USA > Maine > Oxford County > Paris > History of Paris, Maine, from its settlement to 1880, with a history of the grants of 1736 & 1771, together with personal sketches, a copious genealogical register and an appendix > Part 29
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311
HISTORY OF PARIS.
ized July 4, 1828, with Rev. Geo. Bates as Secretary. The first temperance pledge drawn up in Paris, was by Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, some years before there was any organized movement in town. It was very mild, only pledging the signers to abstain from the use of the stronger liquors as a beverage, yet only a few signed it. It was pre- sented to Elder Hooper who most emphatically refused his signature, remarking that he gave his little boys some rum and molasses that morning, and said he, "how their eyes sparkled after they had drank it." (These were adopted children.)
The first annual meeting of the Maine Temperance Society was holden at Augusta, January 23d, 1833. The printed proceedings do not show that Oxford County was represented by delegates. Gov- ernor Samuel E. Smith was elected President, Hon. Samuel Pond of Bucksport, Secretary ; Elisha Robinson, Augusta, Treasurer, and Charles Williams of Augusta, Auditor. Judge Ether Shepley pre- sided. Oxford County Society was reported as having been organ- ized July 1, 1829, with Hon. Luther Cary of Turner, President, and Samuel F. Brown, Esq., of Buckfield, as Secretary. Buckfield reported : "opposition great to temperance reform, by political demagogues, followed by their supporters half drunk." Fryeburg reported : "much opposition from temperate drinkers, drunkards and sellers of rum." Hebron reported : "opposition by several classes and various characters." Andover, "opposition by the intemperate." Sweden, "opposition is composed of men of every class-two men, however, who are rival candidates for office, have more influence than all others." Sumner, "opposition by intem- perate and moderate drinker, and by some who are professors of religion." Thirteen societies are reported in Oxford county, but many towns, including Paris, make no report. The Buckfield society is reported defunct. Previous to the organization of the Maine State Society, the "Union Temperance Society of Oxford county," was organized, presumably at Paris, and originated among the members of the Oxford bar. . The following is the constitution adopted, and the names of the first signers :
"The undersigned being desirous of exerting their influence in the cause of temperance, and recognizing and adopting the principle of total abstinence from the use of ardent spirits, hereby form our- selves into an association, to be called the Union Temperance Society of the county of Oxford.
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
ART. 1. The officers of this Society shall be a President, Vice President and Secretary, to be chosen annually, by the members at the June term of the Court of Common Pleas.
ART. 2. There shall be a meeting of this association on some day during each term of the Court of Common Pleas, at the Court House, of which meeting it shall be the duty of the Secretary to give sea- sonable notice-and it shall be the duty of the President to request some gentleman to deliver an address at each meeting.
ART. 3. Every person signing this constitution shall become a member of this society thereby engaging to adopt a total abstinence in reference to the use of "ardent spirits as a drink."
Levi Whitman, Stephen Emery, Robert Goodenow, Wm. Goode- now, R. K. Goodenow, Isaiah P. Moody, Timothy J. Carter, Daniel Goodenow, Reuel Washburn, Henry Farewell, James Walker, Sam- uel F. Brown, Timothy Carter, Peter C. Virgin, Levi Stowell, Joshua Randall, Virgil D. Parris, Solomon Hall, Thomas Clark, James Starr, John Woodbury, Augustine Haynes, John Jameson, Chas. Whitman, Albert G. Thornton, Hannibal Hamlin, Cyrus Thompson, S. Strickland, Eben Poor, Wm. Warren, Ira Bartlett, James V. Poor, Thomas Gammon, Elisha Morse, Geo. Turner, David Gerry, Ephraim Bass, Erastus P. Poor, Stephen Chase, Eben- ezer Jewett, Abraham Andrews, Jr., Daniel Chaplin, John S. Bar- rows, Josiah Blake, Simeon Walton.
