USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume III > Part 85
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but the position lacked the attraction of edu- cational work along lines with which he was especially familiar, and he returned to the col- lege as a graduate student. Probably this was with reference to a position in the University, as at the opening of the next collegiate year he received an appointment as a tutor at Brown, a position which he held until March, 1838. Unexpectedly, carly in February of that year, he received a call to the pastorate of the First Baptist Church in Portland, Maine. Dr. Maginnis, the pastor of the church, had resigned in order to accept the professorship of biblical theology in the The- ological Seminary at Hamilton, New York, and he directed the attention of the church to Tutor Champlin as a desirable candidate for the vacancy. The call was so urgent on the part of the church that while looking forward to the work of teaching as his life-work, Mr. Champlin decided to visit Portland and look at the field. This he did, and after spending several weeks in Portland he accepted the call and was ordained in Portland as pastor of the church, May 3, 1838, President Patti- son, of Waterville College, preaching the ser- mon. Mr. Champlin entered upon his labors with great earnestness, and proved an efficient and successful pastor. June 12, 1839, he was married to Mary Ann Pierce, of Providence, Rhode Island, daughter of Mr. Asa Pierce, a prominent Providence merchant, President Wayland being the officiating clergyman. Mrs. Champlin was a descendant of Captain Mi- chael Pierce, of Scituate, Plymouth Colony, who was slain at the head of his command in King Philip's war on Sunday, March 26, 1676. Captain Pierce was a brother of John and Captain William Pierce, and came to New England not far from 1645, locating first at Hingham and later at Scituate. Mr. Champ- lin's pastorate at Portland was a happy one, but the location of Portland on the sea-coast was unfavorable for a bronchial difficulty that had fastened itself upon him, and which made it difficult for him to discharge his pulpit duties ; and when, in the summer of 1841, Mr. Champlin was elected professor of ancient languages in Waterville College, he deemed it his duty to accept the appointment and re- signed his pastorate. At Waterville he en- tered upon what proved to be his life-work. His associates were scholarly men, and his new duties were congenial to him. To the work of instruction he added the task of pre- paring needed text-books. In 1843 he pub- lished his "Demosthenes on the Crown," which soon came into use in many American col-
leges. Professor Felton, of Harvard College, reviewed the work in the North American Review, and called attention to it as "a valu- able addition to the series of classical books published in the United States." For more than thirty years this was the text-book in general use in American colleges, in the study of this masterly oration. Other classical works followed. In 1855 Mr. Champlin received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Rochester University. Two years later he was elected president of Waterville College. He was also made professor of moral and intellectual philosophy. The college at that time had three buildings, and an invested fund of twelve or fifteen thousand dollars. Dr. Champlin at once entered upon the task of securing for the college an ampler endowment and equipment. The outbreak of the civil war in 1861 interfered for a while with his well-matured plans, but in the third vear of the war he drew the attention of Mr. Gardner Colby to the needs of the college. Mr. Colby was a prosperous Boston merchant, some of whose early years had been spent in Water- ville and Winslow, and whose mother had been befriended by the first president of the college. On revisiting Waterville in 1866, by invitation of Dr. Champlin, he was present at the Commencement dinner, and took the oc- casion to offer to give the college $50,000 on condition that the friends of the college would raise $100,000 additional. By heroic efforts on the part of Dr. Champlin and some of his colleagues this amount was raised. At the suggestion of Dr. Champlin, in recognition of Mr. Colby's generous gift, the trustees of the college voted to ask the legislature of Maine to change the name of the institution to Colby University. This was done, and later the name was changed to Colby College, its present designation. Added funds for building purposes soon came into the treasury of the college. Memorial Hall and Coburn Hall, costing upwards of $75,000, were erected ; and the old chapel and North College were remodeled at an expense of $14.500. In 1872 the funds of the college had increased to $200,000. During this period of endow- ment and upbuilding, Dr. Champlin prosecuted his studies and work of instruction with old- time vigor. With energy and fidelity he dis- charged his many important duties. But in 1872, having served the college thirty-one years, he asked to be relieved of the burden he had carried so long. By request of the trustees he continued his labors another year, and then brought his connection with the col-
W.T. Bather AY
James Pires Champhi
Sevive Historical Pub Ll
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lege to a close, save that he accepted an elec- tion as a member of its board of trustees, a position which he retained until his death. In 1874 he took up his residence in Portland, where the years of his devoted ministry were spent; and there among his books, and in the prosecution of added literary labors, he passed the evening of life. Brown University in 1850 had conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity, and Colby Uni- versity in 1872 conferred upon him the hon- orary degree of Doctor of Laws. He died in Portland, March 15, 1882. The Rev. Dr. Joseph Ricker, of Augusta, who was closely identified with the interests of Colby during Dr. Champlin's connection with the college, well said of Dr. Champlin: "With an unus- ually robust intellect, an honest heart and a fixed purpose he pushed his investigations into every field of inquiry pertaining to the several branches of learning he was called to teach. With unflagging industry he toiled, with pre- eminent fidelity he sought to discharge the great trusts committed in his keeping, and
was faithful in little and also in much. His life has been a distinguished benediction, whether considered in its relation to the church or state, to learning or to religion." His widow, Mary Ann (Pierce) Champlin, died in Portland, May 17, 1892. Their children were James P., Augustus, Caroline and Frank Armstrong.
