History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 44

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 780

USA > Maine > Cumberland County > History of Cumberland Co., Maine > Part 44

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Portland Inner Harbor, formed by Fore River, has be- tween Portland Bridge and the Breakwater, on one side, and Fish Point on the other, an area of six hundred and seventy-seven acres, and an average depth, at mean high water, of about thirty feet. Vessels of the largest size ever built can enter the lower harbor day or night with forty feet of water at low tide, and lie safely at anchor in that depth inside of a line connecting the breakwater with Fort Gorges, and distant not more than a half-mile from the Great Eastern Steamship wharves.

#See article Topography, in general chapter of this work.

Everts & Peck, Pubr's,

HOMESTEAD OF THE LATE HON. ASA CLAPP. NOW THE RESIDENCE OF ASA W. H. CLAFP, FORTLAND. MAINE.

P.F. Goist, del.

AsA Cover was a descendant in the fifth generation from Thomas Clapp, who was born in Dorchester, England. in 1597, and arrived from Weymonth, England, on the 24th of July, 1633. The name of Thomas Clapp appears in 1634 on the town records of Dorchester, Mass., where his brothers, Nicholas and John, settled, lived, and died. lle was admitted a freeman in 1638, and removed to Wey- mouth, Mass.

Asa Clapp died at bis residence in Portland. Me., April 17, 1848. lle was born in Mansfield, Bristol Co., Mass., March 15, 1762, and was the oldest son of Abiel Clapp, a farmer of high respectability, and who filled what were thon considered very important stations in the towns of New England,-the offices of magistrate and the com- mander of the military company in that ancient municipality. Being deprived of his parents at an carly age, he was left entirely dependent upon his own exertions for advancement. This patriotic orphan boy, at the age of sixteen, gallantly volunteered to act as a substitute for a young man who had been drafted as a soldier in the expedition under Gen. Sullivan, for the expulsion of the British army from Rhode Island. He was immediately appointed a non-commissioned officer, and remained in service until bonorably discharged. With a seeming inherent devotion to the cause of liberty, he, without money, proceeded on foot to Boston, and immediately embarked on one of the numerous private armed vossels which were fitted out in all the northern ports. He was very soon promoted to the first lieutenantey, and his bravery, intelligence, and skill, evinced in various naval en- gagements as a navigator, obtained for him command of a ship just as he reached the era of manhood.

lle married, in 1787, Eliza Wendell, daughter of Jacob Quincy, of Boston, who was a distinguished physician of that place. She was a lady of great personal attraction, a devoted and affectionate wife and mother, and a sincere and exemplary Christian. She died November. 1853, at the age of ninety years. In 1793, when Great Britain and other powers of Europe attempted to close the commerce of neutral nations with France, Mr. Clnpp, then commanding a ship trading be- tween the United States and Europe, was captured by Sir Sidney Smith, taken to England, and there detained six months, when the Court of Admiralty, by a decree, released his ship and paid for the cargo. So ably was the affair managed by him that, instead of prov- ing a loss, it resulted in a gain to the owners.

He established himself as a merchant in Portland in 1796, became largely interested in commerce, and enjoyed n credit unsurpassed by any other American merchant of that day. He had a thorough knowledge of the commercial affairs of other nations, and spared no exertions in nequiring such facts as would tend to enlarge the channels of trade or contribute to his own store of useful informa- Tion.

On Dec. 22, 1807, when Congress laid a general embargo on the shipping in the ports of the United States, Mr. Clapp was among the tirmest supporters of this government measure, although adverse to his own interests. In 1811 he was a member of the Council of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. When Congress laid an embargo on all vessels within the waters of the United States, the Ith of April,

