USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume I > Part 12
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from which he graduated in 1875. In 1868 he began to teach school, and partly with the money thus earned and partly with funds sup- plied by his mother, he paid his way while at Bowdoin. He took an interest in certain kinds of athletics, and was a member of Bowdoin's boating crew one year. After completing his college course he continued to teach, and for two years he was employed in high schools in the northern part of Cumberland county. In 1877 he began the study of law with Hon. Bion Bradbury in Portland, Maine, which he con- tinued until his admission to the bar, October 14, 1879. He opened an office in Casco, Maine, where he practiced one year, during which time he served as town clerk and supervisor of schools. In October, 1880, he removed to Portland, and entered upon his career as a practitioner of law, in which he has achieved much success, his practice being in the local courts. He is a member of the supreme judi- cial court of Maine and of the district, cir- cuit, and supreme courts of the United States. His practice has included the ordinary class of commercial litigation, and in addition to that he has been attorney and counsellor for vari- ous towns in Cumberland county. He is well known as an able, reliable and successful law- yer. From December 1, 1892, until May 28, 1894, he was a partner in the law with Colonel Albert W. Bradbury, the firm being Bradbury & McQuillan. On the last mentioned date this partnership was dissolved, Colonel Bradbury becoming United States district at- torney. Since then Mr. McQuillan has prac- ticed alone. In political sentiment Mr. Mc- Quillan is a Democrat, and is one of the trusted leaders of his party. June 6, 1881, he was appointed judge advocate general with the rank of Colonel, on the staff of Governor Plaisted, and served as such until January 3, 1883. In 1882, 1886 and in 1890, he was a candidate for clerk of the courts of Cumber- land county ; and in 1892 and 1896 he was can- didate for judge of probate ; and in each case received the full support of his party in the canvass and at the polls; but the Democratic party being in a minority, he was defeated. Colonel McQuillan is fond of the company of his books, which make a goodly library, and takes that interest in education and literature that every liberally educated man should take. He married, February 5, 1891, Mary Fred- erica, daughter of Governor Frederic and Mary O. (Priest) Robie. (See Robie.) They have one child, Harriet R., born March 14, 1894.
(For first generation see Thomas Wight L.) ( 11) Henry, eldest child of Dca- WIGHT con Thomas and Alice or Elsie Wight, settled with his parents in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1637. In the Dedham records he was called Sergeant Henry Wight. He became a member of the church August 14, 1646. He continued to reside in Dedham after his father and family had re- moved to Medfield. In 1653 he was appointed to a town office in Dedham, and in 1658 he was appointed constable by the general court. In 1661 he was elected selectman and held that office ten years, between that time and the time of his death, February 27, 1680. In 1665 the town granted him one hundred and twenty acres of land, which was an unusually large gift ; but the record gives no explanation as to why it was done. February 24, 1673, Henry Wight was one of the three citizens of Dedham appointed to lay out a house lot for Rev. Samuel Mann at Wrentham, and to take care about the church lot there. He was appointed one of the executors of his father's will, by the provisions of which he received all his father's "houses and lands lying and being in Dedham." This devise included the original grant of twelve acres from the town to Thomas Wight. He died intestate, and his estate was administered by his widow and his son Joseph. His inventory amounted to £524, Is. He married Jane Goodenow, of Sud- bury, about 1652. She joined the church June 12, 1653, and died in Dedham, May 16, 1684. The inventory of her estate footed £462, 8s. 3d. The children of Henry and Jane were: John, Joseph, Daniel, Benjamin and Jonathan, whose sketch follows.
(III) Jonathan, youngest of the five sons of Henry and Jane (Goodenow) Wight, was born in Dedham, July 2, 1662, and baptized July 13, 1662. He removed to Wrentham, where he died intestate, March 20, 1719. He was married August 19, 1687, to Elizabeth Hawes, of Wrentham. She married ( second) February 20, 1722, Samuel Bullard, of Ded- ham. She was living at extreme old age April 2, 1764, seventy-seven years after her first marriage, as is shown by her signature to a deed of release of all her dower interest in the landed property belonging to her first husband The children of Jonathan and Elizabeth were Jeane, Elizabeth, Mehetabel, Marah, Jona- than and Sarah.
