History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 119

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100

USA > Maine > Penobscot County > History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 119

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THE ASSOCIATIONS

of Orrington, not religious, are the Eureka Lodge, No. 33, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which organized March 6, 1878; the Enterprise Grange, No. 173, Patrons of Husbandry, and the Riverside and Empire Lodges of the Independent Order of Good Templars.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

One of the most successful and noted of the natives or residents of this town was Mr. Enoch R. Mudge, a merchant prince of Boston, who died suddenly at Elm- wood, in Swampscott, Massachusetts, October 1, 1881. The Bangor Whig and Courier published the following interesting notices of his father and himself :

The deceased was born in Orrington, Maine, March 22, 1812, the youngest son of Rev. Enoch Mudge, the first settled Methodist minis- ter on the Penobscot River, of whom Hon. J. W. Porter says:

" He came to Orrington in 1798, and remained there nearly twenty years. He was one of the most remarkable men in that part of the State, and left his impress upon the inhabitants of that town as few men could have done. He was an eloquent preacher, logical, profound, and interesting. As a citizen he was the peer of the many distinguished men who lived in Orrington at that time, which is no small eulogy for a town that named among its citizens Colonel John Brewer, Francis, Joseph, and James Carr, Oliver and George Leonard, and many others. Mr. Mudge represented Orrington in the General Court in 1811-14-16. He married, about 1800, Jerusha (Holbrook) Hinckley, widow of Solo- mon Hinckley, of Orrington, for whom, in accordance with a custom somewhat in vogue at that time, they named their first son, born June 22, 1803, Solomon Hinckley-not Salmon, as the Boston papers have it."

The Boston Herald says: "Enoch Redington Mudge was the youngest of the four children of Rev. Enoch Mudge, whose struggles and whose ceaseless efforts for the advancement of the early Methodist church in New England, and the propagation of its principles, justly won for him the title of the pioneer of that faith. Rev. Enoch Mudge had the signal honor of being the first native Methodist preacher in New England, and his descendants, in their turn, have justly and proudly pointed to his character as nobly befitting that peculiar dis- tinction. The youngest son of this remarkable preacher, Enoch Red- ington Mudge, was born in the little town.of Orrington, Maine, March 22, 1812. It was in this town that much of the father's ministerial labors had been performed, and it was in this town that young Enoch received the rudiments of an education as brief as it was remarkable."

At the time of his death Mr. Mudge was the senior partner of the firm of E. R. Mudge, Sawyer & Co., having offices in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, as selling agents of the Washington mills, Lawrence, Massachusetts; Burlington Woolen Company, Chicopee Manufacturing Company, Saratoga Victory Manufacturing Company, Atlantic Cotton Mills, Ocean Mills Company, Ellerton New Mills and Hosiery Mills. For all of these mills, and they represent an aggregate capital of between four and five millions of dollars, Mr. Mudge's firm has since 1858 made all the purchase of supplies, sold all the products, and has had the direction of the manufactures of all goods. It is known that in 1865, before Mr. Mudge's business had assumed its present vast proportions, the sales for twelve months amounted to over $3,000,000. The amount of the sales for the present year may be im- agined from this figure, when it is known that many more mills have been added and the functions of the firm considerably enlarged.

Mr. Mudge had nearly completed a splendid church in Lynn, Mas- sachusetts, at a cost of about $250,000, as a memorial of two of his children-a son killed in the war and a daughter who died in 1879. The estate left by Mr. Mudge is estimated at over three millions of dol- lars, and he was honored as one of the foremost of the energetic, en- terprising, and public spirited merchant princes of the New England metropolis.

The following brief notice appears in the Roll of Honor (soldiers serving in the late Rebellion) of Bowdoin College :

Class of 1861 .- Augustus N. Lufkin; born in East Orrington, June, 1837; August, 1862, enlisted in Second

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

Maine; when its two years of service expired, was trans- ferred to the Twentieth Maine, serving as Corporal ; after examination was commissioned Captain in a regiment of colored troops; served in the Army of the Potomac, of the James, and in the Texas expedition; was mustered out December, 1865.

George Brooks, of Orrington, is the son of James Brooks, of the same town. James Brooks had twelve children who grew to maturity, of whom George is the oldest. He was born June 21, 1815, and settled at the old home in Orrington, where he now lives, but not in the old house. Mr. Brooks has had four wives, the first being Corilla Nickerson, of this town. His second wife was Mrs. Lydia Hopkins, of Hampden. On the death of his second wife he married Carrie J. Nickerson, of Orring- ton. Mr. Brooks is now living with his fourth wife, whose name was Miss Priscilla Nash, of Addison, Maine, by whom he has three children now living, having lost two. Mr. Brooks is engaged in farming and the manufacture of pottery, land tiles, earthenware, and tobacco pipes being the principal articles. He sells most of the land tiles in Boston, after supplying all the local demand in this part of the State. The pipe manufacture is a new in- dustry in Maine, if not in New England. The clay for the pipes comes from England, from the same bed where the Glasgow manufacturers get their clay. In his early life Mr. Brooks was a teacher for many years and has long been identified with the educational interests of the town, serving many years as a member of the Board of Super- intending School Committee. He received his education, after the common school course, at Hampden Academy and Maine Western Seminary, at Readfield, Maine. He has been superintendent of the Sunday-school for over thirty years consecutively, with the exception of one year.

