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 41
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Praise God of Nations ! who has kept, This Eden spot secure ; while swept O'er other lands fire, flood, and dearth, Success has crowned this spot of earth.
Our Father, God ! within whose hands, Time's glass holds naught save golden sands ! Grant the next century may hold No dross in lives, with sands of gold.
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
A Centennial Poem by Dr. Clifford L. Pike, of Norway, was read by the author. This poem has been copyrighted and is published here by permission.
OUR HONORED MEN. BY CLIFFORD L. PIKE.
Of men we speak, who, in the days gone by , By persecutions pressed, were led to fly Their sunny soil, and thro' the trackless path Of ocean, sail beyond the tyrant's wrath, Whose cruel hand and unrelenting hate Had them exiled, or doomed to surer fate, Should they perchance, in their despair re- main;
They rather chose to breast the angry main, Where labors hard, they met and bravely bore
Long e'er they reached Old Plymouth's rocky shore,
And there among the hills they settled down And planted first the long-expected town.
O God of Nations, and these chosen men, Relate their labors o'er to us again :
How woodman's axe, within each sturdy hand, Made shelter for their use and stripped the land
Of forests, giant in their ancient strength, Whose waving plumage found in greater length
From mountain top to lowland vale or lea, Embracing each from sea to distant sea ; Or how they yoked the steer to patient toil To send the plowshare thro' the new-found soil ;
The seed to sow and watch with jealous care, Against destruction from the earth or air, They labor on until the coming fall,
Rich harvests yields to feed them one and all.
Speak on, and tell us, as thou hast begun,
What works are theirs, and what the course they run ;
How fast they grew and spread throughout the On this, the God of Nature's Holy Ground.
length
Of this fair land, as they increased in strength ; How towns grew up, and cities rudely drest In majesty arose from east to west;
Till on his throne, the haughty tyrant stands
He torment sends, and with his unjust laws, Which led to hardships, and to many wars, That greed and worldly fame so often brings Within the rule of Emperors or Kings ; Subdued at first, they wait the chosen hour To seize the sceptre from the tyrant's power, Which, wielding with a strong determined hand,
O'ercomes his strength and liberates the land, From whom descending, what the future waits, The glories of our grand United States.
We leave thee here in all thy power elate, To seek a child within thy border State , Whose former lands, where now our story starts,
Like ancient Gaul, divided in three parts,
Were known as Rustfield, bought some years before,
By Henry Rust, and Major Cumming's Gore, With that fair land known as the Grant to Lee, Make up the Town we now rejoice to see ; Except three tiers of lots upon our west, Which range beside old Waterford abreast. Thus Norway, child descended from the race Of our forefathers, we thy honors trace ; And from thy hill-tops, with a poet's pen, We sing the praises of our honored men.
They, whom we seek as friends, and not as foes,
From silence, and the undisturbed repose Of nature, where each gentle zephyr breeze Makes music to the nodding of the trees ; Or where the lake's most placid water lies, Here came from friends, and many tender ties, To wake the echoes of the forest round
The Stevens brothers, known to ancient fame, And Lessleys strong, whose record is the same,
With brothers Hobbs, who, from the town of Gray
And notes their rising strength in other lands; Undaunted there, had pressed the tangled way,
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
With hearts full strong, that ever stronger grew, To test a soil, that ever has proved true, Make up the band, who first to Norway came And gave this day its ever-living name.
We doubt them not, what toil they must bestow
To strip the soil in readiness to grow The subtle seed, which, bursting into air Gave to them courage and a father's care; Or how their labors, set in golden crowns, Far shone beyond their realm to other towns, Whose rays attract the stalwart pioneer, Where naught is sure and everything is fear ; Where wander in the forest's lengthened shade
The wild-men from each sylvan glade to glade,
Who seek, perchance, in ugly mood to roam, Or war upon the settler's peaceful home. All these stern odds, they stubbornly defy; Thro' war and peace, they grow and multiply, Until the land, from east to western bound, Is covered with the homes we here have found.