At a meeting of the Society, January 22, 1833, it was voted that a committee of one or more gentlemen in every town in the county be appointed to take a copy of this constitution and procure sub- scribers, and the following gentlemen were appointed for the service, viz : Fryeburg, Benjamin Wyman, Ebenezer Fessenden, Jr., Henry C. Buswell ; Brownfield, James Steele, Samuel Stickney, George Bean ; Hiram, Peleg Wadsworth, Alpheus Spring ; Denmark, Sam- uel Gibson, Amos Poor ; Lovell, Abraham Andrews ; Sweden, Chas. Nevers, Nathan Bradbury ; Fryeburg Addition, Samuel Farrington ; Waterford, Charles Whitman, Daniel Brown, Esq., Dr. Leander Gage ; Albany, Aaron Cummings ; Livermore, Reuel Washburn ; Jay, Jas. Starr ; Canton, John Hearsey ; Hartford, Cyrus Thomp- son ; Sumner, Samuel Sewall ; Peru, Levi Ludden ; Dixfield, Henry Farewell ; Mexico, Joseph Eustis ; Hartford, Elder Hutchinson, Joseph Tobin, Edward Blake ; Buckfield, Seth Stetson, Zadock Long, Lucius Loring ; Paris, Abijah Hall, Jr., Simeon Walton, Asaph Kittredge ; Hebron, Wm. Barrows, Dr. Carr; Oxford, J. S.
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
Keith, S. H. King ; Rumford, Henry Martin ; Andover, Sylvanus Poor. Jr. ; Bethel, Jedediah Burbank ; Newry, Josiah Black ; Woodstock, Elder Jacob Whitman.
At the second annual meeting of the Maine Temperance Society, held at Augusta, Feb. 5, 1834, Hon. Prentiss Mellen was made pres- ident, and the other officers of the previous year were re-elected. There were more reports made from Oxford county towns, than the year previous, showing an increase of interest in the cause. The officers of the Oxford county society were the same as before. Many new towns had formed associations, and Buckfield was the only town where the association had become defunct. The report from Buckfield showed much opposition to the cause, "One deacon both drinks and sells rum," says the report.
The following table shows at a glance the extent of the organized temperance reform in Oxford county, in 1834.
Toun.
When Organized. 1831,
President.
Secretary.
No. of Members.
Albany,
Asa Cummings,
P. Haskell, 91
Andover,
Rev. Wm. Gregg,
E. Poor, Jr. 88
Bethel,
1829, Dr. T. Carter,
L. Grover, 140
Brownfield, 1834,
I. Spring,
Wm. Wentworth, 110
Carthage,
1834,
D. Storer,
D. Stickney, 27
Dixfield,
J. Adams,
Dr. A. F. Stanley,
64
Denmark 1833,
Amos Poor,
J. Smith, 40
Fryeburg,
1833,
E. Fessenden, Jr.,
Dr. R. Barrows, 195
Greenwood,
Rev. E. Whittle,
John Small, 80
Gilead,
G. W. Chapman,
Wm. Wight, 67
Hartford,
N. Bicknell,
J. Churchill 137
Hebron,
S. Myrick,
S. Perkins, 138
Jay.
1833,
Maj. M. Stone,
Col: D. Merrit, 133
Livermore,
1828,
Reuel Washburn,
J. Chase, 132
Young Men's,
J. Leavitt,
S. Hearsey, 202
East Livermore,
C. Haines,
F. F. Haines, 126
Lovell,
Rev. V. Little,
A. Andrews, Sẵ
Norway, 1833,
Uriah Holt,
Benj. Tucker, Jr., 250 50
No. Norway,
Oxford, 1833,
Dr. J. Tewksbury,
Giles Shurtleff, 125
So. Paris. 1832,
Seth Morse,
Henry R. Parsons, 116
Sumner,
Rev. S. Sewall,
Zury Robinson, 120
Sweden,
E. Powers,
Wm. H. Powers, 79
Turner, :
J. Phillips,
J. R. Shaw, 176
Weld,
J. Abbott,
Rev. L. Perkins, 148
Waterford, 1830,
Dr. P. Bradford,
J. P. Harris, 113
I. Gage,
Wm. W. Stone, 300
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
The report from Paris to the State Society was, that 4963 gallons of spirits were sold in 1833, against 7221 gallons sold in 1832. Expense of the poor, from $300 to $350, one-third caused by intemperance. Three dram selling taverns reported, and five other retailers. Eight dealers in spirits had become intemperate. Fifty- four copies of the Temperance Advocate taken in town. Thirty families had been made poor and miserable on account of intem- perance. ' Six intemperate heads of families reported in Paris, who would by the expenditure of fifty dollars in sickness, be thrown upon the town. There was then a license law in Maine, but. it was not enforced. In 1829, two indictments for violation of the- license law, were found in Oxford county, but both were dropped on the payment of costs, before trial. In 1830 and 1831, no indict- ments were found. In 1832, the county attorney filed four indict- ments ; three of them were nol. pros. on payment of costs, and the other without costs, he having shown that he had a license. Mem- bers of the State society in Oxford county were : Buckfield, Samuel F. Brown, Virgil D. Parris, Albert D. White ; Norway, Jacob Bradbury, Wm. Cox, Jr., James