1812, and when, a few months later, war was declared between Great Britain and the United States he gave the government his warmest support, notwithstanding nearly all his ships were driven from the ocean and laid up to decay in the docks. At this time, when the finances of the government were in an embarrassed condition, and its enemies uttering the bitterest anathemas against the administra- tion, he came forward voluntarily and subscribed more than one-half of the whole amount of his property to sustain the national credit, and took his place in the volunteer corps as a common soldier. Ilis resi- dence during that period was a place of general resort for the officers of the army and navy, and the constant scene of a generous hospitality that was not surpassed in New England. His views of the relations that should exist between the government and the governed were of a purely democratic character, and such as are now maintained by our most far-secing statesmen. Upon the close of the war, in 1815, he resumed his commercial trade, and was very successful, having vessels in trade with Europe, the East and West Indies, and South America. He became one of the most fortunate and distinguished merchants of Maine. In 1816 he was appointed by the President one of the com- missioners to obtain subscriptions to the capital stock of the Bank of the I'nited States, to which corporation he was the largest subscriber in Maine. Ile was a careful and skillful financier. Having beeu a strenuons advocate for the independence of Maine, he was elected one of the delegates of the convention, which was held in October, 1819, for forming the constitution. lle was for several years a representa- tive from Portland in the Legislature, and his opinions upon all the various subjects for consideration were always respected and listened to with profound attention. His practical knowledge of the tariff led members of Congress and others to seek his counsel.

After the many vicissitudes through which Mr. Clapp had passed. -now as a soldier in the Revolution, now as a fearless defender of the flag of his country on the seas, now as the pioneer and director of the commerce of a great State, and rendering aid and comfort to the government by loans in its time of great need .- the services he had rendered were recognized, in the only manner then admissible, by the chief magistrate of the nation.

President Polk, in visiting Portland in the course of his tour through New England in the year 1817, on learning that Mr. Clapp. then in his eighty-fifth year of age, was confined to his house by illness, immediately called, in company with the Hon. James Buchanan, thea Secretary of State, and Commemore Stewart, to pay his respects to the venerable gentleman who had manifested so much devotion to the welfare of his country. Mr. Clapp, with difficulty, arose to his feet and briefly addressed the President, welcoming him to his residence and congratulating him warmly upon the historic Innrels which hi: mulministration had won in its condort of the war, then successfully progressing with Mexico.

Mr. Clapp was a man of wide breadth of mind and capable o foreshadowing future results. His beneficence was as expansive a his means were ample for its gratification, and his ('bristian character and rectitude of principle were as instructive to the rising, as encour aging to the past generation.

Photo. by M. F. King.

AW. H. C.afp

ASA W. H. CLAPP, son of the late Hon. Asa Clapp, was born in Portland, Me. He was educated at the military academy at Norwich, Vt., then under the superintendence of Capt. Alden Part- ridge.

After graduating at that institution, in Deccm- ber, 1823, he returned to his native city, and for many years was extensively engaged in foreign commerce, until within a short period previous to the death of his father,-the year 1848,-when he retired from business.

He represented the Congressional district of

Cumberland County, in the State of Maine, in the Thirtieth Congress of the United States.

He is interested in and a supporter of all local enterprises tending to make society better and estab- lish law and order.

He is a director of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, a director of the Mainc General Hospital, and a director of the Portland Institute and Public Library.

Hc married Miss Julia M., daughter of the late Gen. Henry A. S. Dearborn, of Roxbury, Mass., and has one daughter,-Miss Mary J. E. Clapp.

167

CITY OF PORTLAND.

Portland, with its dependent suburban villages, numbers not less than 50,000 population. In the locality is included Point Village, Ferry Village, Knightville, Turner Island, Ligonia, Brighton, Libby Corner, Woodford's Corner, Mor- rill's Corner, Deering Point, and East Deering. All these, it is probable, will eventually be combined in one corpora- tion. They all have a common business centre,-Portland. The following table will show the population at different periods :

1800. 3,704

1850 20,815

1810. 7,169

1860

26,342

1820 8,581

1865

30,124

1830

12.601

1870

31,418

1840

15,218

1875 34,420

In the spring of 1876 a census taken by direction of the city authorities showed 35,031. The territory of the city proper embraces about 1666 acres, the smallest area of any city or town in the State ; yet its estimated population, ex- elusive of the suburban villages, in March, 1879, was 36,500.