(VIII) James Pierce, oldest son of the Rev. Dr. James Tift and Mary Ann ( Pierce) Champlin, was born in Portland, Maine, June 9, 1840. He attended the schools in Water- ville, including the Waterville Academy, then under the principalship of James H. Hanson, one of the most distinguished of the heads of the secondary schools in Maine. In 1854 he went to Suffield, Connecticut, where he con- tinued his studies in the academy at that place, remaining a year. In the spring of 1855, in accordance with a fixed purpose to enter upon a business career, he obtained a clerkship in the publishing house of Phillips, Sampson & Company in Boston, and remained with this house a year. In the spring of 1856 he re- turned to Maine and obtained a situation in Portland as a clerk in the wholesale grocery establishment of Davis, Twitchell & Chap- man. Here he remained until the spring of 1860, when he again took up his residence in Waterville and engaged in business there. But after a year he returned to Portland and en- tered into partnership with John G. Twitchell, under the firm name of Twitchell & Champ- lin, the firm conducting a wholesale flour busi-
ness. This partnership continued until 1865, when Mr. Champlin and Mr. Twitchell bought out the interests of Frederick Davis and El- bridge Chapman in the firm of Davis, Twitch- ell & Chapman, wholesale grocers, and changed the name of the firm to Twitchell Brothers & Champlin. In 1868 John Q. Twitchell and James P. Champlin bought out the interest of Mr. Thomas E. Twitchell, and continued the wholesale grocery business until 1872, when they admitted to the firm Mr. Champlin's brother, Frank A. Champlin. Twitchell, Champlin & Company continued the business along the same lines as hitherto until 1890, when the firm was incorporated under the name of The Twitchell Champlin Company. At the first election held by the stockholders Mr. James P. Champlin was made one of the directors and the directors elected Mr. Champlin president each year until 1903, when he declined a re-election. Since that time he has kept in touch with the busi- ness of the company, but has not taken an active part in its management. The corpora- tion has prospered from its beginning. A branch house was opened in Boston at the time of the incorporation of the company. In addition to its large plant on Commercial street, Portland, the company has established canneries in many places, including those at Hiram, Waldoboro, Sedgwick, Machiasport and Lubec, Maine, and Wolcott, New York; while at the home establishment in Portland vegetables and fruits are canned in their season. The company also manufactures brooms and other articles at the Portland plant. The pay-roll of the company at the present time amounts to about $2,000 a week. The Boston branch is continued and The Twitchell, Champlin Company has a wide rep- utation for business integrity and enterprise. Mr. James P. Champlin married, November 2, 1864, Helen F. Perry, daughter of Ezra N. Perry, of Portland. She died October 19, 1895. Their children are Marion Pierce, George Pierce, Arthur Perry and James Pierce Jr. After the death of Mrs. Champlin, Mr. Champlin made his home in Boston, giv- ing his attention largely to the company's business interests there. February 16, 1898, he married, in Bangor, Nettie C. Wiggin, daughter of Andrew Wiggin, of Bangor. They remained in Boston until 1901, when they returned to Portland and took possession of the fine residence erected by Mr. Champlin on Vaughan street. Released from the over- sight of large business interests, Mr. Champ- lin in recent years has devoted much of his
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time to travel. With Mrs. Champlin he has visited many parts of the United States, in- cluding the southern states, California and Alaska. They had also spent some time among the islands of the West Indies, including Trinidad, Porto Rico, Cuba and Jamaica, and in visiting some of the South American states. They have traveled also extensively in the various countries of Europe, in Egypt and in Palestine. Though often urged to ac- cept public office, Mr. Champlin has declined such service on account of the large demands of his growing business interests. These have so largely engrossed his time and attention as to leave no opportunity for service in other fields, however attractive.