Flint, Hiram Millett, Jeremiah Mitchell ; Paris, Stephen Emery ; Peru, Joseph H. Jenne ; Sumner, Ira Hersey, Daniel Robinson, Rev. Samuel Sewall ; Turner, Luther- Cary, John Turner ; Weld, Jacob Abbott, Joshua Eaton, Ephraim Houghton, Charles Houghton. The foregoing probably conveys a very good idea of the beginning of temperance work in Paris and in Oxford county. The society in South Paris, formed in 1832, was probably the first organized effort in town. The Society on Paris Hill, was organized the same year. This was called the Union Tem- perance Society, and was composed chiefly of members of the bar. On the tenth day of June, 1834, William Withington delivered a very able temperance address before this society, at the Court House. This address was printed in pamphlet form. About this time, or a little later, a third society was organized at North Paris. This society, also, did an excellent work. Quite a number from Wood- stock joined it, some of whom had been intemperate for years, and were permanently reformed through its instrumentality. These three organizations were in active operation for quite a number of years, and accomplished much. Rev. Caleb B. Davis, who succeeded Elder- Hooper in the pastorate of the Baptist church, was an able advocate of temperance reform, and became a pillar of strength to the cause in Paris. Nor did he confine his Jabors to this town, but went to
315
HISTORY OF PARIS.
other towns and lectured, stirred up the people and organized socie- ties. He organized the first society ever formed in Woodstock, and was a pioneer worker in several other Oxford county towns.
The next great temperance reformatory movement was that called the Washingtonian. This began in a small way in Baltimore among a few reformed drunkards, but it spread like wildfire throughout the middle and eastern States. It came into Maine about the year 1842 like a tornado, and seemed likely to sweep everything before it. An Oxford county Washingtonian society was formed, holding its meet- ings in different parts of the county, and there were subordinate societies in almost every town. The proceedings as given in the papers of those years, show the great interest manifested in the good work, and that leading men and women were everywhere in the movement. Thousands of inebriates not only reformed themselves, but used every effort to bring others into the organization. Hundreds all over the country were in the field battling against the common enemy, and everywhere the greatest enthusiasm prevailed. About the year 1842, or perhaps a little later, the movement reached Oxford county, and its effect here was the same as elsewhere. Everybody was awakened, almost everybody took the pledge, and many kept it inviolate ever after. It did a vast amount of good. But the history of all great moral movements plainly indicated what the fate of this must be. Human passions, however noble the cause, have their metes and their bounds beyond which they cannot pass, and the great success of a movement is often the first step towards reaction. In the excess of zeal in the Washingtonian movement, there was wanting that concert of action to give it permanency. The cause was like a rudderless bark upon the sea, without compass or pilot, and freighted with the materials of its own destruction.
SONS OF TEMPERANCE.
It was when the excitement was at its height that thoughtful men in New York conceived the idea of an organization that would com- bine and consolidate the discordant elements of the movement, invest it with a social character, and leave lasting impressions of affection and interest on the mind, in connection with the great cause and its objects. The outcome of this was, the Order of the Sons of Temperance, an organization which has doubtless accomplished more than any other, in giving permanence to the temperance cause, after the enthusiasm awakened by the Washingtonian movement could no
316
HISTORY OF PARIS.
longer be maintained. The first Division of the Sons of Temper- ance was organized in New York city, at Teetotaller's Hall, No. 71, Division Street, on Thursday evening, Sept. 29, 1842. The order had a steady growth and reached the State of Maine in December, 1844. A Grand Lodge for Maine was organized at Augusta, in April, 1845, and three years later, there were 110 Divisions in the State with a membership of over 7000. In 1850, the movement had reached Oxford county.
