, one of the founders of the Oxford Democrat. The old Advertiser had been strictly neutral in politics, and the new one of 1850 had started so, but soon after Millett bought it, the Oxford Democrat, having at that time Free Soil tendencies, and soon after was bought up by the bolters, the Advertiser, with Rev. George K. Shaw, for the first few years at least, as political editor, became the organ of the Oxford County democracy. The paper was continued as a party organ, until after the election of Abraham Lincoln, when it was discontinued. This was the second death of an Advertiser in Norway.


January 4th, 1871, J. F. Upton, son of Elijah Upton, of Bath, issued the first number of the Norway Messenger. It was a small four-column paper, very neat in its make-up and typography, and well conducted. The last number was issued October 12th, 1871, when Mr. Upton sold out to Simeon Drake. In January, 1872, Mr. Simeon Drake, a practical printer, formerly of Augusta, started a third Norway Advertiser, as a


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HISTORY OF NORWAY.


local paper, and its publication was continued by him for nearly three years. In November, 1875, Mr. C. F. Whitman, a young Norway attorney, became a partner, and the Oxford Register was purchased and united with the Advertiser, and the consolidated paper was published by Drake & Whitman until the February following, when the Adver- tiser went out of sight, and the Oxford Register was published as a party organ by Parris, Mason & Company, Mr. Drake retiring for the nonce, and Mr. Whitman permanently. The paper had been leased by Parris & Mason for the political campaign of that year, and at its close, the lease having expired, and the State and national elections having gone adverse to the Democrats, the publication of the Oxford Register ceased, and its list was sold to the Lewiston Gazette. Mr. Drake, who had the old material on hand, and also the Register type, commenced the publication of a fourth Norway Advertiser, subsequently reduced in size and quarto in form, which he issued until the latter part of 1878, when he sold out to the New Religion Publishing Company, and the New Religion, the first issue dated November 29th, 1878, took its place, with Rev. J. A. Seitz as editor. It was started as a religious paper, advocating views claimed to be somewhat in advance of Universalism, and was so continued until the summer of 1879, when it became the organ of the coalition opposed to the Republican party. In the summer of 1882, the New Religion establishment was carried to North Conway, and the paper was published there a short time, and was then sold and merged into something else, and that something else soon after died.




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