Portland has thirty-five churches and places of public worship; nineteen well-conducted public schools, attended by about five thousand scholars; twenty newspapers and periodicals,-three daily, eleven weekly, seven monthly, and one quarterly. It is well equipped with charitable, lite- rary, and musical associations and public libraries ; has six national and two savings banks, and several of the finest public buildings in the State, among which are the city government building, the custom-house, and the post-office.

The city government building covers an area of 26,155 square feet. It is 221 feet in length on Myrtle Street, and has a frontage of 150 feet on Congress Street. The corner towers are 75 feet high ; the dome is 160 feet high. There are in all 80 rooms in the building. It contains all the City Hall, all the city and county offices, public library, court- rooms, and cabinet of natural history. The City Hall is 113 feet long (interior dimensions), 80 feet wide, and 35 feet high. Its southwestern gallery is 21 feet wide; the side galleries 9 feet in width, and it is capable of hokdl- ing 3000 people. On the occasion of the appearance of the actress, Maggie Mitchell, 2700 tickets were taken up.

In front of the City Hall, near Myrtle Street, stands an elm known as La Fayette Tree. It was upon a platform under this tree that La Fayette received the citizens of Portland on the occasion of his last visit to America.

Lincoln Park is bounded by Congress, Franklin, Federal, and Pearl Streets. It has an area of 108,530 square feet, or little less than 23 acres.

Lincoln Tree is an elm which stands in front of the high- school building, on Cumberland Street. It was hauled there from near the dwelling-house of the late Charles Baker. Some person, whose name is unknown, placed in the hands of' the mayor of the city the sum of $50 for the purpose of having a tree set in a suitable place in com- memoration of the martyred President, and this spot was chosen. The sum given paid the cost of removing and planting the tree.

The whole number of vessels belonging to the district in 1875 was 420, with an aggregate tonnage of 110,830.47, -- an increase of over 20,000 tons in two years. The total of foreign imports and exports in 1871 was $32,588,612.

The transit trade of the port is two or three times larger than in all the other ports of the United States combined. This is owing to the excellence of the harbor, which is deep, safe, accessible, and capacious. It also commands the most beautiful and varied scenery, from broad ocean views to the towering grandeur of mountain heights in the distance.

VALUATION AND TAXES OF THE CITY.

The tax valuation of the city for 1878 was

Real estate. $19,212,800 Increase over 1877, $145,600

Personal estate ... 11, 158,351 Decrease over 1867, 567,291

Total. 830,674.151

The number of polls assessed were 8564, 88 less than in 1877. Poll tax, 83.

The sums assessed upon the city for the year were as follows :

For State ..

.$117,835.17

County.

38.551.82

= City ..

618,072.54

$774,462.53

Amount of overlayings

33,343.89

$807,806.12

The income of the city property is estimated at 889,000, which, added to the amount to be raised by direct taxation, makes the whole amount required for the city's needs $896,806.42.

The following table gives the valuation, taxes, and the percentage from 1868 to 1878, inclusive :

Years.

Valuation.

Taxes.

Rate on $100.

1868

$36.575,178

$737.525.95

$2.50

1869

28,881,230

710,815.19

935

1870

29,953,715

775.641.59

2.60

1871

29,925,550

746.946.75

2.50

1872

25,681,210

768.882.16

2.60

1873

29.821.012

769,606.50

2.50

1874

30,723,936

792,710.40

9,50

1875

31,942,501

786.161.27

2.47

1876

30,660,355

791. 76.87

2.50

30,892.815

708.277.12

2.50

1878

30,671,154

807,806.42

2.55

PORTLAND CIVIL LIST.

We give the selectmen and other officers of the town of Portland from its separation from Falmouth in 1786. The town officers prior to that, with their continuation to the present, will be found under the head of the town of Fal- mouth.

SELECTMEN, 1786-1832.