Attend, O friends ! to what we now shall say,
As we resume the subject of this lay ; To some, the art of warfare may belong; To some, sweet music and the gift of song; While but a few possess the power of mind To lead, control and elevate mankind ; Of those, we speak, whose deeds we may confess,
Of them recalled, our town has cause to bless ;
Shall we speak names, or are their names too dear
And sacred for a poet's utterance here ? But no, we will descend, as now descend we must
To speak the first, whose name is Henry Rust; Once owner of these fields and lofty hills, Who, near the lakelet, built his goodly mills, And served his county as to us appears, As Treasurer for nearly thirteen years. Next in our midst, we see a Lawyer rise Whose words are truthful, and his judgment wise,
'T is Luther Farrar, ever honored name, Upright in thought and worldly deed he came, Who represented first, in that Bay State, The people of our town, with honors great ; And Levi Whitman followed next in fame, Who sought these goodly honors to obtain, And with success amid his toil and strife, Long years were added to a peaceful life.
Here Virgin sought, within this busy town, In legal lore, himself to gain renown ; Elected first to plead the county's cause, Since then expounder of her many laws Upon the Judge's bench, although between, A Senator, within the State is seen; Who, at our great republic's threatened fall, Uprising to his country's urgent call, Raised arms and men along these hills afar And sent them to the seat of cruel war; Whose valiant deeds, on battle-field and plain,
Shall long resound within his home again ; And thus, a Lawyer's and a General's fame Shall hover round the Judge's honored name.
Another man, of whom we will relate, Sought out a home within a distant State, And rising strong to meet his country's need, Exposed to shame, the frauds of " Old Boss Tweed,"
Whose name and fame in peace will ever dwell
In Dexter Hawkins, we remember well ; While Denison, the seed of wisdom sows, As his high fame extends itself and grows ; Which, rising fast within his chosen band, Is wafted back to reach his father-land.
These few, with Bearce, whom now we greet with cheers,
Elected Senator the past two years ;
With Stearns, his partner fresh from Bow- doin's care,
Whose mind is fraught in many jewels rare; With Kimball pleader for our county long ; With Holt, and Upton ven'rable and strong; With Whitman learned within his chosen forte,
Appointed Judge of Norway's Local Court, Whose name and deeds have ever honored been,
Make up the list of these our legal men.
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
Of Surgeons next, the subject of our lay, Who heal the ill and wounded on their way, We now will pause and in our course relate The names of those most honored here and great ;
Of Shannon now, who first to Norway came And gained a surgeon's never-dying fame ; Of Moses Ayer, whom we cannot forget,
Who followed after Barrett, Heath and Swett ;
Who ever sought in life to life prolong, Like great Hippocrates of ancient song ; How Danforth, in his early days appears, And labors hard for over fifty years ;
Whose cultured mind, in golden treasure fraught,
. Obtained the lengthened honors, which he sought ;
Where loving deeds and thoughts so oft expressed,
On wings of time forever shall be blest.
Of Millett too, we now make mention here, Long known among his many townsmen dear, Whose works profound, within the medic art, Shall ever dwell within each loyal heart ;
Where Howe and Jewett lived, whom next we greet,
Whose honored works on every hand we meet;
How Peables came but sought a larger field Wherein the harvest of his thought to wield, And on "Old Auburn's " ever-living brow We see the crowning of his labors now ; But speak of Evans, now a name most dear, Almost a giant in his knowledge here, Uprising far above his fellow men A surgeon great, his name has ever been, Beloved and honored by his townsmen round His many labors have been doubly crowned.
Oh happy they, who, from a happy State Can wield the power of thought in strong debate,
Receiving it from Nature's goodly hand, A monument of strength shall ever stand. Of him, we speak, who in this town has taught, Our Congress from "Old Minnesota " sought,
Where on the floor his honors were begun; A Colonel in the battle of Bull Run;
Whose name is Dunnell now so widely known, Who in this State a Senator has shone; And John L. Stevens, who to Sweden sent, Our country's Minister from Norway went, Now stands a jewel in the golden crown Oflaurels wreathed around our honored town ; Of Kimball next, we speak in glad refrain, A consul gone to Stuttgart's distant plain Tho' first the honors, which were his to meet Him sought to fill the Gov'nor's lofty seat ; While Swift was chosen Senator of State ; And Henry Reed a councilor was great ; With those, we pass, who represent the town, From Rust the first, to Whitmarsh last sent down,
With names refulgent in their golden lore, We leave those representatives of yore.
We now proceed in this our chosen theme, Absorbed in thought or lost in silent dream, To now relate the mystic song of those Who wander into poetry or prose.
