History of Androscoggin County, Maine, Part 37

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew, ed
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Boston, W.A. Fergusson & co.
Number of Pages: 1050

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The greater part of Colonel Moses Little's land in Maine went by inherit- ance to his eldest son, Colonel Josiah Little, who became a leading proprietor of the Pejepscot Company. Like his father he was a man of great energy and executive ability. Every year till he was past 80 he used to visit his lands in Maine, driving over the rough roads alone even after he had lost one hand by a premature explosion while superintending the blasting of a passage through the rapids on the Androscoggin below Lewiston. As the claims of the Pejepscot Company, only established after prolonged litigation, were not always acknowledged, he was often brought into unpleasant relations with the squatters, who were then numerous in Maine. Several of his adventures are handed down, laughable enough were it not that his life was frequently endangered. He was an early and efficient friend of Bowdoin College, as his father before him had been of Dartmouth. His death, which took place 26 December, 1830, was the result of an accident by which his thigh was broken. In character he was a genuine son of the Puritans. Honest towards God and man, he expected the same of others. Though his indomitable will and a certain brusqueness of manner may at times have concealed the fact, he was possessed of a warm, generous heart. In 1826 Edward Little, the second son of Josiah Little, moved to Danville and took personal charge of his father's property. For the next twenty years no man exercised an equal or a more beneficent influence than he upon the growing community, now the cities of Lewiston and Auburn. Mr Little had been educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated at Dartmouth in 1797. He had studied law with Chief Justice Parsons and had practiced his profession with marked success for several years in his native town of Newburyport, Mass., serving repeatedly as delegate to the General Court, and as prosecuting attorney for the county. For a number of years he was publisher of the law reports of the common- wealth, and gradually abandoned his profession and engaged in publishing and selling books. In business he met with reverses, both at Newburyport, where he lost nearly all his property in the great fire of 1811, and subsequently at Portland where he experienced a similar misfortune. When he took up his residence at Lewiston Falls, fifty years of life had taught him the value of moral and intellectual, as well as of material prosperity to any community, while

Edward Little.

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they had not diminished in the slightest the energy and activity characteristic of youth with which he was ready to undertake any new enterprise. He also felt the personal responsibility resting upon him as owner of much of the neighboring soil. He took special pains in finding mechanics and artisans of good character and encouraging them to settle in the village. He started one of the first carpet mills in the state. He was prominent in building and maintaining the bridge across the Androscoggin.

He was interested in every endeavor to improve the magnificent water- power of which he was the owner, and when the necessity of outside capital for its complete development became manifest, he pursued a policy as generous as it was far-sighted, selling at what many would have considered a nominal price, and receiving a large part of this in the stock of the new corporation. To the interest he felt in education, ample testimony is given by his establish- ing and endowing Lewiston Falls Academy. He was a pioneer in the temper- ance reform, held radical views on the subject, and was not slow to express his displeasure with those who persisted in the use and sale of intoxicating liquors in the face of the resulting evils. All his moral earnestness did not, however, keep him from appreciating or occasionally from playing a joke. On one occasion the violent ringing of the academy bell in the early dusk had called forth him and many others, each equipped with leather fire-bucket to extinguish the conflagration presumably raging somewhere in or about the village. No one knew or could learn where it was. The bell continuing to ring with undiminished vigor, Mr Little, with the promptness that distinguished him, hastened to interview the ringer. This proved to be a native of the place decidedly under the influence of Medford rum. In reply to the question " Where is the fire ?" he could only mumble, "Fire ! Fire ! Guess it's here." " Well," said the Squire, " let's put it out." And half-a-dozen buckets of cold water were promptly administered with decidedly good effect. In early life Mr Little's religious views were inclined toward the Unitarian wing of the Congregational churches, but under the preaching of Rev. Dr Edward Payson, of Portland, his religious convictions were greatly deepened and his opinions became in a most pronounced degree evangelical. He gave the land for the first church in the village, met nearly one-half the cost of its erection, and for some time supported public services practically at his own expense. Others were expected to contribute as they felt able, the balance being supplied by him. During the long life of 76 years, which closed on earth 21 September, 1849, he fulfilled to the letter the scripture motto aptly chosen as the text of his funeral sermon, " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might." No mention of Mr Little's life would be complete without allusion to his three sons and to his two daughters, who, with their husbands, became residents in the village, were active in the same lines of work as their father, and have all, save the youngest, passed to their reward. The eldest son, Deacon Thomas