Acadia Division, No. 145, was organized at South Paris, March 4th, 1850. The charter members were as follows : F. C. Buck, Robert Skillings, Dr. Byron Coy, Aaron Young, Wm. Dearing, F. C. Morton, Thomas J. Whitehead, J. D. Gilkey, L. T. Boothby, Dr. Wm. A. Rust, Isaiah Knight, Henry O. Thayer and Jefferson Hall. The first officers chosen and duly installed were, F. C. Buck, Worthy Patriarch ; Robert Skillings, Worthy Associate ; Byron Coy, Recording Scribe ; Aaron Young, Assistant Recording Scribe ; William Deering, Financial Secretary ; F. C. Morton, Treasurer ; Thomas J. Whitehead, Conductor ; J. D. Gilkey, Assistant Con- ductor ; A. L. Hersey, Inside Sentinel ; Hiram T. Cummings, Out- side Sentinel. The meetings were held on Thursday evening of each week. The following are among those who soon after became mem- bers : James Anderson, J. G. Rounds, Daniel C. Merrill, David B. Silsby, Rev. Joseph Colby, Milton Morton, E. W. Simmons, John Caldwell, David Jordan, C. E. Bradford, W. H. Lincoln, Henry R. Parsons, James Deering, Sylvan Shurtleff, Elisha Morse, Jr., Charles McFadden and Eben Morton. April 14, 1850, the Division met at Millett's Hall in Norway, and assisted in forming Aqua Division No. 147. New members, Horatio G. Russ, Cyrus Morse, F. C. Merrill, Joseph Morton, Wm. H. Shurtleff and Wm. Yates. July 4th, 1850, a banner was presented to the Division by the ladies, with appropriate ceremonies and remarks. The exercises took place at Academy Hall. New members, Timothy Jordan, Sidney Perham, Daniel Fobes, Joseph H. King and James Abbott. Dec. 3, 1850, a Bible was presented on behalf of the ladies, by Laura N. Thayer. New members : Jonathan Clark, Dea. Elisha Morse, Samuel Stowe and Dr. Samuel Sawyer. In February, 1851, the Division assisted in instituting Snow's Falls Division. The following new members were added : Anson Jordan, Charles Andrews, Wm. W. Barton, Edwin P. Grant, Augustus Morse, Wm. B. Royal, Charles H. Clifford, Samuel Record, Hanson Tarbox, H. C. Clark, Elias Chase,
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
Samuel Ilsley, Charles Jordan, Isaiah Dunn, James Irving, Cyrenus King, Oliver L .. Andrews, Daniel Stowell, Albert G. Barbour, Solon Royal, Solyman Pratt, Luther P. Winslow, Wm. D. Brett, Ziba Thayer, Augustus King, Isaac Cummings, Orra Hall, Edwin R. Knight, Samuel Yates, Simon S. Stowell, Billings Fobes, Nathan Hodgdon, Francis A. Cummings, Henry Fobes, Richard Morton, Austin Chase, Joseph Burbank, Elbridge Bicknell, Ivory Tarbox, S. Sturtevant, Alva Hersey, Hiram Chase, Abijah C. Hall, John G. Barrows, George C. Rich, Elijah Tarbox, Eli Fernald, Jolın Valen- tine and John G. Getchell. In May, 1852, the Division assisted in organizing a new Division at Paris Hill. New members at this time : E. P. Hinds, John G. Drake, Rev. J. Hawkes, H. O. Thayer, Geo. W. Sturtevant, J. R. Irving, D. C. Merrill, Charles Hall, Joel S. Crooker, John B. Crooker, Charles H. Burbank and Seth Morse. In November, 1854, lady visitors were first received, and Mrs. Crafts, Mrs. Shackley, Mrs. Nancy Mitchell, Miss Sarah E. Fobes, Miss Maria Sturtevant and Miss Eliza Ryerson were duly initiated.
