History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 56

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 56

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).

ChetMSuyblin

ewonwescott

Roll. Richardson

207

CITY OF PORTLAND.

way in the world. For some years he served as clerk in a store. In 1851 he married Annie L., daughter of Charles Davis, of Portland, Mr. Davis had been at one time pub- lisher of the Savannah Republican, and was for many years well known as a business man of Portland. In 1851, Mr. MeLaughlin formed a partnership with W. L. Alden, under the firm-name of Mclaughlin & Alden, flour job- bers. After the dissolution of this firm he entered into business with Mr. Davis, his father-in-law, in 1857, under the firm-name of Charles McLaughlin & Co. This firm afterwards embraced such other well-known citizens as George E. Davis, Charles Walker, Daniel W. Ames, and Albert Drummond. (See page 195.)

Mr. MeLaughlin has always taken much interest in local improvements in Portland, and although not holding office bas had no little prominence in the affairs of the city. He was elected to the Legislature of 1878, and as a member of that body contributed an important part to some of its most useful legislation. Confident of the repeal of the national bankrupt law, Mr. MeLaughlin originated and advocated successfully the present State insolvent law. During the session of the Legislature of 1879 an attack was made upon this law, and for a time there was danger of its being repealed. But Mr. Mclaughlin, although not a member, with other friends of the law, rallied to its defense, and by good management secured its retention, with slight modifications, upon the statute-book. He has never sought public preferment, devoting himself closely to business, and his integrity, care, and forethought have secured him a position among the foremost merchants of Portland.

lle has two children, Agnes Hlasty MeLaughlin and Charles Melaughlin, Jr.

GEORGE P. WESCOTT.

His grandfather, Archibald Wescott, removed from Pen- obscot and settled at Bluehill, Me., in 1833, where he died at the age of seventy-seven. His father, Joseph Wescott, was born in Penobscot, July 23, 1813, went to sea when only ten years of age, and held the various places of trust and responsibility on board ship during his first ten years of seafaring life. At the age of twenty he took command of a vessel as captain, and in command of different ships made coasting voyages and carried on trade between Bos- ton, New York, and the West Indies for ten years. In 1845 he retired from the sea and established himself as a granite contractor at Bluchill, Hancock Co., Me., where he successfully carried on that business until 1866, when he settled in Portland, and in partnership with his son, George P., opened business as granite contractors and commission merchants, which business this firm continues. He married Caroline, daughter of Samuel Brown, of Bluehill, in 1839. Their children are Helen, Mrs. John Hinckley, of Nevada (deceased), George P., Carrie B., Mrs. Henry P. Wood, of San Francisco (deceased), and Ilattie.

The ancestors of the Wescotts came from England and settled at Castine, Hancock Co., Me., prior to the Revolu- tionary war, and their descendants are, in 1879, residents of the same county and occupy the same farm first settled

by their great ancestor. Many members of the Wescott family were scafaring men.

George P. Wescott was born at Bluehill, Me .. Dee. 24, 1842. His boyhood was spent at home. where he received a good education in the common school, and l'or some time was a student in Bluehill Academy.

At the age of eighteen he went to California, and was civil engineer in the Mare Island Navy Office for two years. Hle then spent one year in the silver mines of Nevada, and returned to California, where, at Vallejo, he engaged in the mercantile business, which he continued until 1865. Ile was appointed postmaster of that place, under Governor Blair, and held the office as long as he was in business there. In January, 1866, he came to Portland, where, in partnership with his father, he has remained in business.

Mr. Wescott's business capacity, his ability as a success- ful financier and judicious manager, gives him place among the most influential young business men of the city. Since 1867 he has been a director, and since 1875 vice-president, of the Casco National Bank. In 1869 he was elected treasurer of the Portland and Rochester Railroad, which position he resigned in 1873. In 1875 he was chosen president of the same road, and in 1877 he was appointed receiver by the State Supreme Court, which position he now fills. In 1877 he was elected treasurer and general man- ager of the Portland Water Company, and still retains that office in 1879. Soon after settling in Portland, Mr. Wes- cott began to take an active part in the affairs of the city, and is a promoter of all enterprises tending to its prosperity and the welfare of its citizens.