(VIII) Augustus, second son of the Rev. Dr. James Tift and Mary Ann ( Pierce) Champlin, was born in Waterville, March 9, 1842. With a view to professional life he prepared for college at the Waterville Acad- emy. Entering Waterville College in 1858, he was graduated in 1862 in the second year of the civil war. The year following he taught a school in Evansville, Illinois. Then for a year he was principal of the academy in China, Maine. He then devoted himself to the study of law, and after admission to the bar entered upon the practice of his profession in Dexter, Maine. Later he turned his atten- tion to fire insurance, and removing to Ban- gor opened an office in that city. In 1878 he removed to Portland and associated himself in the fire insurance business with Sterling Dow, under the firm name of Dow & Champ- lin. Subsequently he devoted himself to the adjustment of fire insurance claims. Later he became the resident secretary of the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company. His judgment in all matters pertaining to fire insurance was frequently sought. He married, February 23, 1888, Carrie H., daughter of William T. and Lucetta S. (Libby) Kilborn, of Portland, Maine. Mr. Champlin died in Portland, September 12, 1897, leaving besides his widow one daughter, Mary, born in Port- land, April 23, 1889.
: (VIII) Caroline, only daughter of the Rev. Dr. James Tift and Mary Ann (Pierce) Champlin, was born in Waterville, January 4, 1846. She studied at the academy in Water -. ville, and later at Miss Bonney's school in Philadelphia. While at school in Philadelphia she was baptized by the Rev. Dr. George Dana Boardman, and united with the First Baptist Church in that city. Of a charming person- ality, active in social and church relations, she endeared herself to a wide circle of
friends. May 19, 1873, she was married to the Rev. Henry S. Burrage, pastor of the Baptist church in Waterville. In October, 1875, her husband became editor and pro- prietor of Zion's Advocate, a weekly religious paper published in Portland, Maine, and that city became, their residence. Two children were born to them, Champlin and Thomas Jayne. Mrs. Burrage died-in Portland, No- vember 24, 1875.
(IX) Marion Pierce, only daughter of James Pierce and Helen F. (Perry) Champ- lin, was born in Portland, Maine, September 24, 1869. She was educated in the Portland schools, and was graduated at the high school in 1889. Afterwards she attended Mrs. Reed's school, Fifty-third street, New York City. October 9, 1895, she was married to Mr. Fred E. Small, of Portland, a salesman and department manager of The Twitchell, Champlin Company, and a son of Benjamin Irving and Henrietta L. (Shaw) Small. They have one child, Helen C. Small, born in Port- land, August 20, 1896.
(IX) George Pierce, eldest son of James Pierce and Helen F. (Perry) Champlin, was born in Portland, March 8, 1872. He was graduated at the Portland high school, and later attended the Portland Latin school one year. In 1890 he became connected with the Boston house of The Twitchell Champlin Company as clerk, and is still connected with that house as one of the directors, and as as- sistant manager of the corporation. Septem- ber 30, 1896, he married in Boston, Massa- chusetts, Mabel Kurr, and they have one child, Dorothy Pierce, born in Boston, November II, 1897.
(IX) Arthur Perry, second son of James Pierce and Helen F. (Perry) Champlin, was born in Portland, June 2, 1873. He studied at the Portland public schools, and later at the Highland Military Academy at Worcester, Massachusetts, with which he was connected three years. In 1892 he entered the employ of the Portland house of The Twitchell Champlin Company as clerk. Since 1903 he has been the treasurer of the corporation- April 7, 1904, he married Frances L. Chap- man, of Portland, daughter of the late Cullen Carter and Abbie (Hart) Chapman.
(IX) James Pierce Jr., youngest son of James Pierce and Helen F. (Perry) Champ- lin, was born in Portland, September 8, 1880. After graduating at the Butler grammar school in Portland, he entered the Highland Military Academy at Worcester, Massachu- setts, and was graduated in 1889. He then
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passed his examinations for entrance to Brown University, and intended to enter the fresh- man class of that institution in September, but was taken ill, and died August 30, 1889, before the opening of the collegiate year.
This old English name is among
FLINT those early planted in Massachu- setts, and is now represented throughout the United States by numerous worthy descendants. It has contributed much to the military annals of New England and has also been known in considerable part in civil development. The Flints of Bedford are descended from sturdy Puritan ancestry, and have preserved intact the sterling integrity and profound religious faith of their fore- fathers.