Of Barton first, who plied his golden pen In the "Observer " of his fellow-men ; Of Millett next, whose goodly work has fraught
The "Democrat" in name, but not in thought; While Evans long the " Politician " sent In wordy war, where'er its columns went, Till Barton's " Oracle " and " Village Spy " With Goodnow's "Journal " here should live and die ;
Of Dunnell too, who framed the "Pine State News,"
And Seitz whose " New Religion " we peruse, Till Drake and Sanborn here at last appear Upon our list of editorial peers,
Whose " Advertiser " now more widely roams, And finds a place in many quiet homes.
Here David Noyes with quaint and goodly pen
Once wrote the hist'ry of his town and men ; While Mrs. Smith's sweet songs we may rehearse,
In poetry of thought or rhyming verse ; Or Mrs. Stevens, from whose fertile mind In studied thought, her prose and verse we find;
And Mrs. Hayden's stories we may read To wander in the sunlight where they lead;
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
Till Cobb we reach, who wrote, in goodly style,
Romantic prose, his readers to beguile; Where'er the " Ledger " finds a home, we go Within the thought of him we seek to know;
While Stevens here who wrote those vivid scenes
In the "Companion" of our youthful dreams, Whose many works are seen on every hand, Now stands among the authors of our land; We sound their praise with e'er inspiring song,
Where now their echoes shall re-echo long.
O Deity of war, wilt thou confess,
Shall Norway in the war be more or less, Than other deeds she now has cause to bless ? Should we not here the lofty praise prolong Of those brave men, who valiantly and strong From home and all the tender ties of youth Went forth, for God, for Liberty and Truth, To shield the banners which our fathers gave, Or failing there, to seek an early grave ?
We hear thy voice from east to western shore, Their praises sound, thou shalt forever more. Then tell us of the arms we see afar, And sing to us of the approaching war; Where Bodwell's men upon our northern bound,
In strong array the British Lion found ;
Them held in check upon the Champlain's The warrior's name and fame have rightly shore
Till peace returns and cruel war is o'er.
How Parsons came, a General of Brigade,
With Towne and Millett, who were Colonels made ;
With Noyes, who led our valiant men once more
From peaceful homes to " Madawaska " war, Whose labors won promotion and renown, Now dwells in peace within our quiet town.
How went the Murray of the Fifteenth Maine, Whose many battles we live o'er again : From Mansfield to yon Pleasant Hill we go, Mansura and Cane River Crossing too. Down the Shenandoah with General Dwight, Where Jubal Early made his hasty flight, Or on Virginia's soil, where he staid The haughty Moseby in his cruel raid ;
Till from Car'lina we in peace await The General Adjutant within our State. Here now we pass from one so widely known, To Henry Rust, who has a Colonel grown, Who led his arms upon the Texan plain, And up Red River in that great campaign, From Martinsburg to Cumberland, the seat Where Rosser's men made good their swift
retreat.
Long, long, we see his banners wave afar, Till peace returns and ends our Southern war.
How General Beal has gained his living fame, And won the laurels round his lustrous name, Who led his arms through many battles won, From Winchester, the first, to, Darlington; Whose eulogies we need not now proclaim, For known are they to history and fame ; Whose first reward among his fellow-men, An Adjutant of State has long since been, Where now his honors gather fast, and stand Among the proudest in our honored land.
But some are gone; they fill their lonely graves
Beneath the flag that proudly o'er us waves, They fought to save upon the southern soil ; Their battles now are o'er; their weary toil Is done; their bodies 'neath the dusty sod, Their spirits rest within the arms of God.
And those we greet, who from the war re- turned,
/ earned,
To leave thee here, wrapt in the arms of peace, Whose lengthened honors time shall e'er in- crease.
Thro' gentler scenes our pathway now must lie,
Where naught of war, but peace shall multi- ply ;
Where shepherds dwell, sweet heralds from above,
Whose voices tell of God's undying love ; Where Cressey was most gentle, kind and good,
Who fed his people with the Heavenly food ; Where Murray came to heal each bleeding wound
And tell of him, where only peace is found; Where Holt and Pierce, long years delayed to them,
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
Here lived and taught among their fellow- men ;
How Pingree went beyond his chosen band To raise the heathen in a foreign land ;
Where Reuben Milner, long, long years has shown
The narrow pathway to the Heavenly Throne, Where now our water-works have just been Whose loving soul beneath the chas'ning rod laid Has flown beyond, to dwell in peace with God.