John Fox, three years; Nathaniel Deering, two years ; Peleg Wads-

worth, four years ; Samuel Freeman, twenty four years ; Thomas Robinson, two years; James Lunt, one year ; Ebenezer Preble, one year ; Daniel flsley, two years ; Woodbury Storer, nine years; John Thrasher, three years; Nathaniel F. Fostick, four years ; Daniel Tucker, seven years; Daniel Epes, three years ; Matthew Cobb, three years ; Robert Boyd, seven years; Isane Isley, two years ; Thomas Motley, one year : Joseph Il. Ingraham, eleven years : Joseph Titcomb, ten years; Joshun Rogers, six years ; John Mussey, three years ; George Bradbury. three years ; Moses Lunt, one year; David Green, one year; Stephen Tukey, four years ; Joseph Isley, one year; Enoch Preble, four years : Suml. F. llussey, one year; Josiah Dow, one year ; Peter Warren, four years; Cotton B. Brooks, two years ; Robert Douglass, three years : John Hobart, two years; Stephen Longfellow, Jr .. one year; Isaac Adams, five years : Joshua Richardson, five years ; Benjamin Isley, five years; Woodbury Storer, Jr., Two years;

168

HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

Mark Harris, four years; Isane Adams, eight years; Joshna Richardson, three years; Benjamin Isley, four years; Nathaniel Mitchell, one year : Mark Harris, one year ; John L. Meguire, ono year; Joseph Walker, one year; Robert Ilsley, four years; John Williams, seven years; James (. Churchill, four years ; William Webb, one year; Alpheas Shaw, three years : Jedediah Dow, two years; John Patten, two years; Jonathan Dow, one year; Andrew L. Emerson, two years; Thomas Hammond, two years; Dudley Cammett, one year.

TOWN CLERKS, 1786-1832.

1786-96, John Frothingham; 1796-97, Isnae Ilsley ; 1797-1807, Ste- phen Patten ; 1807-14, Samuel Homer; 1814-20, Oliver Bray ; 1820-26, Joseph Pope; 1826-32, Charles B. Smith.

TOWN TREASURERS, 1786-1832.

1786-1801, Enoch Ilsley ; 1801-8, Lemuel Weeks; 1808-19, Matthew Cobb; 1819-23, Samuel Trask; 1823-26, Joseph M. Gerrish ; 1826-32, Charles B. Siuith.

REPRESENTATIVES AT THE GENERAL COURT OF MASSA- CHUSETTS .*

1787-88, John Fox ; 1789, Daniel Davis; 1790, John Fox, Daniel Davis : 1791, John Fox ; 1792, John Fox, Daniel Davis ; 1793-94, Daniel Davis, Daniel Isley : 1795, Daniel Davis, Samuel Waldo; 1796-97. Daniel Tucker; 1798-1800, Woodbury Storer; 1801-2, Joseph Titcomb ; 1803, William Symmes : 1801, Joseph Titcomb, William Symmes, Matthew Cobb, Daniel Tueker; 1805, the same and Smith Cobb ; 1806-7, George Bradbury, Joseph Titcomb, Joseph HI. Ingraham, Matthew Cobb, William Jenks; 1808-9, the same and Isaac Adams; 1810, Daniel Tucker, Joseph Tit- comb, Matthew Cobb, Jos. H. Ingraham, William Jenks, Isaac Adams ; 1811, Joseph Titeomb, Matthew Cobb, George Bradbury, Jos. H. Ingraham, Isane Adams, Enoch Preble; 1812, George Bradbury, Jos. H. Ingraham, Isaac Adams, Enoch Preble, Rich- ard Ilunnewell, J. Neal, William Crabtree; 1813, Jos. 11. Ingra- ham, Isaac Adams, Enoch Proble, J. Neal, Stephen Longfellow, William Francis, Seward Porter ; 1814, the same, except Enoch Preble; 1815, Jos. 11. Ingraham, Isaac Adams, J. Neal, Seward Porter, 11. Smith, William B Sewell; 1816, Josiah Paine, Jacob Quincy, Daniel How, Robert Strong, P. Vainum, John Mussey, Jr. ; 1817, Joseph H. Ingraham, Isaac Adams; 1818, Isaac Adams, John Woodman ; 1819, Charles Fox, N. Kinsionn, Samuel Baker, Richard Isley, Samuel Ayer, P. Varnum.

