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 43
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until he has traveled through the length and breadth of this land. Maine has contributed one hundred and eighty-three thousand of its population to build up the institutions of other States, and our people fill places of honor and trust all over the land. Norway has done its part. Let the enlistments and heroic service during the late war answer. Let the loyalty, generosity, and gifts of the noble women of the town, answer. I see many of the heroes and veterans of the war before me. I close with the following lines of poetry : -
" Mother Earth ! are the heroes dead ?
Wherever a noble deed is done
Do they thrill the soul of the years no more ? "T is the pulse of a hero's heart is stirred ; Are the gleaming snows and the poppies red Wherever right has a triumph won, All that is left of the brave of yore? There are heroes' voices heard. Are there none to fight as Theseus fought, Far in the young world's misty dawn ?
Or to teach as the gray-haired Nestor taught ? Mother Earth ! are the heroes gone ?
"Gone ! in a grander form they rise ; Dead ! we may clasp their hands in ours; And catch the light of their clearer eyes, And wreathe their brows with immortal flowers,
" Their armor rings on a fairer field Than the Greek and the Trojan fiercely trod, For Freedom's soul is the blade they wield, And the light above is the smile of God; So, in his isle of calm delight, Jason may sleep the years away,
For the heroes live, and the sky is bright, And the world is a braver world today."
THE LEGAL PROFESSION.
Hon. Alfred S. Kimball spoke for the legal profession in terms as follows : -
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : -
I fully appreciate the honor extended by the invitation to speak for the legal profession. I am not a native of Norway, but I feel pride in the fact that I am today one of its citizens, and that my heart beats in unison with many others, and throbs with a little exultation at the thought of the busy hum of industry which usually pervades our town, and the rapid strides it is taking on the road to prosperity and permanent growth, forcibly illustrated this morning by the extensive and beautiful procession, typifying the various industries of the place, which threaded our streets, to the delight of all the people. But I am expected to say something of the profession of which I am a humble member. A sentiment to which I am glad to respond, for law is the very cement and support of civil society. From its beneficent provisions we derive protection in the enjoyment of our natural rights and acquired possessions. Very early in the history of the world, we find a great leader of the tribes of Israel laying down rules and making laws for the government of the people led by him. And the history of the human race in all ages and countries, is full of lessons concerning the great value of the law, and its proper administration in founding, upbuilding, and preserving good government. The promulgation of the Golden Rule, made long, long ago, furnished ground-work for much law, and under proper conditions, in most civilized countries, is generally practised and regarded by the people. It is always necessary, however, to have certain checks and restraints for the quelling of the turbulent and rebellious ( a small per cent of civilized people). But so far as personal rights and personal liberty is concerned, the people have always been extremely jealous.
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HISTORY OF NORWAY.
Away back on the fifteenth day of June, A.D. 1215, on a little strip of meadow-land, border- ing on the River Thames, about twenty miles from London, known in history as Runney- meade, we find the sturdy English wresting from King John the Great Charter, guaranteeing to the people certain rights of an important nature, and the student of English history, from that time onward, will find that the people were quick to resent any invasion of its provisions, and speedily called their sovereigns to account, who at times had violated, or attempted to violate, its principles, and it is a noticeable fact, so strong were its privileges riveted in the hearts of the people, that no ruler dared long withstand their request, but hastened to restore himself to favor by declaring it to be his unalterable purpose to abide by the provisions of this instrument. Its leading features have been incorporated into our constitutions, both State and national, as a basis upon which to found our Legislative enactments, and much of our national greatness is undoubtedly due to the impartial manner in which the laws of the land have been enforced. Especially has this been the case in our New England communities, peopled by a sturdy race who dug upon our rugged hillsides, and laid deep the foundations of our civilization, building thereon better and more grandly than they, in the simplicity of their untiring faith, ever dreamed, for if men are to dwell together in communities, there must of course be social order. The opposite is anarchy, chaos. For order there must be law - equal, impartial, universal law. For the supremacy of this law there must be administrative authority - the right and the power to institute and enforce law. For the ground of this, the charter of this authority, we come back to the will of the people, which is the source of all power under our Republican form of government, and it is but the nearest inference to add that there is no people where the justice of the statute, and the purity of the magistrate are more closely connected in the popular heart. Civil enactments, inspired by favoritism, or mercenary motives, and an unjust judge, setting up the dynasty of his own prejudices, swayed by his own interests. make the law contemptible in its administration, and revolting to all noble natures. There is nothing, then, that concerns the honor and progress of our people more than to keep the stream that flows from the fountain of justice pure and unadulter- ated, that the honest thoughts, the deep convictions of the people, frankly and boldly uttered, may have no small power in moulding and rectifying any error in public sentiment, which occasionally manifests itself under varying conditions.