(IV) Jonathan (2), fifth child and only sor of Jonathan (I) and Elizabeth (Hawes Wight, was born in Wrentham, January 6
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1700, and died there March 26, 1773. He is called yeoman in a conveyance of land in 1764. His will was made March II, 1773, and pro- bated April 9 of the same year. He married, in Wrentham, February 13, 1721, Jemima Whiting, who died June 24, 1754. He mar- ried (second) December 5, 1754, widow Jeru- sha George. Her will was made May 22, 1792, and was probated February 5, 1793. The children of Jonathan and Jemima were : Jonathan, Jemima, Benjamin, Joseph, Eli- phalet, Elizabeth, Susanna, Timothy, Zubiah and Oliver. Those of Jonathan and Jerusha were: Jerusha and Matilda.
(V) Joseph, fourth child and third son of Jonathan (2) and Jemima (Whiting) Wight, was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts, De- cember 29, 1729, and died in Otisfield, Maine, October 20, 1804. In 1871 he prospected at New Marblehead (Windham), Maine, where long before his remote cousin, Rev. John Wight, had settled. His movements from 1781 to the fall of 1783 are variously reported. In November, 1783, he removed with all of his family, except his son James, from Wrentham, Massachusetts, to Otisfield, Maine, where he settled on "a beautiful ridge of land near the center of the town," a portion of which is still owned by his posterity. He was a farmer and part proprietor of a saw mill upon Saturday pond in Otisfield; and besides attending to farming and milling, he was handy in various mechanical pursuits, as the entries in his ac- count book between 1785 and 1794 show. His family were an uncommonly hardy and ath- letic race ; all were well educated for the times, and became well off financially. Joseph Wight married (first) in Wrentham, September 22, 1755, Abigail Farrington, of the same place, who died August 25, 1758, aged twenty-one. He married (second) July 9, 1763, in Wrentham, Abigail Ware, born December 15, 1740, died March 29, 1799, in Otisfield. He had by the first wife two children: An in- fant and Joseph; and by the second wife seven children : Benjamin, Abigail, James, Thomas, Nathan, Warren and Jonathan.
(VI) Jonathan (3), youngest child of Jo- seph and Abigail (Ware) Wight, was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts, September 7, 1783, died in Naples, Maine, March 1, 1869. He removed in 1783 with his father, as above stated, to Otisfield, but after his marriage he bought a large estate in Naples, Maine, and resided there a long time. He married, in Otisfield, July 6, 1805, Mercy, born December 10, 1788, died February 13, 1861, daughter of Edward and Mary ( Plaisted) Harmon, of
Alfred, Maine. Children : Elvira, Hermon, Priscilla Loud, Abigail Ware, Edward, Tabor, Olive, David Ray, Joseph, Nathan, Mary and Addison.
(VII) Elvira, eldest child of Jonathan and Mercy (Harmon) Wight, was born in Otis- field, April 16, 1807, and married, at Naples, in 1842, Rev. Hugh McL. McQuillan, of Windham, Maine. (See McQuillan. )
HILL It is often pleasant for a quiet New England village to claim by birth- right the name of one who has gained the notice and esteem of the public by his wisdom and judgment in public life and affairs. The attractive town of Eliot, on the rim of the beautiful and historic Piscataqua, has had several public characters who have given honor to this locality, which was their birthplace and boyhood home. Among them is the recent governor of Maine, the Hon. John Fremont Hill, M. D. And not only his public official life, and his energetic business career has established his name, but a very pleasant family genealogy precedes him.
The name Hill begins even at the Plymouth Colony, shortly after the feet pressed Plym- outh Rock. From the famed Plymouth Col- ony ( 1630) the name was familiar in Boston, and in 1639 was known in Dover, New Hamp- shire, now the city not far from the Eliot of Maine.
It was the second John Hill, perhaps, who was in Dover in 1639, and in 1653, whose de- scendants were known both in Dover and in Kittery, now Eliot.
Joseph Hill, of the third generation, was in Dover; a man of strength of character; he was constable and collector of public funds.
Samuel Hill, of the fourth generation, be- came a citizen of Eliot. He was the eldest son of Joseph Hill. Samuel's name is his- toric ; he became a member of the Society of Friends, and the Friends of that section of Eliot became renowned and left a most inter- esting chapter of village story and history. Samuel (4) possessed land on the upper side of Cammocks creek, in Eliot. He married, December 23, 1721, Hannah Allen, daughter of Francis and Hannah (Jenkins) Allen, of Kittery; the names of seven children are on record : Joseph, Isaac, Simeon, Miriam, Ruth, Huldah, Jerusha.