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B. Little, who survived his father only a few years, was particularly prominent in business activities, engaged in trade and manufacturing, and was interested in the purchase and sale of wild lands. He was elected county commissioner of Cumberland county in 1838, 1841, and 1853. Of his large family only a son and a daughter are now living, the son, Henry, well known as postmaster at Auburn for many years. The second son, Deacon Josiah Little, was a suc- cessful lawyer at Minot and at Auburn, and afterwards engaged in trade and manufacturing. He was resident for a shorter period than the others, but left as a silent witness of his stay here the noble elms that stand in front of the Elm House, Auburn, the site of his former home. Of his ten children only one, ex-Mayor Little, of Lewiston, is now resident in this county. The youngest son, Edward T. Little, was a lawyer, and for many years judge of probate for the county. His widow and two grandchildren are residents of Auburn. The eldest daughter, Hannah, married Samuel Pickard, and with her husband is held in grateful memory by many of the generation now passing off the stage of active life. Of their large family one son, John Pickard, a shoe manufact- urer, occupies the homestead and maintains its traditions in both church and business circles. Mr Little's youngest daughter, Sarah, wife of Charles Clark, for many years United States marshal, survives at an advanced age, and with mental powers unimpaired is keenly alive to the interests of the present, as she has been to those of the past generation. By Mr Little's second marriage he came to stand in the place of father to several other residents of Danville, of whom one only, Mrs Harriet Chase Reynolds, the wife of Major Reynolds, is now living.

BENCH AND BAR.1- In the history of Androscoggin county the bench and bar deserve a prominent place. Not only on account of the ability and learning for which it has been fairly and justly noted, but also for the integrity and honorable practice in the courts for which it has always been distinguished. At the time of the incorporation of the county, the members of the legal profession resident within its limits had, prior to that time, practiced their profession in the four counties out of which the towns forming this county had been taken. Coming together with somewhat different methods in the minor details of business, they, from the beginning, manifested a profound respect for the dignity of the court, and adopted and have, from that time forth, suc- cessfully maintained a high standard of practice, not only by the most respectful conduct towards the presiding judges, but also by honorable intercourse with each other, and faithfulness to the interests of their clients, striving in an eminent degree to accomplish the ends of justice in every cause, without unnecessary and prolonged litigation. Some of its members attained high positions in the courts of the state and in the councils of the state and nation, while others have obtained a well deserved reputation for their intellectual

1 By Hon. Nahum Morrill.

Jodie L Lite,

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abilities and accomplishments as counselors and advocates. The influence of the Androscoggin Bar Association, by its honest, wise, and generous profes- sional conduct and high character, has promoted the pure and uncorrupted administration of the laws, the protection of the rights and property of the people, and a high standard of morals among the inhabitants of the county. Many of its early members have passed beyond the bounds of time. They have run their course, and "after life's fitful fever, sleep well."

Several gentlemen, educated for the bar, were residents within the limits of the county in the first quarter of the present century, and for a few years practiced their profession, but very early abandoned it for other pursuits, or moved to other parts of the state. Among them was EDWARD LITTLE, son of Josiah Little, of Newbury, Mass., the proprietor of the Pejepscot purchase. In early life he practiced in Newburyport, Mass., and was at one time county attorney of Essex county, but after coming to Maine he was principally engaged in prosecuting other business, and, after becoming a resident of Danville, the care of his father's and his own estates entirely engrossed his attention. He was chief justice of the Court of Sessions in Cumberland county from 1826 to 1828. Few men in any community have exerted a wider beneficial influence. He was a man of deep and abiding religious convictions, and had the courage to defend his views upon religious subjects upon all occasions. He contributed more than any other man to the formation and maintenance of the Congrega- tional church and society at Lewiston Falls, both by personal influence and money. He was the means of founding and endowing Lewiston Falls Academy, now known as the Edward Little Institute, and is the high school of Auburn. His statue adorns the school grounds and park. He ardently espoused the cause of temperance from the inception of the crusade against the use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage, neither using them himself or countenancing the use by others. Every worthy young man who became a resident of the town, engaging in laudable and legitimate pursuits, always found a friend in Mr Little. His memory will ever be cherished for his disinterested benevolence, public spirited efforts in behalf of the town and community in which he lived, and as a benefactor of his race.