Of the men who have resided in and practised law in Norway, I shall individualize but little. They have, as a rule, been men who started in life as poor boys, and whatever of suc- cess they have achieved, has been largely due to their industry and perseverance. I will, however, speak of a few who have been widely known. First comes Luther Farrar, then Levi Whitman. It would be difficult to find two better examples of honorable lawyers. They were true to their clients, but practised the profession in a manner that reflected credit upon it, never lowering its standard for selfish and unworthy purposes, like the mere accu- mulation of fees, but so conducted as to secure the respect and regard of their townsmen, and others by whom they were best known, leaving to their successors in the legal fraternity, the legacy of a good example and upright conduct in their business relations with their fellow- men, which are spoken of at the present time in terms of commendation, although long years have elapsed since they passed from the stage of active life.
Mr. Whitman was for many years the County Attorney for Oxford County, and the records of the court attest the faithful manner in which his official duties were performed. Later on we have the example of him who has today so ably addressed us, the learned lawyer, just judge, whom we all love and respect for his social qualities, his kindness of heart, and
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unswerving fidelity. Others have practiced the law in Norway, who have subsequently made honorable records in wider fields. Notable among them, Hon, Mark H. Dunnell, now of Minnesota, Byron D. Verrill, of Portland, and many others, not forgetting the able President of the day, who has presided with so much grace, and to the perfect satisfaction of all.
And in view of the trusts reposed in the legal profession, upon which property, and per- haps life, in many instances, may depend, how important it is that strict integrity should characterize the conduct of men who hold the secrets of communities within their breasts to a much greater extent than any other class. And to those of us who today represent the profession once practiced in this place by Luther Farrar and Levi Whitman, I would say we cannot do better than to emulate their example, and be promoters of peace, and not of strife. And remember that the lawyer who keeps his clients out of law, as a rule is the most respected among his fellow-men.
Hon. Nelson Dingley, Judge Haskell, and others, also made brief speeches. It was expected that Hon. Dexter A. Hawkins, of New York, would come and grace the occasion by his presence. His father was a former pastor of the Universalist Church, and died in this town, and a sister still resides here, whom Mr. Hawkins was in the habit of visiting every summer. He had promised to be present on this occa- sion, but it was not so to be. He died suddenly at a hotel where he was temporarily stopping, about midsummer of this year. He was a brilliant scholar, an eloquent speaker, and stood high in the legal pro- fession in the city and State of his adoption. Hon. Sidney Perham was present throughout the day. The sons and daughters of Norway, from near and from far, were present in large numbers, but to give their names in this connection would not be possible. In the evening, there was a brilliant display of fire-works from the brow of Pike's Hill, which was witnessed by thousands of interested spectators. The several committees were entitled to much credit for the efficient man- ner in which they performed their duties, and their names are given below :-
GENERAL COMMITTEE,- President, Freeland Howe; Secretary, E. H. Brown; E. A. Morse, J. L. Horne, George A. Cole, George E. Gibson, J. R. Sanborn, Ansel Dinsmore, C. W. Partridge, Rollin Towne, W. H. Whitcomb, and N. W. Millett.
INVITATIONS .- S. S. Stearns, A. S. Kimball, and Mrs. F. W. Sanborn.
MUSIC .- G. L. Beal and W. H. Whitcomb.
PROCESSION .- George P. Young, William C. Cole, and W. H. Tracy.
LITERARY EXERCISES .- C. F. Whitman, Rev. C. E. Angell, C. A. Stevens, and Ellen L. Frost.
TRANSPORTATION. - C. D. Waters.
DECORATIONS .- Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Hathaway, Mr. and Mrs. G. L. Noyes, and J. B. Hazen.