The report of June 14, 1854, showed a membership of 151. After the feature of initiating lady visitors had been adopted, weekly meet- ings were held and literary exercises introduced. The organization was disbanded in 1866, after an existence of sixteen years. The. report of Apr. 3, 1865, showed the number of members 86 ; initiated last quarter, 1; in the army, 14; number of lady visitors, 185. This was one of the strongest and best Divisions of the order in the county, and accomplished a great amount of good. But during the war, public attention was diverted to other subjects, and the Division began to lose its interest, and its membership began to diminish ; and finally, like all such organizations, the novelty no longer existed, and the Good Templars had already displaced the order in many places ; so Acadia Division became a thing of the past. The mem- bers that joined this Division, in addition to those already named, were : Simeon H. Perkins, Daniel Stowell, Jarvis C. Stevens, Edwin Townsend, Daniel Brett, Harlon Page Shurtleff, Charles H. Durell, Rev. Frederic Crafts, Henry M. Brett, Wm. J. Perkins, Albion K .. P. Dunham, Wm. Swett, Welcome A. Crafts, Charles N. Porter, Isaac D. Cummings, Benson Swett, W. H. Swett, Z. E. Sawtelle, Stephen Mitchell, James A. Dennett and C. W. Rowe.
The Paris Hill Division organized in May, 1852, elected as its first. board of officers, the following : Col. Ebenezer Thayer, Worthy Patriarch ; Col. Orison Ripley, Worthy Associate ; Silas P. Maxim,
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
Recording Secretary ; Rufus S. Stevens, Assistant Recording Secre- tary ; Col. Simon H. Cummings, Financial Secretary ; A. S. Thayer, Conductor ; B. F. Twitchell, Assistant Conductor ; Julius A. King, Inside Guard ; William Curtis, Outside Guard ; Rev. Nathaniel Butler, Chaplain. The weekly meetings were held at the Court House, and at the houses of the members. It did not increase in numbers as did the Division at South Paris, but it kept up its organi- zation for some time, chiefly through the efforts of Col. Cummings, Rufus S. Stevens and others.
Besides the organizations named, there have been Temperance Watchmen's Clubs, Good Templars, branches of the State League and other auxilliary Societies, which have kept the ball rolling and the good work constantly going on. May 24, 1876, a Reform Club was organ- ized at South Paris, with eighty-five members, a movement which brought to the front a new class of workers, and accomplished a great amount of good. Paris has for many years been a temper- ance town, and her leading citizens have been among the foremost most temperance workers in the State.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE PRESS OF .PARIS.
THE OXFORD OBSERVER.
The first newspaper printed in Paris and the second in the county, was the Oxford Observer. The first was Russell's Echo, started at Fryeburg in 1798, and died when less than a year old, so that when the Observer was started, the county had been without a paper for nearly thirty years. The paper was a folio in form having five col- umns to the page, but they were much broader than ordinary news- paper columns now are, so that it was of very respectable size for a country newspaper of that day. Mr. Barton was not a practical printer, and in connection with the publication of the Observer, he kept what he called the "Oxford County Bookstore." He continued the publication of the paper in Paris for two years with moderate success, and then moved the concern to Norway. The removal was made by means of an ox-cart in the night time, and without the knowledge of the citizens of Paris.
319
HISTORY OF PARIS.
THE JEFFERSONIAN.
After the removal of the Observer to Norway, Paris was without a paper only a few months, for in March of the following year (1827), a number of prominent democrats on Paris Hill, among whom were Rufus K. Goodenow, Alanson Mellen, Moses Hammond, Stephen Emery, Alfred Andrews, Thomas Crocker and Joseph G. Cole, started the Jeffersonian, a weekly paper about the size of the Observer, and a democratic party organ. Mr. Joseph G. Cole was editor, and Charles Dingley, and subsequently Thomas Witt were foremen. The issue of May 4th, 1830, instead of the imprint "Published for the Proprietors," which the paper had hitherto borne, had that of Hamlin and King, the establishment having been pur- chased by Hon. Hannibal Hamlin and Hon. Horatio King, then young men, and just upon the threshold of active life. Mr. King, who had been in the office about a year, soon after took the position of foreman. Mr. Hamlin being new to the business, took the place of an apprentice, and to assist them they had Henry Carter, who had served a short term in the Portland Advertiser office, and who, years afterward, was the able editor of the same paper. The paper was published by Hamlin and King until Oct. 26, 1830, when Mr. Hamlin retired, and Mr. King became sole proprietor. In May, 1833, Mr. King purchased "The Politician," a whig paper then pub- lished at Norway for the purpose of discontinuing it, and moved its material with the Jeffersonian establishment to Portland. The last issue of the Jeffersonian printed in Paris, was that of April 30, and the first number issued in Portland, bore date May 8th. Mr. King continued to publish the paper in Portland until January, 1838, when he sold out, and the paper was consolidated with the Standard. Mr. Cole edited the Jeffersonian until November 27, 1832, when he retired, and Mr. King became editor as well as owner. Mr. Cole's compensation for editing the paper was one dollar and fifty cents per week.