MAYORS OF THE CITY.

Andrew L. Emerson, t Jonathan Dow, 1832; John Anderson, 1833 ; Levi Cotter, 1834-11; James C. Churchill, 1811-42; John An- derson, 1842-43; Elipbalet Greeley, 1843-49 ; James B. Cahoon, 1819-51; Neal Dow, 1851-52; Albion K. Parris, 1852-53; James D. Cahoon, 1853-55; Neal Dow, 1855-56; James T. MeCobb, 1856-57; William Willis, 1857-58; Jedediah Jewett, 1858-60; Joseph Howard, 1860-61 ; William W. Thomas, 1860-63; Jacob Mclellan, 1863-66; Augustus E. Stevens, 1866-68; Jacob Mc- Lellan, 1868-69; Benjamin Kingsbury, Jr., 1870-73; George P. Wescott, 1873-75; Roswell M. Richardson, 1875-70; Francis Fessenden, 1576-77; Moses M. Butler, 1877-79 ; George Walker, 1879.

CITY CLERKS.

Joseph Pape, 1832-42; Albert Smith, 1812-43; Amos Nichols, IS43-44; William Boyd, 1844-56; James Merrill, 1856-37; William Boyd, 1857-60; James Todd, 1860-61; Jonathan M. Heath, 1861-69; George C. Hopkins, 1869-70; H. I. Robinson, 1870-79.

CITY TREASURERS.

William Lord, 1832-12: William Moulton, 1812-13 ; William Lord, 1843-33; James T. Melobb, 1853; llenry P. Lord, 1854-56; Joshua S. Palmer, 1826; Henry P. Lord, 1857-60; Joshua S. Palner, 18G0: Henry P. Lord,# 1861-67; Henry W. Hersey, 1508-79.

For represen atives to the Legislature of Maine, see chapter on State Legislature.

t Resigned before his term capired. # Died this year.

MUNICIPAL COURT. Established June 1, 1825.

JUSTICES.

Luther Fitch, 1825-54 ; John It. Williams, 1855-56; Henry Carter, 1856-57; William Paine, 1858-59; M. D. L. Lane, 1860-61; Aaron B. Holden, 1862-63; Benjamin Kingsbury, Jr., 1863-70 ; William E. Morris, 1871-75; Enoch Knight, 1875-79.

RECORDERS.

A. W. Truc, 1853; George E. B. Jackson, 1854; Nathan Webb, 1854-55; E. P. Sherwood, 1855; Sammuel Small, 1856-57; Wil- liam E. Morris, 1858-59; William E. Morris, 1863-64; Llewelyn Kidder, 1867-79; George W. Woodbury, 1879.

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.

EARLY HISTORY OF SCHOOLS.

In the first days after the revival of the town the inhabi- tants were too much occupied in providing for the security of their estates and for their very existence to give much attention to the subject of education. The earliest notice we have in the records of a movement to employ a teacher was Sept. 15, 1729. This was eleven years after the in- corporation of the town, and it seems that the law requir- ing every town of 50 families to support constantly "one schoolmaster" had not been complied with, for the select- men were requested to " Jook out for a schoolmaster to pre- vent the town's being presented." We do not know that a teacher was then employed, nor have we any recorded evi- denee of the presence of such a functionary till 1733, when Robert Bayley was hired at a salary of £70 a year to keep six months on the Neck, three months at Purpooduck, and three months on the north side of Back Cove. Robert Bayley is supposed to have come from Newbury, where the family settled in 1643. In August, 1727, he was admitted a proprietor of Falmouth on the payment of £10, and in February following was granted a house lot on the south side of Middle Street. In 1734 his field of labor as a teacher was varied between the Neck, Purpooduck, Stroud- water, Spurwink, New Casco, and Presumpscot, two months in each, his salary being raised to £75. The next year he divided his time between the first and second parishes, giving seven months to the former and five to the latter. In 1736 he received six pounds extra as a grammar-school master; hence there was a grammar school in town as carly as 1736. It is thought Mr. Sewell took his place the next year, as he is mentioned in the records as a teacher at that time. The next year Nicholas Hodge, by vote of the town, became teacher of the grammar school. Ile was then a student at Harvard College, and graduated in 1739. Ile came back and taught here till 1741, while preparing for the ministry under Rev. Mr. Smith. In 1737 the grammar school became a distinct institution of education, in which the higher branches were taught.