Here Pillsbury labors with a joy untold To bring the wand'rer to the Father's fold; And Wiswall, who amid the toil and strife, Now points to Him, where is eternal life ; Where Hooper taught among his chosen kind,
The priceless treasures of his fruitful mind, But now away, 'mid other scenes and friends The sunlight of his wisdom still descends ; And where Miss Angell's words so sweet may fall,
Of shepherds grand, the Nestor of them all.
We pass from those, whose great and high renown
Now sheds a lustre o'er our honored town, To seek the industries that throng the place, And see what enterprise we here may trace. The tann'ry first that rises into view, Tho' smaller once, to great dimensions grew -And thro' the ages that shall sink to rest Built by the man, whose strong and ready Thy children bless thee, as thou shalt be blest. hands,
The architect of his great fortune stands ; The shoe-shop next our goodly town has fraught,
And many people to its village brought, Whose business here by Spinney carried on, Now ranks among the first in Norway born; A saw-mill stands upon our lakelet's shore; Two grist-mills that were built some years before
Still grind the wheat and corn for people round ;
While paste-shops two are in our village found;
A carriage-shop is by our depot seen, As well a lumber-yard that stands between ; A trotting park is on our eastern bound ; A railroad too is in our village found ; And stores of every kind we here may meet, While passing down our long and busy street,
To long protect the work our hands have made;
Thus enterprise is seen in every part,
Just budding now, perhaps, that soon will start
And raise our town the first in court and mart Among her sister towns that grace the land, Until, perchance, a city here shall stand; Pushed onward by our strong and ready men, Till future years shall sound their praise again.
One tribute more, and only one we bring, Our Alma Mater's praise we fain would sing ; Loved school, where first our youthful mind was taught,
And learned to wander into deeper thought, We love thee still, and linger in the shade Of thy sweet mem'ries, that shall never fade ; We live and die, who in thy arms were born, But in the future thou shalt e'er live on,
One hundred years roll round, thy children bring
Their lofty tributes, and thy praises sing Upon these verdant hills and sunny clime Rememb'ring well, this is the chosen time ; The present is, there is no by and by, Within the present, we must live and die ; The past is ours, we live it here in speech, The future lies beyond, we cannot reach ; Then let us act before our fellow-men, That when a hundred years roll round again, A greater poet, with more learned pen, May sing the praises of thy honored men.
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
HISTORICAL ESSAY.
BY CHARLES F. WHITMAN.
Today we look back one hundred years and contemplate with joyful satisfaction and an honest pride the successful struggles of our fathers for existence. The War of the Revolution had ended and three millions of people, scattered along the Atlantic slope from Maine to Georgia, were free. Towns had sprung up along the coast and at favorable locations on the rivers flowing to the sea. Commerce had begun to spread its white sails upon the ocean. A beautiful country stretching away westerly to the " Father of Waters," and northwardly to the high hills between Maine and Canada invited the presence of the immigrant. A magnifi- cent forest of soft and hard woods and such as were sought for building ships of war or for trade, covered the land. A forest of large trees today is a grand and beautiful sight and nothing delights the eye more or satisfies the cupidity of man better. He sees in it farms and lands, deposits in bank, marketable stocks, accomplishments for daughters and education and position for sons. Even to the mere student of nature, there is scarcely anything so impres- sive as a forest of gigantic trees, except the immediate presence of lofty hills and mountains towering toward the skies.
To our fathers the forest was the wilderness and the abode of wild beasts and savage men. Returning from the War of the Revolution, from Bunker Hill where the British were received with such spirit that during the rest of the contest they were content to carry on the war for subjugation in other parts of the land; from Saratoga, where our first great victory was won ; from Valley Forge, where their footsteps in the winter's snow left traces of blood; and from Yorktown, where to him who was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen," Cornwallis surrendered, and the war was brought to a close, they found them- selves with a country made free by their sacrifices and their blood, but with little else. What were they to do? Nearly all the people were farmers or tillers of the soil. There were but few trades and these were full. The professions were crowded. The Government at that time was not in condition to aid in setting the wheels of industry in motion. The country was in debt, the currency worthless, and trade was stagnant. That was before Alexander Hamilton " struck the dead corpse of public credit and it sprang upon its feet."