JOSIAH LITTLE, second son of Edward and Hannah (Brown) Little, was born in Newburyport, Mass., April 29, 1801, and was seventh in descent from his English ancestor, George Little, the line being 1George, 2 Moses, 3 Moses, 4 Moses, 5 Josiah, 6 Edward, - Josiah. He was educated at Bowdoin College, studied law with his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1822. He practiced his profession in Minot and later in Auburn, where he built the Elm House and occupied it as his residence until about 1838. During this period he was interested in and gave much of his time to the business of the Lewiston Falls Manufacturing Company, of which he was clerk and director, and a heavy stockholder. He was a director of Auburn Bank and of the

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Maine Central Railroad, and was agent of the Lewiston Water-Power Company when its property and privileges were purchased by the Franklin Company. From the Elm House Mr Little moved to the Thompson farm, and later purchased and occupied the house where Mayor Savage now lives. In 1841 he disposed of his interests in Lewiston and Auburn, and after a few years' residence in Winthrop, where he had purchased an interest in a mill, engaged in the iron and steel business in Portland as member of the firm of Storer & Little, and later Stevens & Little. After he retired from active business his life was passed in leisure at Auburn, Portland, and Newburyport. He died August 9, 1865. Josiah Little married first, September 2, 1822, Mary II. Cummings, of Norway, Me; second, March 30, 1830, Nancy W. Bradford; third, May 26, 1835, Sally Brooks, a daughter of Thomas Brooks from Scituate, Mass., and Mehitable (Raymond) Brooks, of Lyman, Me, a cousin of the preceding, and fourth, May 25, 1850, Charlotte Ann Brooks, a sister of Sally, who survives him. His children were: Elizabeth M. T., Edward, Francis B., Mary C., Josiah, Nancy B., Horace C., and George. Horace Chapin Little was born in Auburn, January 14, 1840, and married, November 1, 1860, Rosa J., daughter of Jacob H. and Ellen (Blake) Roak of Auburn. Their children are Nellie R. (Mrs Prof. Charles H. Clark), Nancy B. (Mrs Dr Sherman G. Bonney), Jacob R., Lottie B., Rose, Lucy. He served in the late war, and was elected captain of Company B, Twenty-third Maine. He has been engaged in manufacturing and insurance business, has been postmaster at Lewiston, and mayor in 1888 and 1889. He is prominent in Masonic circles, possesses many of the traits of his father, and stands high in public esteem.

Josiah Little was a business man of sound judgment and untiring energy, prompt and accurate in all his dealings, judicious, enterprising, and successful in the execution of his far-sighted plans. He believed it the duty of every citizen to make the community better for his having lived in in. He was an ardent advocate of morality and progress, deacon of the Congregational church, an earnest supporter of Christian institutions and ordinances, and liberal in his contributions for worthy objects ; his giving at one time one thousand dollars for the laboratory of the Lewiston Falls Acadamy (of which he was one of the trustees) is an evidence of this. His pleasant and winning manner, his frank and honest countenance, and his rare conversational powers, stamped him as a gentleman by nature as well as by refinement and culture, and made the stranger instinctively his friend. In every position in which he was placed in business life, as well as in the deeper and holier relations of the home circle as husband and father, he exemplified the highest virtues of a Christian character. His rare qualities of mind and heart made him loved by all who knew him, and respected by many who were acquainted with him only by his deeds of benevolence, and the lapse of years has not weakened the affectionate remembrance in which he is held.