About this time Samuel Stone kept a school in his own house on the bank of Fore River, near the foot of Centre Street. Thankful Page, born in 1731, says, in a deposition which she left behind her, that she went to school to Mr. Stone two summers, some time before Cape Breton was taken for the first time. Stone was a boat-builder by trade, and was admitted as au inhabitant in 1727. Ile subsequently removed to Manchester, Mass., where he died iu 1778.

٣٢١٤ ١

Photo, by Lamson, Portland.

GEORGE WALKER was born in Burlington, Mass., Feb. 9, 1820. He was fitted for college by his uncle, the late James Walker, and graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1844. He was principal of the Portland Academy for two years; read law with the well-known firm of " Howard & Shepley," of Portland, and was admitted to the practice of the law by the Cumberland County bar in 1846.

He began the practice of law at Calais, Me., where he remained for two years, and removed to

Machias, Me., where he continued in the practice of his profession until November, 1875. He was twice elected treasurer of Washington County, and represented the Machias class in the State Legis- lature of 1868.

Mr. Walker came to Portland in November, 1875, and was elected mayor of the city in March, 1879. He married, in 1851, Henrietta, daughter of the late Hon. Jeremiah O'Brien. Of this union have been born six children, three of whom, two sons and a daughter, survive.

169

CITY OF PORTLAND.

In 1745 the salary voted " to pay the teacher now among us" was £130, which, as the currency was then depreciated (seven to one), amounted to the meagre sum of $80 in silver. April 1Ith, of this year, Stephen Longfellow, the an- cestor of all of that name who have resided in the town, came, and in six days after opened a school,-probably the gram- mar school,-which he continued, in the capacity of princi- pal teacher, until he was appointed clerk of the courts on the division of the county, in 1760. Mr. Longfellow was born in Newbury, in February, 1723, and graduated from Harvard in 1742. He was for many years one of the most active, widely useful, and intelligent citizens of the town,- the father of Stephen, Samnel, and William Longfellow, and one daughter, who married Capt. John Stephenson in 1771. He died at Gorham in 1790, leaving to posterity the well- earned reputation of sound morals and strict integrity.

In 1752, £100 lawful money were raised for the support of schools, and £6 13s. 4d. were " added to the Neck's propor- tion," to assist the inhabitants there to " support a grammar school." In 1753, John Wiswall, afterwards the Episcopal minister, who was then qualifying himself for that office, was the teacher on the Neck. He had graduated at Har- vard in 1749. Ile left in a few years, on account of his loyalty, at the commencement of the Revolution. Peter T. Smith, a son of the Rev. Thomas Smith, taught school on the Neck in 1755. He had graduated at Harvard in 1753. After teaching the school a short time, he removed to Windham, where he subsequently settled as a minister. About this time a Mr. Wallace began a school, which he taught five or six years, in a one-story school-house, which stood on the corner of Middle and School Streets. He had a wife, and lived in the same building. Ile came from England, where he had been formerly employed as a draughtsman in the navy yard.

In 1756, Jonathan Webb came here from Boston, and soon after opened a school, which he continued to teach for several years. It was kept in an old building, which stood on King Street, next above the town-house. The building was mounted on piles, and stood a little distance back, the passage to it being a plank platform. Mr. Webb was called by the boys " Pithy" Webb, from a practice he had of putting the pith of the quill into his mouth when he cut it, in making the old-fashioned quill pens, which was the only kind in use in those days. He was a graduate of Harvard, in the class of 1754; married Lucy, the eldest daughter of Brigadier Preble, but had no children by her. He died soon after the war of the Revolution commenced. His successor was Moses Holt, who was also a graduate of Ilar- vard in 1767, but was cut off in the midst of his honors and promise by consumption in 1772.

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History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 44

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 780

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 780