There are two Thomas Flints among the early settlers of this country. Thomas Flint, who settled in Salem, Massachusetts, is men- tioned for the first time in the town records for the year 1650. His descendants lived in that historic place for several generations, but about the beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury, Captain Nathaniel Flint moved to New Boston, New Hampshire, founding a branch of the family now represented in Bedford, that state. The Thomas Flint, whose line fol- lows, settled at Concord, Massachusetts, where his posterity lived for many generations, and so far as can be ascertained he is no connec- tion of the Thomas Flint who settled at Salem, Massachusetts.
(I) Hon. Thomas Flint, born in 1603, came from Matlock, Derbyshire, England, to Con- cord, Massachusetts, in 1638, and brought with him four thousand pounds sterling. He died in Concord, October 8, 1653, and his will is the first recorded in the Middlesex probate records. His brother, Rev. Henry Flint, of Braintree, and his uncle, William Wood, were executors. According to Shattuck's History of Concord, "He possessed wealth, talents and a Christian character; represented the town four years, and was an Assistant eleven." In Johnson's Historical Collections, he is repre- sented as "a sincere servant of Christ, who had a fair yearly revenue in England, but having improved it for Christ by casting it into the common treasury, he waits on the Lord for doubling his talent, if it shall seem good unto him so to do, and the mean time spending his person for the good of his people in the office of magistrate."
Johnson, in his "Collections," further com- memorates the noble old Soldier of the Cross in the following verses :
"At Christ's commands, thou leav'st thy lands, and na- tive habitation ;
His folks to aid, in desert straid, for gospel's exaltation. Flint, hardy thou, wilt not allow, the undermining fox, With subtill skill, Christ's vines to spoil, thy sword shall give them knocks.
Yet thou base dust, and all thou hast is Christ's, and by him thou
Art made to be, such as we see; hold fast forever now."
Mrs. Abigail Flint, wife of the Hon. Thomas, died in 1689, but nothing further is known about her. There were two sons: Colonel John, whose sketch follows; and Captain Ephraim, born January 14, 1642, died August 3, 1723. On March 20, 1683-84, Captain Ephraim Flint married Jane, daughter of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, and died without issue. He owned about one thousand acres of land, in- cluding Flint's Pond, which was named for him. All these items indicate that the Flints were people of the first standing in the early history of Concord, Massachusetts.
(II) Colonel John, elder son of Hon. Thomas and Abigail Flint, was born, prob- ably at Concord, Massachusetts, about 1640, and died there December 5, 1686. He was a deputy to the general court from 1678 to 1680, and again in 1682. On November 12, 1667, he married Mary Oakes, daughter of Edward and Jane Oakes, and a sister of Rev. Urian Oakes, president of Harvard College in 1667. Mrs. Mary (Oakes) Flint died June 9, 1690. There were eight children born to her and her husband: Mary, October 26, 1668, died May 31, 1675; Thomas, December 12, 1670, died May 29, 1675; John, March 31, 1673, died June 6, 1675; Abigail, January II, 1674-75, married Colonel Daniel Esterbrook; John (2), whose sketch follows ; Mary, August 11, 1680, married Timothy Green ; Thomas, January 16, 1682-83, married Mary Brown; Edward, July 6, 1685, married Love (Minott) Adams. It will be noticed that the three eldest children all died within five weeks of each other, which calls to mind the sad lack of medical knowl- edge in those days, which often gave to dis- eases, which are now easily controlled, the na- ture of an epidemic.
(III) John (2), third son of Colonel John (I) and Mary (Oakes) Flint, was born at Concord, Massachusetts, July 18, 1677, died October 25, 1746. On May 7, 1713, he mar- ried Abigail Buttrick, who died October 7, 1746, two weeks and four days before her husband. It would seem that in some of the early New England towns, women were not wholly without importance, even in those days, for the Concord records make this statement : "Colonel John Flint Late Husband to mrs. Abigail his Wife (now Decasd) Died octo- ber 25:1746." Seven children were born to
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Colonel John (2) and Abigail (Buttrick) Flint : Ephraim, March 4, 1713, graduated from Harvard College, 1733; Abigail, Febru- ary 24, 1715-16; Mary, December 17, 1717, died May 20, 1719; Sarah, May 3, 1720; John (3), whose sketch follows; Hannah, Septem- ber 23, 1724; Jane, April 23, 1727.