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ANTIQUITIES .- Mr. and Mrs. G. P. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Tucker, Mrs. A. F. Jackson, Mrs. G. L. Reed, Mrs. Winthrop Stevens, Mrs. E. G. Allen, G. A. Brooks, W. H. Whitcomb, Miss Agnes J. Beal, Miss Belle Whitcomb, and Miss Lizzie Mason.
DINNERS .- C. S. Tucker, H. M. Bearce, W. W. Whitmarsh, Mrs. Freeland Howe, Mrs. J. R. Sanborn, and Mrs. F. A. Danforth.
FIRE-WORKS .- A. H. Williamson, G. A. Brooks, and A. J. Rowe.
CONSTABLES .- M. F. Kirwin, Jonathan Blake, M. M. Fuller, W. C. Cole, W. S. Abbott, C. F. Lord.
SPECIAL MOUNTED POLICE .- George F. Lewis, Captain; George Ham, J. H. Aldrich, C. B. Bailey, Oscar G. Bennett, W. S. Benson, Harrison Buck, John N. Bumpus, George Walker, George Carter, C. A. Cates, John Devine, H. G. Dinsmore, S. L. Etheridge, J. W. Everett, A. P. Farnham, H. H. Freeman, F. F. Frost, R. C. Gammon, Henry Hayden, H. H. Hosmer Jr., George W. Holmes, Ira J. Wood, F. F. Stevens, Frank Packard, C. C. Hall, Everett Hall, Jonas W. Swan.
The music furnished on this occasion, both instrumental and vocal, was of a high order, and in full keeping with the other exercises. The attendance was very large. The adjoining towns were almost depop- ulated, while great numbers came from places more or less distant. Probably from twelve to fifteen thousand persons trod Norway soil on that day.
Thus the centennial milestone was passed by the good town of Nor- way, and the event was made the occasion of a celebration never to be forgotten by those present. Such a celebration brings its sad thoughts as well as its pleasant memories. Many who had hoped and expected to see this day had died without the sight, while many natives of the town who had been absent many years, might never have come again, but for this rare occasion which irresistibly drew them hither. To such, and to the inhabitants of the town, the centennial celebration was the great event of their lives, standing out in bold prominence beyond all other experiences. It can occur but once, and when the bi-centennial period comes round, generations yet unborn will be the men and women of Norway. Looking forward, a century seems a long period of time and in a comparatively new country like ours, the centuries of our own past history seem long. But in the Old World, as we peruse its history, the century-waves seem to break upon the shores of time in rapid suc- cession. A writer who stood in view of Westminster Abbey many years ago, and contemplated that ancient and historic structure, gave expression to this sentiment in the following beautiful stanza : -
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"I seem to hear the steady beat Of century-waves against my feet, As generations vast, Are borne unto the dim-seen strand Of that untrodden, silent land, That covers all the past."
The people of Norway commence a new century under the most fav- orable circumstances, and great strides in improvement may reasonably be expected from year to year, and from decade to decade. Centrally located, with great natural facilities for business of various kinds, and with many important branches of business already successfully carried on, it is the leading town in Oxford County, and can easily hold the position it has gained. Nothing can prevent this except the neglect or remissness of its own people, or a groundless antagonism of different business interests. And however varied these interests may be, the prosperity of the town should be a paramount object with all. Capital and labor should work together as equals and copartners, that the fruits of the new century may be increased in a hundred-fold ratio, as com- pared with the old.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
ANECDOTAL.
PRISON EXPERIENCE.