In politics, he is a Republican. He represented the 5th Ward of the city on the board of alderman in 1869-70, was elected mayor in 1874, and re-elected to the same honorable position the following year.

In his official duties Mr. Wescott has honored the vari- ous offices which he has filled by his integrity in his busi- Dess relations, by his prompt action and sound judgment.

In 1867 he married Sarah Ann, daughter of Henry N. West, of Haverhill, Mass.

ROSWELL MINARD RICHARDSON*

is a descendant in the eighth generation from Samuel Rich- ardson, who was born in England about 1610, and with his brother Thomas settled at Charlestown, Mass., in the year 1636. Ilis elder brother, Ezekiel, settled at Charlestown in 1630, having been a passenger of Winthrop's fleet, and with his wife Susanna became members of the church gathered in Charlestown, Ang. 27, 1630. lle was ad- mitted a freeman of the colony May 18, 1631. The first notice of Samuel Richardson is dated July 1, 1636, when he and his brother, Thomas, with others were on a committee to lay out lots of land for hay. On the 5th of November, 1640, the three brothers and four others were chosen by the church of Charlestown as commission- ers for the settlement of a church and town within what were then the limits of Charlestown, but soon after erected into a separate town, and called Woburn. Samuel was

/ Samuel,? David,6 Zebadliah,5 Ebenezer,' Stephen,3 Stephen,? Samuel.1

208

IIISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

selectman of Woburn in 1614, 1645, 1616, 1649, 1650, and 1651.

" Their descendants, bearing the name of Richardson, long have been, and still are, more numerous than persons of any other name in Woburn, and among them have been found some of the most valned members of the church and citizens of the place."+

His grandfather, David, born in Hudson, N. II., Aug. 5, 1763, married, 1790, Polly Dearborn, born May 19, 1769, daughter of Capt. Samuel and Sarah (Clough) Dearborn, of Plymouth, N. II. David Richardson served three years in the army of the Revolution, for which, near the close of his life, he drew a pension. In 1801 he re- moved to Comptou, Province of Quebec, and in 1828 to Gloneester, near Ottawa, Province of Ontario, where his wife died. He returned to Compton, where he died, May 13, 1849, in the family of his eldest son, Samuel.

Samuel, father of R. M. Richardson, born in Plymouth, N. H., Aug. 3, 1791, married, first, in Compton, Canada, Mehitable Shurtleff, born May 19, 1792, daughter of Joel and Eunice (Scott) Shurtleff. She was a descendant in the sixth generation of William Shurtleff, of Marshfield, the emigrant aneestor of all of the name in New England, and whose name first appears in Plymouth in 1634. She died in Compton, March 18, 1845. Samuel Richardson was a farmer in Compton, a man in moderate circumstances, and much respected in the town. Ile died June 13, 1866.

Roswell Minard Richardson, eldest son of Samuel and Mehitable (Shurtleff ) Richardson, born in Compton, Prov- ince of Quebec, April 7, 1814, married, March 9, 1848, in Boston, Ann Hutchins Hapgood, born in l'etersham, Mass., Jan. 18, 1819. She was the daughter of Thomas and Betsey (Hopkins) Hapgood, and granddaughter of Hutchins and Elizabeth (Grout) Hapgood. She is seventh in deseent from Shadrach Hapgood, the original emigrant of the name, who embarked at Gravesend in the "Speed- well," May 30, 1656, bound for New England, and was slain by the Indians at Quaboag, now Brookfield, Mass., Aug. 2, 1675. Her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Grout, was granddaughter of Col. Jonathan Grout of the French and Revolutionary wars. He was a member of the Provincial Congress at Cambridge in February, 1775, and was elected a member of the first Congress of the United States, under the Federal Constitution, as a representative from Worcester Co., Mass., in 1789. The wife of Mr. Richardson is a lineal descendant of Stephen Hopkins, the Pilgrim, who came over in the " Mayflower" in 1620.