Isaac, son of Samuel and Hannah (Allen) Hill, also resided in Eliot. He married (first) Lydia, daughter of Joseph Roberts, of Dover ; she died September 17, 1769. Married (sec- ond) March 24. 1773, Elisabeth Estes, of
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Dover, daughter of Elijah and Sarah ( Hodg- don) Estes. She died October 10, 1784. Mar- ried (third ) March 24, 1786, Widow Lucy Hill. His children were: Samuel, Simeon, Abner, Stephen, Lydia, Hannah. (The third wife was the mother of Lydia and Hannah.)
Samuel, eldest child of Isaac and Elisa- beth ( Estes) Hill, was born April 13, 1777, died in Eliot in 1865. He inherited his fath- er's estate in Eliot and passed his life there; an honest farmer, and a much respected citi- zen. His kindly face, pleasant voice and man- ner are still remembered. He married, at Salem, the historic city in Massachusetts, by the Rev. Mr. Spaulding, April 28, 1799, Elisa- beth Rawson. She was the daughter of John and Elisabeth ( Bruce) Rawson; she was born February 7, 1776. Their children were : Joseph, Eliza, John, Stephen, Mary, Samuel, Elisabeth, Asa A., Ira, Martha Estes and William, whose sketch follows.
William Hill, youngest child of Samuel and Elisabeth ( Rawson) Hill, was born on the ancestral acres in Eliot, February 4, 1821, and died there, November 27, 1902, aged eighty- one years. He was a man of wealth, a person of sterling integrity, good judgment, execu- tive ability and generously endowed with com- mon sense. Though qualified to fill a high station in business or public life, he chose to follow in the beaten path his ancestors trod ; and was a successful and highly regarded far- mer. He married, November 27, 1849, Miriam Leighton, born May 7, 1819, died No- vember 9, 1876. She was the daughter of An- drew P. and Sarah C. (Odiome.) Leighton, of Kittery. Married (second) Jennie Brooks. The children of William and Miriam Hill were : Ella Bruce, John Fremont, Lizzie Rawson and Howard. Ella Bruce, born Sep- tember 19, 1850, married, November 29, 1877, Homer Hobbs, of Berwick. Lizzie Rawson, born March 23, 1857, married, December 18, 1883, William L. Hobbs, of Dover.
The Hon. John Fremont, M. D., second child of William and Miriam ( Leighton) Hill, was born on the homestead of his ancestors in Eliot, October 29, 1855. He acquired his literary education in the public schools of Eliot, and in the Eliot and South Berwick academies. In 1874 he matriculated in the medical department of Bowdoin College, Brunswick, from which he graduated Doctor of Medicine in 1877. Subsequently he took a post-graduate course at Long Island Hospital, Brooklyn, New York. In 1877 he began the practice of his profession at Boothbay Har- bor. He remained a year, then went to Au-
gusta, where after six months' practice he decided in 1879 to enter a more active busi- ness life, and joined Peleg (). Vickery, of Augusta, in the publication of periodicals. In a short time he became junior partner in the firm of Vickery & Hill, one of the most suc- cessful enterprises of its kind. In 1900 a sub- stantial fireproof building with all modern im- provements was erected in Augusta, to accom- modate the large and constantly increasing business of the firm, now incorporated as the Vickery & Hill Publishing Company. Gov- ernor Hill's fine executive ability and success in business led to his becoming an extensive owner and a leading organizer of electric railroad lines in Maine. From boyhood he entertained an abiding interest in politics, and early in life became an active participant in the councils and campaigns of the Republican party. In 1889 he was elected to represent Augusta in the legislature, and served on the committees on banks and banking, railroads, telegraphs and expresses. In 1891 he was re- elected, and served as chairman of the com- mittee on railroads. In August, 1892, he was nominated by acclamation for senator from Kennebec county, was elected and re-elected, and served in the legislature during the ses- sions of 1893-95, in that capacity, being chair- man of the railroad committee each term. In 1896 he was a presidential elector and in 1899 and 1900 a member of Governor Powers' council. In the latter year he was nominated for governor of Maine, and at the September election following he was elected by one of the largest majorities ever given in the state. The able and business-like address which he deliv- ered at his inauguration the following January foreshadowed an administration in which the duties of the office would be discharged in a proper manner, and the close of his term showed that the people of the state had made no mistake in placing him in the gubernatorial office. The large floating debt incurred during the Spanish-American war was extinguished, and all the financial affairs of the state re- ceived due attention and were in excellent con- dition at the close of his term of office. In 1902 Dr. Hill was a candidate for re-election to the governorship, and his election by one of the largest votes ever cast in an off year was a satisfactory and significant indorsement of his course as an officer. His second term was a period of prosperity in the state, and when he finally vacated the governor's chair he re- tired with the approval of his administration by a prosperous and contented people. Dur- ing his terms of service as the state's chief