JACOB FROST, who came from Tewksbury to Norway in 1800, was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and having been wounded in his hip by a musket ball, he was unable to leave the field, and was taken prisoner. The inhuman, yea, infamous treatment received by the patriots of the Revolution when they chanced to fall into the hands of the British, is well known, and the case of Mr. Frost proved no exception. He was taken to Halifax, and with others, immured in a filthy prison. The ball had not been extracted from his wound, and the wound, for lack of proper treatment, did not heal, and in this lonesome prison house, he was kept several months, and suffered almost the pangs of death. But he was a man of great powers of endurance, of indomitable will, and exhausted as he was by pain and starvation, he availed himself of the first opportunity to escape. With the assistance of three fellow-prison- ers, he succeeded in undermining a stone from the base of the prison wall, and enlarging the hole sufficient to allow him to crowd out. Two of his coadjutors followed him, but the third one was so large that he could not pass through, and was obliged to remain. Frost and his two associates started for the nearest woods, which they succeeded in reach- ing before the alarm was given, and here they remained all night. Frost was still very lame, and could travel only with great difficulty, but his friends proved faithful, helping him along, and oftentimes carrying him on their backs. They lay concealed during the day, and from his hiding-place under a fallen tree, Frost heard his pursuers as they sat upon it, talking over the matter of the escape. The fugitives had saved something from their scanty prison fare, and subsisted for a while on a few mouldy crusts; after these were gone, they were driven to such straits that they entered a house, and finding nothing but an old shoe, they eagerly devoured it. After a long and tedious journey, they finally
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got beyond the reach of their pursuers, and emaciated and almost worn out, they reached their several homes. He carried the memento of the battle of Bunker Hill in his hip until a few years before his death, when he had it extracted. He lived to be eighty-four years of age, and passed away January 29th, 1839.
HORSE HILL.
Mr. Noyes gives the following account of the origin of the name of this hill. In 1787, when the Parsons brothers and Benjamin Herring came from New Gloucester to Rustfield to fell trees, they had two horses upon which to bring their provisions. One night becoming alarmed at some wild beast prowling near, they stampeded and were not found for a long time. Late in the fall, they were found in a very poor condition, browsing upon the summit of this hill.
PRIMITIVE MARKETING.
For a long time after the Cummings Purchases were settled, there was only one horse in the settlement, an old white-faced mare belonging to Amos Upton. Francis Upton, at one time went to Portland to mar- ket a hog, and the carcass was laid across the pack-saddle and bound on, and in this way the long journey, the first part of the way through a bridle-path, was made. The boy walked all the way to Portland, lead- ing the horse by the bridle. A century's progress cannot be better illustrated than by comparing this primitive trading trip with the facili- ties afforded for marketing today.
PARSON STODDARD'S DREAM.
Among the early preachers for the Orthodox Church in Norway, was one by the name of Stoddard. There was talk of settling him, but for some reason or other, this was not done. Thinking that an influence adverse to him had been exercised by Major Jonathan Cummings, when he preached his closing sermon, he related what he claimed to have been a recent dream. He said that Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils, had recently summoned a grand council to see what should be done concerning the report that had reached him, that Norway was about to settle a preacher. After a lengthy discussion, the Prince of the Demons
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directed that while he was making preparations for a journey earthward, his fleetest horse should be saddled and brought to him. Meantime, one of his counselors suggested that there might be some person in Norway who could be furnished with an agency, and who could do the business just as well as the Devil himself, and thus save the long journey. After thinking of the matter a moment, the Devil exclaimed, "O yes! there is Jonathan Cummings; I had at first forgotten that he was there; he can do the business just as well as I can." So he ordered his horse back to the stable, and remained at home.
FOREST FIRES.
Mr. Luther F. Pingree adds his testimony concerning the terrible forest fires that raged in central Oxford County in 1816. During the year previous, he says, the spruce and fir trees over a large part of Oxford County were killed by worms, and with the refuse of brush left by lumbermen, formed the material for a terrible conflagration. De- structive fires prevailed in Woodstock, Greenwood, and Albany, which destroyed large areas of standing wood and timber, and in some places the soil itself. He adds: "I remember seeing what seemed the world on fire, which some thought was really the fact. From my home there was nothing to be seen for a half day and a whole night, but raging fires. Fences, houses, barns, grain, and hay-stacks, and some crops in the field, fell a prey to the devouring element. This fire caused almost a local famine in our neighborhood, but there was so much land cleared up by the fire, that those who were able to procure seed, put in large breadths of corn, grain, and grass, which in a measure compensated for the losses sustained."
KILLED HIS CORN.
The late Elijah Upton, of Bath, was wont to relate a story of Hoyt Pingree and a neighbor, whom he designated as X. Mr. Pingree was going to the Corner one day, when he passed X, who was planting corn in his field, and the following colloquy took place :-
"Good morning, neighbor, getting in your corn, I see."
"Good morning," says the other, "Think I'll raise corn here this year ?"