Roswell M. Richardson left his home in December, 1829, at fifteen years of age. He was a clerk in a store at Hatley village, Canada East, for a while, in Canaan, Vt., for two years, and in Northumberland, N. 11., until Jan. 1, 1836, when, as a partner of Gen. John Willson ( Willson & Rich- ardson), he continued business at that place until 1845. In 1840 he was appointed United States deputy marshal, and took the census of Coos Co., N. HI., the same year. In 1838 he was appointed, by Governor Isaac Ilill, adju- tant of the 42d Regiment, 8th Brigade, New Hampshire Militia ; lieutenant-colonel by Governor John Page, June

23, 1840 ; colonel by Governor John HI. Steel, June 20, 1844 ; and brigadier-general by Governor Anthony Colby, July 6, 1846, from which position he retired June 20, 1848, after removing to Vermont. He was appointed justice of the peace by Governor Henry Hubbard, Sept. 5, 1842, which position he held while a resident of the State of New Hampshire. Ile commeneed lumbering on the Connecticut River in 1842. April 1, 1856, he re- moved to Portland, where, still continuing his lumber busi- ness for many years, he was engaged in business as a whole- sale grocer on Commercial Street from 1861 to 1875.

In 1860 he was a member of the lower branch of the City Council of Portland ; Democratic nominee for senator for Cumberland County in 1861, but failed of an election through party divisions on war issues. Ile was elected mayor of Portland, March 1, 1875, and was a representa- tive in the State Legislature from Portland in 1878. He has one son living, William Minard Richardson.

CAPTAIN JACOB S. WINSLOW

was born in Pembroke, Me., Dec 19, 1827. His father, Jacob Winslow, born in North Yarmouth, Me., in 1795, settled in Pembroke in the year 1812. He was a seaman during most of his life, as was his father, Snow Winslow, before him, and was mostly engaged in a eoasting trade. He married Elizabeth Clark, of Pembroke. She still sur- vives, aged seventy-six.

Jacob Winslow died in 1841. His father, Snow Wins- low, died at Havana of yellow fever.

Capt. Jacob S. Winslow is second son in a family of ten children. His boyhood was spent on the farm and at school. Seeming to inherit from his ancestors a desire for the sea, he, at the age of fourteen, went aboard a vessel as a com- mon hand. His integrity of character and industrious habits gradually gained the confidence of his superiors. Just before reaching his majority he became master of the brig " Noble," and made two trips, one to Philadelphia, and a second to the West Indies, having been before for some two years first mate of a vessel. He successively commanded the " Josephine," " Calista," " Bloomer," " Jere- miah Fowler," barks " Maine Law" and " Philena." He built the latter vessel and sailed her for some six years to the West Indies and Europe.

In 1862, Capt. Winslow retired from the sea, opened an office on Central Wharf, Portland, engaged more extensively in ship-building, and began trade in ship-stores and chand- lery. He has constructed in all some one hundred vessels at the yards in Yarmouth, Pembroke, and Portland. Since 1868, Capt. Winslow has associated with him as partner in business Henry P. Dewey, a gentleman of fine business ability, with the firm-name of J. S. Winslow & Co.

Upon his retirement from the sea Capt. Winslow began to take an interest in the affairs of the city, and is a pro- moter of all enterprises tending to its prosperity and the welfare of its citizens. He is a director of the Casco Na- tional Bank, Portland Lloyds Insurance Company, Dry- dock Company, and Bangor and Machias Steamboat Con- pany. He is interested in local and State legislation, is an

t History of Woburn, pp. 71, 635, 636, by Rev. Mr. Sewall.