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executive, Governor Hill and family resided in the Mansion on State street, in Augusta, which was for many years the home of Hon. James G. Blaine. In 1902 he built, a short distance away, on the same street, in the center of the residential portion of the city, a palatial home of St. Louis brick, with trimmings of Maine granite, which with its artistic furnishings and decorations is one of the finest residences in New England. Governor Hill is a Uni- versalist in religious faith and contributes generously to the support of the organization of which he is a member and also to other similar organizations. He has always felt a deep regard for his native town, and to his encouragement and financial assistance the preparation and publication of its history in 1893 is largely due. He is a member of vari- ous patriotic and fraternal organizations and of several clubs, among which are: The Maine Historical Society ; the Society of May- flower Descendants; the Society of Colonial Wars; the Pepperell Society (composed of de- scendants of Sir William Pepperell) ; the Abnaki Club of Augusta, Maine; the St. Louis Club and the St. Louis Country Club of St. Louis, Missouri ; Augusta Lodge, No. 141, Free and Accepted Masons; Cushnoc Chap- ter, Royal Arch Masons; Trinity Command- ery; Knights Templar; and Kora Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine.
Dr. John Fremont Hill married (first) May 19, 1880, Lizzie G. Vickery, who died April 10, 1893. She was the daughter of Hon. Peleg O. Vickery, of Augusta. He married (second) in St. Louis, April 25, 1897, Mrs. Laura Liggett, widow of Hiram S. Liggett, and daughter of Hon. Norman J. Colman, of St. Louis, who was secretary of agriculture in the first cabinet of President Cleveland. A son, Percy, was born of the first marriage, March 16, 1881, and a daughter by the second marriage, Katharine, born December 23, 1904.
The ancestry of one of the most REED distinguished men Maine ever pro- duced has not been traced far back. The earliest ancestor of Hon. Thomas B. Reed on the paternal side was
(I) Joseph Reed, who resided on Peak's Island in Portland Harbor, where he died April 1, 1852. He married, November 10, 1796, Mary Brackett (see Brackett VI), bap- tized June 9, 1776, died November 13, 1860, daughter of Thomas and Jane ( Hall) Brack- ett. Their children, born on Peak's Island, were : Mary Elizabeth, and Thomas B., next mentioned.
(II) Thomas Brackett, youngest child of Joseph and Mary (Brackett) Reed, was born on Peak's Island, August 24, 1803, and died in Portland, 1883. He married, in 1838, Matilda R. Mitchell. Children : Thomas B., men- tioned below. Harriet E. S., born June, 1846, married Elisha W. Conley, manager of the Standard Oil Works, Portland.
(III) Thomas Brackett (2), only son of Thomas Brackett (I) and Matilda R. (Mitchell) Reed, was born October 13, 1839, in a house on Hancock street, Portland, near the house where the poet Longfellow first saw the light. He attended the public schools where he prepared for college, and in 1856 en- tered Bowdoin College. In his class were. many students who afterward attained dis- tinction. From Portland were Joseph W. Symonds, now one of the foremost lawyers in the state, William W. Thomas, now minister to Sweden, Colonel Albert W. Bradbury, John Marshall Brown, Nicholas E. Boyd and Sam- uel S. Boyd. Other well known members of the class were Hon. Amos L. Allen, since rep- resentative in the national legislature, Horace H. Burbank, of Saco, Abner H. Davis, and John F. Appleton, of Bangor. While he, in a measure, pursued his studies to suit himself and did not follow closely the college curricu- lum, he was still at graduation among the very first in his class for the scholarship required. At commencement he delivered an oration, and the subject he chose was the "Fear of Death," and his method of treating it made a profound impression on his hearers. A classmate said of him: "It is safe to say that no young man ever departed from Bowdoin College leaving behind him a stronger impression of intel- lectual capacity, of power reserved and hith- erto unused, of ability to act a high and noble part in public life or a more universal expecta- tion among teachers and classmates of great and brilliant service in the future. His old teachers at Bowdoin if they were still living would look with no surprise upon the achieve- ments of his life, great and splendid as they have been." After leaving college he taught for something more than a year, being a part of that time an assistant in the Portland high school. During this time he was studying law in the office of Howard & Strout in Portland. Later he went to California, where he was ad- mitted to the bar, but he soon returned to Portland. In April, 1864, he was appointed assistant paymaster in the United States navy, and attached to the "tinclad" "Sibyl," whose commander subsequently performed the re- markable task of bringing the obelisk "Cleo-
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patra's Needle" from Egypt to New York City. Leaving the navy, he returned to Portland and was admitted to the bar. He rose rapidly in his profession and soon became conspicuous in his profession.