29
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"No doubt of it with a blessing," Pingree answered.
"Od-n the blessing; all the blessing I want is a good shovel full of manure."
As the story went, not a kernel of the corn came up, and Mr. X owned that it was because he damned the blessing. And that such an effect followed such a cause, was in perfect accord with the almost uni- versal belief of that time. Modern doubters, knowing that the occur- rence took place in " the year without any summer," will be apt to think that the cold season had quite as deadening an effect upon the corn as did Mr. X's irreverent remark.
" BOLDLY!"
Here is another of Mr. Pingree's stories : " A citizen of Norway had a bull that had become so uproarious that he did not dare to visit the pasture, and finally called upon the town butcher to dispatch the dangerous bovine. They drove him into the barn, and threw a looped chain over his horns, and drew him up to a post. The owner in great trepidation mounted the hay scaffold, out of harm's way, to witness the manipulations of the butcher, who after several hard knocks brought him to the floor. Then the owner leaped from the scaffold, and seizing a pitchfork, commenced goring the bull, exclaiming, "Boldly! boldly ! ! boldly! !! I ain't afraid of you now, and never was, boldly! boldly ! ! boldly ! ! ! "
A SHARP RETORT.
Politics ran high in Norway during the war of 1812-15, and there were Whigs and Democrats in the town. It is related that Joel Towne and Stephen Pingree met at a store during the troublous times of the embargo, and after the usual greetings, comment began to be made on the hard times.
" Ah," says Towne, " we never shall have any good times till we cut all the Federal heads off."
Pingree's retort was, "My God, I would crawl on my hands and knees on the frozen ground barehanded and barefooted, all the way from my house to yours, to cut your head off."
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As they lived five or six miles apart it is safe to say that the elder Pingree never really undertook to rid the world of a Republican at the expense of such a journey.
A PARALLEL CASE.
It is related that at a town-meeting when the contest was between the Democrats and Whigs, a man by the name of Dunn, weighing two hundred pounds or more, was prevented from voting on account of being helped by the town, and feeling as though he was deprived of his rights, he made the following remark :-
" Mr. Moderator, my mother was the mother of seven sons, all robust and hearty men as I am, and more than all that they were all Demo- crats. I don't think you can find such an instance in history," and down he sat.
Hoyt Pingree, who was present, and who was a Whig, was on his feet in a moment and said, "Mr. Moderator, I have read of a case similar to Brother Dunn's in a large book I have at home. It is the case of Mary Magdalene."
A NARROW ESCAPE.
One winter while Benjamin Fuller was living at the Corner, Rev. Mr. Cressey taught the school in that district and boarded at Fuller's. While falling trees in the woods, Fuller had laid his coat upon a stump, and a tree falling upon it, tore the back to pieces.
He wore it home, however, and when Mr. Cressey came from school, he showed his tattered coat and said, "The tearing was done by a tree I was falling."
The minister clasped his hands, raised his eyes heavenward, and sol- emnly said, "What a mercy it was that you did not go to eternity in a moment."
That was a joke Fuller never tired of repeating.
Phineas Whitney, who settled on the Waterford three tiers, and became a resident of Norway, was a soldier in the battle of Bunker Hill. He was in the rude breast-work against which the British troops were advancing, and had just put his last charge in his gun, when a
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British officer mounted the works, and cried out, "Rush on, the fort is ours." Whitney took deliberate aim at the officer and fired, and he never missed his mark. The officer fell headlong into the entrench- ment, and Whitney, clubbing his musket, made good his way out, and escaped.
HOW THE TAILOR WOULD SETTLE IT.
Judge Virgin tells the following story of a certain Norway tailor of forty years ago. It is related in the Judge's own words: "I never shall forget an incident that happened in the evening of the day I came to Norway to live in 1848. It illustrates the independence of Norway people. I went into a tailor's shop and found a number of young fellows loafing there. A man and his wife came in to buy a pair of pants for the man. The tailor suited the man easily enough, but his wife fussed a good deal about the cloth, the price, the cut, etc. At last the tailor exclaimed, so all overheard : 'Look here, Madame! If you are going to wear these pants, get up on that block and I'll measure you, but if your husband is going to wear them, I' Il do the business with him.'"
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