J. Shinslow

209

CITY OF PORTLAND.

active member of the Republican party, and was a member of the Common Council from the First Ward for 1868-69, and was one of the representatives from Portland to the State Legislature in 1876-77.

In 1853 he married Philena, daughter of Zenas and Eliza Morton, of Lubec, Me. ITis wife died May 14, 1877.

MARK P. EMERY.

The name of Emery is of Norman origin. Was intro- duced into England, 1066, by Gilbert D'Amory, of Tours, in Normandy, a follower of William the Conqueror, and with him at the battle of Hastings. In 1635, John, and son John, and Anthony, his brother, born in Romsey, in Nantes, a small cathedral town, about eight miles northerly from Southampton, embarked from the latter place for America, in the ship " James," Captain Cooper, and landed in Boston, June 3d of that year. They at once proceeded to Newbury. John there settled, and died in 1683. The locality of his longest residence, at Oldtown Lower Green, is still known as " Emery's Field." From him sprang a numer- ous progeny, whose representatives are scattered far and wide. Anthony went to Kittery, where he settled, and from whom proceeded the other branch of this numerous family.

A family reunion of the Emerys was held at "Ould Newberrie," Sept. 3, 1879, some eighty persons being pres- ent from all parts of the country. Among them were Rev. Samuel Hopkins Emery, of Taunton, Mass. ; George Emery, of Boston ; Rev. Rufus Emery, of Newburgh, N. Y .; Rev. Dr. Emery, of West Newbury ; Representative Levi Emery, of Lawrence ; Moses Jefferson Emery, of IHaverhill; George Edwin Emery, of Lynn ; and Mark P. Emery, of Portland, Me.

The grandfather of Mark P'. Emery, Thomas Emery, born in 1753, was a descendant of Anthony Emery, and a native of Biddeford, York Co., Me. Ile early in life settled in the town of Buxton, and was one of the pioneers of that town. Although a farmer by occupation, he was a man of mark in public affairs. Besides holding many offices in his town, he, as a member of the old Federal party, was a member of the State Legislature. He married Hannah IFammond, Nov. 27, 1773, and reared a family of eight sons and five daughters. She died Oct. 31, 1827, aged seventy-five years.

Thomas Emery, father of the subject of this narrative, was born in the town of Buxton, at which place he died Oct. 20, 1856. Ile married Oct. 4, 1799, Mary Woodman, of Buxton, and reared a family of six sons and four dangh- ters-Rufus, Mrs. Richard Steele, Mrs. John Bradbury, James W., Horace, Thomas J., Alexander J. (deceased ), Mark P., Mrs. Joseph G. Steele, and Mrs. Joseph Dunnell. The mother of these children died June 27, 1858, aged seventy-nine.

Thomas Emery was a farmer and lumberman by occu- pation, and used to raft his lumber down the Saco River for shipment to other ports. Ile was prominent among the citizens of his town and county ; was selectman of Buxton, and sheriff of York County.

Mark P. Emery was born Feb. 17, 1817, in the town of Buxton, and spent most of his minority on the farm. Ile

received his carly education in the town school and Gorham Academy. At the age of twenty, unaided pecuniarily, he came to Portland, and for four years was a clerk with Smith & Brown, grocers and lumber dealers. In 1845 he became a partner with J. B. Brown & Jedediah Jewett, with the firm-name of J. B. Brown & Co., in the same business, which continued three years, when the partner- ship was dissolved. Mr. Emery was in business alone from 1848 to 1852 as a manufacturer and shipper of shooks, and an importer of molasses and sugar, trading in the West Indies. In 1855, after a rest of several years on account of impaired health, he took in Henry Fox as partner, with the firm-name of " Emery & Fox," and continued in the same business until 1868. About the year 1860 this firm added the Inmber business to their already extensive shipping and import trade, and continued as lumber merchants until 1876, when the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Emery sought to retire from the cares of so much business, after spending nearly forty years as a persevering, industrious, and enterprising business man. For some years past he has been engaged quite largely in real-estate operations in Vermont and New Hampshire. In local matters he has ever felt a deep interest, and has taken an active part in the promotion of enterprises tending to the good of society. ITis finaneial ability is recognized by business men, and his connection with the First National Bank of Portland as director, and with the Maine Savings Bank as trustee, for the past three years, have added strength to these institu- tions. Ile is also a director of the Maine Steamboat Com- pany. He represented the Fifth Ward of the city as alderman for two terms, during which time as chairman of the committee of the fire department he purchased the first fire-engine used in Portland. Ile married Jan. 1, 1846, Mary S., daughter of Ezra Smith, of Hanover, Me.