OXFORD DEMOCRAT.
In August, 1833, George W. Millett of Norway, and Octavius King of Paris, both young men and practical printers, purchased of Asa Barton of Norway, the Oxford Oracle establishment, and hav- ing moved it to Paris Hill on the 20th of August, they issued the first number of the Oxford Democrat. Though the immediate suc- cessor of the Oracle, the Democrat was a new paper to all intents and purposes. It was started as a party organ and as an exponent
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
of the views of the Democratic party. Joseph G. Cole, a young and promising lawyer, assumed editorial charge, and became respon- sible for its political articles, although his name never appeared in the paper as editor. It was begun as a five column paper, but the columns were broad and the sheet of respectable size. Good paper was used, and the mechanical work was very neatly done. Mr. King retired from the paper with number 38, of Vol. 1. Mr. Cole continued to edit the paper for seven years, when he retired, and Col. Millett became editor and proprietor. There was a suspension of the publication of the paper from Oct. 27, 1840, to May 11, 1841. The number issued on the last named date was called Vol. 1, No. 1, new series, and Vol. 8, No. 12, old series. The office was destroyed by fire in 1849.
An extra, printed at the Norway Advertiser Office, under date of December 18, 1849, has the following notice which sufficiently explains itself :
"About 1 o'clock on Sunday morning last, we were aroused from our slumber by the startling cry of fire ! The fire proved to be in the building occupied by us for the Democrat office, by Col. Charles Andrews, as a law office, and by the Post Office. The citizens of the village and vicinity rallied nobly to the rescue, but without avail. The building and the contents of the Democrat office were utterly destroyed. Our loss is a heavy one, and will not fall short of $3000 -being our all. The fire is supposed to have originated from some defect in the machinery. We are not disheartened nor discouraged, but we shall, as soon as we can make arrangements, commence the Democrat again," etc.
The next issue of the paper appeared on the 12th of February, 1850. New and elegant type had been procured, the size increased to seven columns, the length proportionately, and a new head pro- cured, the same that was used until within a few years. The price was then reduced to $1.50 per annum. Persons holding pro- spectusses were requested to return them with their lists of names. During these years, the Democrat was a good family paper. Special pains were taken in the selection of stories and other reprints. The editorials were generally brief, not often occupying more than a col- umn or a column and a half. The political news was given in brief, and considerable space was generally left for miscellaneous reading matter. Local, and even State news was scarce, for be it remem- bered there was then no telegraph, no railway facilities in the inte-
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HISTORY OF PARIS.
rior of Maine, and the rates of letter postage were high. Consider- able care was taken in the publication of marriages and deaths, and the old volumes of the Democrat are especially valuable in this direc- tion. The first issue after the fire begun a new series (Vol. 1, No. 1,) and the firm name was Millett & Mellen. With new series, No. 28 of Vol. 1, Oct. 25, 1850, Mr. Millett sold out and retired from the paper, when the imprint became Geo. L. Mellen & Co. The parties who bought into the concern with Mr. Mellen, were Gen. Wm. K. Kimball, Clerk of the Courts, S. D. Hutchinson, Register of Deeds, and Nathan M. Marble. In Vol. 2, (new series) No. 47, issued January 2, 1852, it is announced that Geo. L. Mellen has become sole proprietor ; also Geo. F. Emery is announced as editor. With the May 27, 1853, number, Mr. Emery announces his retire- ment from the paper, and Dr. Thomas H. Brown became his suc- cessor. In the number for July 15, 1853, Geo. L. Mellen, who had been appointed by President Pierce, route agent between Portland and Bangor, and had been filling that position for more than a year, announced that he had sold the paper to Hon. Noah Prince of Buck- field. From this date, the Democrat opposed the principles and policy of the democratic party.
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