There was but one alternative for those who had/come out of the war poor and had families. They must move into the wilderness and make their homes. Government and State could not compensate the soldiers for their services with money but they could give lands. Grants were made and tracts secured by purchase by those who had means, and a tide of emigration set in from the more thickly settled portions of Massachusetts and Connecticut, to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and the Middle States, which continued unabated till the magnificent country beyond the Ohio became fully known, when " westward the star of empire began to take its way." Like the ashes of Wickliffe transported by the waters of the Severn to the sea, which swept by wind and tide over the earth, carried the gospel of the living God to every country, New England intelligence, New England character, and New England enter- prise have planted freedom, justice, and righteousness throughout the length and breadth of the land. Her emigrant sons were first seen invading the forests along the Penobscot Kennebec, Androscoggin, Merrimac, Connecticut, Hudson, and Mohawk rivers. Next they were across the Ohio on the " Western Reserve," and soon beyond the Mississippi, and following the Missouri through the Rocky Mountains, they were stopped only by the roll of the ocean on the golden shores of the Pacific.
28
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
But a few rods away from where these assembled thousands are now met to celebrate the event, one hundred years ago was a trail and spotted line, through the forest from Paris to the lots of Joseph and Jonas Stevens, Amos and Jeremiah Hobbs, George Lessley, and Nathan Noble, situated on the westerly side of the great pond, and following this trail was the family of Joseph Stevens. In fancy I see them now, as the afternoon sun, clouded and shut in from their view, is sinking behind the western hills. The father leads the way, followed by his good wife and three of their children. As he comes to the stream over which they cross on a fallen tree, how carefully he takes the little ones over, one by one, that they may not fall into the water, and when they arrive where the dug-out is left, they are seated and he paddles them safely across the lake. How the approach of darkness prevents their finding the landing and the trail to their clearing; of the night in the woods; the refreshing sleep by the big pine log undisturbed by the denizens of the forest; the early rising and short journey to their new home; the joyful welcome of the next family, and one by one as they come how gladly are they received and assisted.
Two years of toil, of trials, of poverty and pinching want pass, till the mills are built at the head of the village. Then even, their trials are not over. Long years of sacrifice and toil must elapse before they fully enjoy a competence and enter into the fruits of their labors. But it comes at last.
A few years after the mills were built, the first school-house rose into view in the center of the settlement on a zig-zag road, and Job Eastman (venerable and respected name) with birchen rod, took his place in the master's seat. Next a church-spire is seen pointing upward toward the heavens, where our fathers were ever wont to look for guidance and protection. At this time the sound of the axe was heard in every part of the town. Clearings were made, immigrants moved in, artisans and tradesmen appeared, business began to thrive and people to prosper.
Nearly sixty years went by, and as the last of the old settlers were passing away forever, the whistle of the locomotive was heard as a new generation in a new era took the place of the old. For twenty-five years more Norway stood still, apparently having reached the limit of its growth, when Spinney and Witherell, and Bartlett and Chase came, and with the Hornes and Cummings poured a golden stream of wealth into our midst, which has continued to flow with unabated current as regularly as the weeks roll round. The volume of their business has increased till it has mounted to the magnificent figure of $1,000,000 per annum, and the end is not yet.
Go with me to yonder hill and look into this valley. It is filled with a busy people, where is heard the hum of industry and the onward march of enterprise and business. At our feet lies a prosperous village of two thousand inhabitants and made so by Mr. Horne, Mr. Chase, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Bearce, Mr. Whitcomb, Mr. Andrews and men like them. Norway Village of today is what its business men have made it. You have passed along our streets. You have seen our business blocks, filled with articles of merchandise; our factories where hundreds of employees are mustered every morn and noon; our schools and churches and our newly painted dwelling-houses. On every hand you see new buildings in process of erec- tion. It is for you to say what all these things indicate.
We turn toward the setting sun. Here is a charming river. Farm-houses are dotted here and there over the landscape, while mountain, lake and stream beautify the scene. No better farms can be found in Maine except along the great rivers. From these you may know what our farmers are. I can speak with pride of all the citizens of Norway, which has increased
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
with every year of my life in the midst of its people. I glory in their enterprise, their push, their industry, their thrift, and their solid worth.
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