His political career began in 1867, when he was elected to the Maine house of representa- tives from Portland. He served on the ju- diciary committee and it was largely due to his efforts that the superior court was established in Cumberland county. After serving two terms in the house he was elected to the sen- ate from Cumberland county. Before his term expired he was chosen attorney general, his competitors being Harris M. Plaisted and Ed- win B. Smith, both men of distinction. He was then but thirty years old, the youngest man who had held this office in Maine. Mr. Reed filled this office three years and during that time he tried many important cases. On his recommendation as attorney general the law was so changed that a wife could testify against her husband. At the end of his term of service as attorney general Mr. Reed be- came city solicitor of Portland and served four years ; many important cases effecting the city's interests arose during this period. At one time Mr. Reed was associated with Manasseh Smith in the practice of law and subsequently for a time with Hon. Clarence Hale, afterwards judge of the United States district court. In 1876 Mr. Reed became a candidate for the Republican nomination to congress against Congressman John H. Bur- leigh, and this marked his entry into national politics. The contest was a memorable one, but Mr. Reed received the nomination by a small margin and was elected by a plurality of about a thousand over his opponent, John M. Goodwin, the Democratic candidate. Un- til he resigned in 1899, Mr. Reed was nomi- nated by acclamation for every successive congress and elected. Mr. Blaine alone ever had so long a career in the house of repre- sentatives from Maine. The house in which Mr. Reed first took his seat was Democratic and he received the treatment usually accorded new members, by being appointed on the com- mittee on territories. He made his first speech in congress April 12, 1878, and its clearness and cogency gave him a high stand- ing in the house. Another opportunity to demonstrate his acumen and effectiveness came when as a member of the Potter committee he took a part in the investigation of the election of 1876, during which proceeding he ex- amined many distinguished witnesses. This made him known throughout the country.
Four years later Mr. Reed was chairman of the judiciary committee, a position of honor and influence. The following three con- gresses were Democratic and Mr. Reed had no conspicuous part except as a debater. Grad- ually he worked himself up to be the recog- nized leader of the Republicans on the floor. The distinction came to him simply through merit. He became the leader of the minority, because his party generally recognized that he was the man best fitted for the place. He had plenty of courage, was ready and effective in debate and thoroughly versed in the rules of the house and parliamentary practice in gen- eral to which he had given special attention. Mr. Reed's leadership excited no jealousies simply for the reason that all felt he had it by right. He had not thrust himself forward, he resorted to no arts to gain it, he simply dem- onstrated his capacity to lead and his party did the rest. In the forty-ninth congress his leadership was formally acknowledged by his party by conferring upon him the nomination for speaker. In the fiftieth congress he also received that honor. In 1888 Harrison was elected president and the fifty-first congress was Republican. Reed, Mckinley and Can- non were candidates for speaker and Reed was made the candidate of his party on the first ballot, and subsequently chosen speaker of the house. It was as speaker of the house that Mr. Reed did the act that will always be re- membered as the most conspicuous one in his career. While the constitution was silent on the point it had been the practice from the foundation of the government not to count members present unless they answered to their names. The result was that frequently while there was a quorum of members actually pres- ent in the house business was paralyzed be- cause they would not answer to their names. There is no doubt that Mr. Reed formed a purpose to count a quorum long before the house met, and this purpose he carried out with calmness and deliberation. He first counted a quorum before the house had adopted any rules, acting under the sanction of general parliamentary law. When the house adopted its rules, one empowering the speaker to count a quorum was included and the practice was forever established that a member present is to be recognized as present for quorum purposes just as much as if he had answered to his name when it was called. There was a great clamor, and the speaker was charged with subverting, for partisan advan- tage, the very foundation of the government. The matter was taken to the supreme court
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