CHIARLES II. HASKELL.

Joel llaskell, with two brothers, Moses and Nehemiah, former residents of Cape Ann and Newburyport, Mass., removed to New Gloucester, and were among the first set- tlers of the town.

Joel married Joanna Burnham, and reared a family of children.

Jonathan Haskell, his son, the grandfather of the subject of this narrative, was a blacksmith by trade, and was en- gaged in the postal service during the pioneer history of the town, when he used to carry the mail on horseback from Portland to Augusta. He died Oct. 9, 1858, aged ninety-two.

Charles C., father of Charles II. Haskell, died in 1869, aged seventy-four. He was a respectable farmer in New Gloucester, and used to spend his winters on the Andros- coggin River and the lakes, surveying timber. He was an unswerving member of the old Whig party, afterwards a Free-Soiler, and later a Republican. He married Sarah R., daughter of Nathaniel Eveleth, who was a prominent and worthy citizen of New Gloucester. She died in Sep- tember, 1877, aged seventy-eight.

Charles 11. is eldest son, born in New Gloucester, May 12, 1824. In 1839 he came to Portland, and was a clerk

210

HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.

until 1848, when he started business for himself as a whole- sale grocer, in partnership with Oliver P. Reynolds. This business he continued until 1878, with the exception of four years, from 1856-60, during which time he was in- spector of customs, receiving his appointment from President James Buchanan.

He was a director of the National Traders' Bank for several years, a member of the Portland Board of Trade since its organization, its treasurer for ten years, and presi- dent of the board in 1878. Ile was one of the founders of the Mercantile' Library Association, and its president for two years.

Char At Hasken

Mr. Haskell was formerly a Whig, but upon the disso- lution of that party became a Democrat. For two terms he was councilman from the Sixth Ward of the city, and was elected city auditor, but declined to accept the office.

In 1871 he was a representative from Portland in the State Legislature, and was placed on the committee on banks and banking.

In 1875 he was appointed, with Joshua Nye, by President Grant, centennial commissioner for the State of Maine, and was State Senator in 1875-76, acting as chairman of the railroad committee. Ile married, May 10, 1849, Mary E., daughter of Zophar Reynolds, of Portland. She died Oet. 9, 1863, leaving one son, Charles O. Haskell. For his second wife, Mr. Haskell married, June 4, 1879, Mrs. Louise L. Kenney.

NEAL R. MACALASTER,

sou of Peter and Ruth (Bryant) Macalaster, was born in Lovell, Oxford Co., Me., Ang. 14, 1844. His grandfather, Ananias, emigrated from Scotland and settled in New Eng- land. Ilis father and three uncles, John, Jerry, and Zac-

cheus, settled in Stoneham, and his father subsequently settled in Lovell, where for many years he was a farmer. He is now retired from the active duties of life at the age of seventy-eight, having been born in 1801. His mother died in 1876 at the age of sixty-eight.

Neal R. Macalaster spent his boyhood at school. At the age of sixteen he went to Halifax, where for three years he was a close student of anatomy and physiology, and during the first five years he was in that city, learned dentistry with his brother, Dr. Oris Macalaster, who settled there from Boston about 1857.