Educare y Site

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EDWARD TAPPAN LITTLE, son of Edward Little, was born in Newbury- port, Mass., December 29, 1809. He came to Danville (now Auburn) with his father's family and there resided the remainder of his life. His academical education was acquired at the Portland Academy, then under the charge of that noted master, Bazaleel Cushman, and at the Gardiner Lyceum under Rev. Benjamin Hale, D.D. He studied law with his father and was admitted to the Cumberland Bar in 1833. He was a trustee of Lewiston Falls Academy (now the Edward Little Institute) and contributed liberally to its endowment. He held the office of selectman in Danville in 1847, 1848, and 1854; was also town agent, and a member of the superintending school committee; was a representative to the state legislature from Danville in 1847 and 1855, and from Auburn in 1864 and 1866. He was one of the directors of the Maine Central Railroad Company, and was also clerk of that company. He was judge of probate for Androscoggin county from June, 1859, to January, 1864. Judge Little was a sound lawyer and safe counselor, held in high esteem by the judges of our courts and members of the profession, as well as by his fellow- townsmen. He was a public-spirited citizen and used his influence to promote every enterprise that would benefit his town. He maintained through life a high character for integrity and honesty. No man ever justly charged him with dishonorable conduct, and few men have passed through life more generally and highly respected by all who knew them. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Melinda Adams, daughter of Rev. Weston B. Adams, of Lewiston Falls. Their son, Edward Adams Little, born May 15, 1841, was a merchant and manufacturer, a director of the First National Bank, a trustee of Auburn Savings Bank, and served as councilman of Auburn. He died April 14, 1876. He married Susan M. Jordan. Their children are Edwin T. (a lawyer of Denver, Col.), Horace (a manufacturer in Auburn), and Mabel. His second wife was Miss Lucy Bliss, daughter of Zeba Bliss, Esq., of Taunton, Mass. (afterward of Auburn), who, with one son, Prof. Geo. T. Little, of Bowdoin College, survive him. He died at Auburn, November 5, 1867.

HON. REUEL WASHBURN was born in Raynham, Mass., May 21, 1793. He gradnated at Brown University in 1814. After graduating, he read law with Judge Parris three years and upon his admission to the bar established himself in business at Livermore, where he continued to reside until his death. He married Miss Delia King of Raynham, Mass., October 19, 1820, who survived him nine years. Soon after becoming a resident of Livermore he joined the Oriental Star Lodge of F. and A. Masons, of which lodge he was Master, and was also a Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maine, and faithfully observed his obligations under all circumstances, especially during the dark days of Masonry, when public prejudice ran high against the order. The town of his adoption, early recognizing his ability, bestowed upon him municipal offices, and committed to him, in a large measure, the direction and supervision of

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its financial affairs. He faithfully and economically discharged the trust. Recognizing the importance of educating the youth of the land, he fostered the common schools. Deeply imbued with the sentiments of religion, he always supported public religious worship according to the Universalist faith, not only by liberal contributions of money, but, what was of equal importance, by constant attendance thereon, and exemplified the purity and value of the religion he professed by a correct life. He was register of probate for Oxford county from 1821 to 1823, was state senator from Oxford county in 1827 and 1828, and a member of the executive council in 1829. He repre- sented Livermore in the state legislature in the years 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, and 1843. He was general assignee under the bankrupt law of 1841, and judge of probate for Androscoggin county from 1857 to 1859, and president of the Androscoggin Bar Association from its organization until his death.

It was as a lawyer, as well as a public officer, that the strict integrity of his character appeared. He was a prudent and safe counselor. He deeply interested himself in his clients' welfare and faithfully advocated and protected their interests by every honorable means. He was most happy in his family relations, prizing above all things the pursuits and pleasures of the family circle. When death claimed him, he was in attendance upon the annual town meeting, March 4, 1878. He had just concluded an address to the assembly upon a matter of importance to the town, when, upon resuming his seat, he yielded up his life. He was faithful to every trust confided to him, whether as a citizen, lawyer, or judge.

SAMUEL MOODY was born in York, May 12, 1799. He was graduated from Harvard College in 1823, studied law in Fryeburg, in the offices of Stephen Chase and Judge Dana. He married Eliza Chamberlain in 1827, and soon after marriage opened his office in Lisbon, where he resided the remainder of his life. He was appointed postmaster in 1832, and held the office three years. He was county attorney for Lincoln county, which office he resigned in 1838. He was a proficient lawyer and advocate. He secured an extensive business while he devoted himself to his profession. During the latter part of his life he engaged in lumbering, agriculture, and other occupations, more than in his profession. He died November 28, 1874, leaving no children.