(IV) John (3), second son of Colonel John (2) and Abigail (Buttrick) Flint, was born at Concord, Massachusetts, May 12, 1722, died January 20, 1792. He was one of the selectmen from 1771 to 1774. On January 12, 1744-45, John (3) Flint married (first) Hepzibah Brown, daughter of Eleazer and Abigail (Chandler) Brown, and there were seven children, whose births occur with bi- ennial uniformity: Hepzibah, November I, 1747; Edward, whose sketch follows; John, August 11, 1751 ; Abigail, September 6, 1753, died fifteen days later; Nathan, February II, 1755; Ephraim, April 17, 1757; Thomas, May 6, 1759. John (3) Flint married (second) Submit (Bateman) Brown, daughter of John and Anna (Wheeler) Bateman, who was about twenty years younger than himself, for the record says that she died October 11, 1791, aged forty-nine.
(V) Edward, eldest son of John (3) and Hepzibah (Brown) Flint, was born at Con- cord, Massachusetts, 1749, and died there March 18, 1812. His marriage record reads as follows in the old town book: "Edward Flint and Hephzibah Fletcher Both of Con- cord was married at Litchfield by the Revd. mr. John Cotton of that Town by Virtue of Licence Granted him by the Govenor of that province of newhampshire February ye 28, 1770." Nine children were born to Edward and Hephzibah ( Fletcher) Flint; Ephraim, September 14, 1770; Rebeckah, February 2, 1773, died September 13, 1774; Hephzibah, February 22, 1775; Samuel, March 16. 1780; Ephraim, whose sketch follows; Elizabeth, April 22, 1785; Abigail, December 2, 1787; Edward, March 31, 1793; John, February 20, 1797.
(VI) Ephraim, third son of Edward and Hephzibah (Fletcher) Flint, born at Concord, Massachusetts, August 5, 1782, was named after his elder brother who died in babyhood. Ephraim Flint moved to Baldwin, Maine, in 1806, being the first of his line to forsake the ancestral dwelling-place, and he died in his adopted town September 21, 1865, after a resi- dence there of nearly sixty years. Ephraim Flint married Phebe Snow, and among their children was Ephraim (2), whose sketch fol- lows.
(VII) Ephraim (2), son of Ephraim (1) and Phebe (Snow) Flint, was born at Bald- win, Maine, March II, 1819, and died in Do- ver, that state, June 17, 1894. He was edu- cated in the common schools of his native town, and at Westbrook Seminary and the academies of Parsonfield, Gorham, Bridgton and Fryeburg, Maine, where he obtained his preparation for Norwich University in Ver- mont, from which he was graduated in 1841, after a course at the Harvard Law school. He read law with Fessenden and Willis of Port- land, and was admitted to the bar in 1843, and the following year began the practice of his profession at Monson. He remained there seven years, or until 1851, when he was elected clerk of courts and removed to Dover, which became his permanent home. He held the office of clerk of the courts twelve years, or until 1863. From 1864 to 1867 he was secretary of state, and in 1868 was a member of Governor Chamberlain's council. In poli- tics he was originally a Whig, and afterwards became a Republican. By appointment of Governor Coburn he served on the commis- sion to locate the normal schools at Farming- ton and Castine, and in 1869 was chairman of the board of commissioners to revise the statutes of the state. He represented his town in the legislature of 1881. Mr. Flint con- tinued in the practice of his profession up to the time of his death. He was a member of Mosaic Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Dover, and also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. On June 16, 1844, Ephraim (2) Flint married Laura Maria Riley, born at Norwich, Vermont, Jan- uary 20, 1822, died at Dover, April 3, 1899. Five children were born of this marriage, of whom the elder two, Edward and Fannie, born at Monson, both died in babyhood. The sketch of Henry B., the eldest surviving son, follows in the next paragraph. Edgar T., the third son, was born at Dover, Maine, and died at Savannah, Georgia, where he was employed in the post-office. His death was caused by yellow fever. Clara F. Flint, the youngest child, was born at Dover, and was married to Walter Thomas, of Waltham, Massachusetts, who is now in the dry goods business at War- ren, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have two children : Marjorie and Harold.
(VIII) Henry B., second son of Ephraim (2) and Laura M. (Riley) Flint, was born at Monson, Maine, September 10, 1850. He was educated in the schools of Dover, Foxcroft Academy, Franklin School for Boys at Tops- ham, Maine, East Maine Conference Seminary
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