Macalaster

In 1865, having completed his studies, he opened an office in Fryeburg, Me., where he practiced dentistry until 1869, when his brother, Dr. Oris, having settled in Port- land, he joined him and practiced with him until 1874, and became a partner, under the firm-name of Macalaster Bros. This firm continued business successfully until 1879, when the senior member of the firm retired, settling in Lyun, Mass., and Dr. Neal R. continues the business.

Dr. Maealaster is ranked among the most successful practitioners of dentistry in the city, and is an aeknowl- edged skillful and careful operator. He is said to be the only successful practitioner in the administration of nitrous oxide gas in the city, and makes a specialty of the care of children's teeth and gold fillings. He married, Aug. 11, 1866, in Philadelphia, Ella F., daughter of Asahel and Arvilla (Nason) Barrows, of Brownfield, Oxford Co., Me. Her father is a native of Vermont and her mother is a native of New Hampshire.

His grandfather, Nicholas, settled in the town of Limington, York Co., Me., from Salem, Mass., prior to the Revolutionary war. He was a pioneer of the town, and went there on horseback with his wife, fol- lowing marked trees. He raised a family of five sons and two daughters, all of whom were married and reared familes. Nicholas Davis was a major in the Revolutionary war ; was a farmer by occupation, and died, at the age of ninety-seven, about the year 1831.

His father, William Davis, born in Limington in 1797, married Mary Waterhouse, of Gorham, and reared a family of six children, of whom William G. Davis is second. He was a man of resolution and strong force of character. In politics he was a Democrat, but preferred the quiet of a farm life to any political honors. Both he and his wife were members of the Free Baptist Church in early life, and remained constant in their profession and pro- moters of church and like interests.

William G. Davis was born in the town of Lim- ington, June 16, 1825. His boyhood was spent at school and on the farm. At the age of fourteen he came to Portland and started a business life for him- self. He was first a clerk, then a baker, and after- wards for ten years a successful Yankee notion ped- dler, importing a portion of his goods and buying the remainder in New York and Boston. In 1859

he located in Portland, and, with James P. Baxter as partner (Davis, Baxter & Co.), engaged in business as a wholesale jobber of miscellaneous merchandise. He continued this business until 1866, the firm im- porting the greater part of their goods. In 1862 this firm began the preservation of food products, and exported to Liverpool, England, in payment for importations contracted for prior to the war. In this way was the business established which, under the name of the " Portland Packing Company," is still continued, and has been so successfully carried on.

The exports of the Portland Packing Company reach all parts of the habitable globe, and are held in esteem alike by the rude natives of the Sandwich Islands and the epicureans of London and Paris.

The operations of the company, like those of the Hudson's Bay Company, are carried on in remote localities ; their factories being located from Cape Sable, on the Nova Scotia shore, to the extreme east- erly point of Cape Breton, as well as along the rugged shores of Maine.

Mr. Davis married, in 1849, Rhoda Neal, of Gardi- ner, Me. His children are Helen A. Davis, born 1849 (deceased) ; Walter E., born 1853 (deceased) ; Walter G., born 1857; Wm. N., born 1860; Charles A., born 1862 (deceased) ; Edith, born 1865; Flor- ence, born 1869 (deceased); Alice, born 1869 (dle- ceased).

211

CITY OF PORTLAND.

Photo, by Lamson, Portland.

Scorge. Buonham

GEORGE BURNHAM.

John Burnham, grandson of John, the emigrant, born in 1738, came from Ipswich, Mass., and settled in Portland (then Falmouth) about 1760. He contributed to the early enterprises of the then growing village, engaged in packing fish and in the cooper business. He is said to have built the first wharf in Portland harbor, which was destroyed by fire during the war for independence. He erected another, and an interest in it (Burnham's) has been retained by the family ever since. Mr. Burnham also built the first house in Portland after the destruction of the town by the Britishlı fleet. He married Abigail Stickney, and reared a family of eight sons and five daughters, nearly all the sons being seafaring men. Ile died of yellow fever, ou the 29th of July, 1798.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Cumberland Co., Maine, Part 56

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