HON. SETH MAY was born in Winthrop, July 2, 1802. He received his education in the common schools of Winthrop, and at Monmouth, Litchfield, and Hallowell academies. In boyhood he evinced considerable aptitude for learning. He possessed an active and inquiring mind which led him in early life to form the habit of thorough investigation. The logical element of mind predominated. With a ready command of language and the power of discrim- ination he was forcible in arguments, quick to perceive the fallacy or sophistry of his opponent, and efficient in exposing and refuting it. In 1828 he entered the office of Dudley Todd, Esq., in Wayne, where he studied nearly three

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years. He was admitted to practice in the courts of Maine in 1831, and subsequently admitted to practice in the courts of the United States. He commenced practice in Winthrop, and continued until 1855. He rose rapidly in his profession, and his practice extended throughout the state. He was especially successful as an advocate, and possessed great skill in the examina- tion of witnesses, particularly in cross-examination, for which he became quite noted. As a lawyer it was his particular forte to expose the tissue of false- hood and the coloring of interest and prejudice, which so often accompany the testimony of witnesses in court. In May, 1855, he was appointed associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, which he accepted, and discharged its duties ably, impartially, and acceptably to the public to the end of his term in May, 1862. He returned to the practice of law, and in 1863 moved his residence to Auburn, and opened an office in Lewiston with his son, John W. May, under the firm name of S. & J. W. May. He was appointed register in bankruptcy for the second congressional district of Maine in 1867, at the time the national bankrupt law of that year went into operation, which office he resigned in February, 1873, and was succeeded by his son. In his professional life he was associated with and on terms of intimate personal friendship with many prominent lawyers of the Kennebec bar and other parts of the state.

As a citizen, Judge May occupied a prominent place. He was liberal, public spirited, a friend to his country and humanity. He was early identified with the anti-slavery movement, one of the pioneers who did not hesitate to speak and act for that cause and its advancement at a time when it required great resolution and strong convictions of duty to encounter the opposition with which it was at first received. He co-operated with many of the first advocates in Maine of that great national reform, among whom were Professor Smith, of Bowdoin College, Rev: David Thurston, of Winthrop, and Gen. Samuel Fessenden, of Portland. Notwithstanding its unpopularity, he always esteemed it a privilege and a pleasure to associate with and entertain the courageous men who persevered in the hard work of the early years of the cause. He died at Auburn, September 20, 1881.

JABEZ CUSHMAN WOODMAN, born January 23, 1804, in New Gloucester, graduated from Bowdoin in 1822, soon began practice at Poland Corner and moved to Minot Corner before 1834, and subsequently was a resident of Portland. He was a good counselor. He died November 8, 1869.

HORATIO GATES CILLEY was a son of Hon. Horatio G. Cilley, of Deerfield, N. H., from which place he came to Lewiston. He was born November 26, 1805. He was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1826, and studied law under the direction of Hon. George Sullivan, commencing his professional life in Deerfield in 1830. He was a lawyer of respectable learning, a courteous gentleman, and was a representative of Deerfield in 1851 and 1852. After becoming a resident of Lewiston he did not acquire a very extensive business

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in the practice of law. Having sufficient property for his maintenance, he, after a few years, relinquished practice. He died March 13, 1874.

TIMOTHY LUDDEN, son of Captain Levi Ludden, was born in Hartford in 1807. He was educated in common schools, and at Farmington Academy, under the preceptorship of Nathaniel Greene, A.M. He was engaged in trade for a short time in Peru, and for several years was a town officer in Peru. Having a predilection for the legal profession, he read law in the office of Hon. Charles Andrews, then of Turner, and was admitted to the bar in Oxford county at the June term, 1841, of the Western District Court, and immediately opened an office in Turner, where he continued until 1858, when he moved to Lewiston and practiced until his decease. He was appointed judge of probate for Oxford county in 1852 and held the office until 1856. He was reporter of the decisions of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1857 and 1858, comprised in volumes XLIII. and XLIV. of the Maine Reports. He married first, in 1831, Bethia Fobes, of Peru; second, in 1837, Miss Sara Conant, of Sumner. He died in Lewiston in March, 1859. Judge Ludden was a man of studious habits, a good lawyer, and an advocate of more than common ability. He could point with pride to his ancestry. His grandfather, Joseph Ludden, was one of the Boston Tea Party, and his mother, whose maiden name was Remember Soule, was a descendant of George Soule, one of the Pilgrim band that came over in the Mayflower and landed on Plymouth Rock.

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History of Androscoggin County, Maine, Part 37

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew, ed Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Boston, W.A. Fergusson & co. Number of Pages: 1050

Author: Merrill, Georgia Drew, ed
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Boston, W.A. Fergusson & co.
Number of Pages: 1050