William B. Hoxie, of South Orrington, is the son of Elihu and Mary Hoxie, of this town. They had ten children, viz: Elihu, deceased; Allen, of this town; Charles, of Orrington; Samuel and Joseph, deceased ; Lucy, now Mrs. Winslow Freeman, of Bucksport; Phebe, now Mrs. Wood, of this town; Ann and Lydia, deceased; and William B. Hoxie, who was born June 16, 1831, being the youngest of this family. Mr. Hoxie has always lived on the old homestead, being engaged in farming, He married for his first wife Adeline Hartford, daughter of James Hartford, of Hampden. By her he had three children-William, Fred, and Ella, now Mrs. Smith, of Brewer. Mrs. Hoxie died in 1868, and Mr. Hoxie mar- ried for his second wife Mrs. Marietta Folsom (nee Hart- ford). They had no children. Mr. Hoxie lives on the farm which was first settled by his father, containing about one hundred acres, finely situated on the east bank of the Penobscot.

Captain J. A. Rider is a son of Captain Samuel Rider, and was born in 1822. He married Nancy J. Snow, daughter of Captain William and Lydia Snow. They have five children living - John H., in Boston; Lillis, now Mrs. Charles P. Rowell; Mary E., Nancy Evelyn, and Preston H. Mr. Rider has followed the sea since he was ten years old, has been master of a vessel thirty- four years, and is now master of the bark Joseph Baker,

recently on a trip to South America. His son Preston H. lives at home and carries on the farm in Orrington.

S. Bolton, of Orrington, is the son of James and Mary Bolton. James Bolton was the son of Solomon Bolton, a Revolutionary soldier, who came here from Massa- chusetts. James Bolton had eight children who grew to maturity, five sons and three daughters: Alfred, Daniel V., Eliza V., James, Mary A., Sarah V., Solomon, and George A. Solomon Bolton was born in 1830, his father having moved here the previous year. Mr. Bolton lived a few years in Bucksport and Orono after becoming of age, but settled in Orrington about 1858. He has been a teacher for many years, having taught fifty terms of school. He has also been a follower of the sea, having been master of a vessel. Owing to disability he engaged in trade in Orrington in 1875, which business he is still following. In 1853 he married Miss Maria A. Reed, of Bucksport. They have had five children, three of whom are living, viz: Charles H., deceased ; Carrie L., also deceased; Mary L., Blanche K., and Littleton R. Mr. Bolton has long been identified with the educational in- terests of his town, serving as a member of the School Board and Superintending School Committee. He has held the office of Chairman of the Town Board of Select- men.

Sumner Chapin, of Orrington, was born in Southfield, Rhode Island, in 1822. He moved to Milford, Massa- chusetts, in 1827, and came to Orrington in 1843; was engaged in the manufacture of boats, and in later years has given some attention to agriculture. He married Mary C. Baker, a native of Orrington, in 1848. Their family consists of three children, Samuel S. (deceased), Frank L. (now in Colorado), and Alice M. Mr. Chapin was elected a member of the Legislature in 1862.

J. W. Phillips is the son of Nathan D. and Mary H. Phillips, of Orrington. His mother was a descendant of the Tainter family, whose ancestors came over in the Mayflower. Nathan D. Phillips had seven children: Clarissa A., J. Wyman, Sarah H., Nathan H., Mary S., Charles T., and Harriet E. J. Wyman Phillips was born December 22, 1827. After preparing for college at the Foxcroft Academy and the East Maine Confer- ence Seminary at Bucksport, he entered Bowdoin Col- lege, from which he was graduated in 1858. He followed teaching and was professor of the classical department of the East Maine Conference Seminary four years; then was principal of Hampden Academy for two years. On account of failing health he went South immediately on the close of the war, where he remained about ten years, when he returned to the homestead farm, where he has since remained, teaching and farming. In 1869 he married Miss Althie A. Cross, daughter of M. T. and Rebecca Cross, of Bethel, Maine. They have three children living, having lost two, viz : Wyman and Nathan, deceased; Charles, William, and John. He was drafted under the first draft in Maine, but was re- jected by reason of a diseased chest. Mr. Phillips has been a member of the School Board most of the time for twenty-five years, of which Board he is now chairman; has served as one of the Town Board of Selectmen for

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

ten years. In 1872 he was elected to the House of Representatives and returned again to that body in 1876. He was elected to the Senate in 1877 and again in 1878, serving continually on the Committee on Edu- cational and Legal Affairs, the last year being Chairman of the Committee on Education.

John King was born July 25, 1811; he is the son of Samuel and Mary King, of Orrington. On becoming of age he settled in Orrington, where he has always lived. He married for his first wife Mary Devereaux, who was the daughter of Joseph Devereaux, of Penobscot. They had fourteen children, of whom seven boys and five girls are now living. The names of the living are: John D., now of Brewer; George E., of Orrington; Rubie, now Mrs. Samuel Page, of Corinth; Amos K., of Brewer; Abbie J., now Mrs. Charles Devereaux, of Bucksport; Jabez W., of Ohio; Martha O., now Mrs. Amos Wight, of Augusta; Willard D., of Springfield, Illinois; Mary S.,. now Mrs. George Rider, of Orrington; Anna D., now Mrs. Alpheus Hanson, of Bangor; Edward E., of this town; Sumner, of Orrington. Of this large family only two of the fourteen have not lived to grow to man- hood and womanhood, and all are well settled in life. Mrs. King died January 20, 1876. Mr. King married for his second wife Mrs. Betsey H. Birce, nee Miss Hoxie.

Charles A. Severance is a son of Benjamin Severance, of Orrington, who was born in this town. He was in the War of 1812 at the battle of Hampden. The children were: Otis, Sally, William, George, Keziah, Albert, Charles, Cyrus, Mary, Rossetta, Erastus, Harvey, and Edwin. Mr. Severance died in Orrington; was one of the early settlers of the town. Charles Severance was born April 27, 1831, in Orrington. His occupation was brick mason until five years ago, when he engaged in mercantile business, and is also Postmaster; has been Selectman four years. He married Lydia B. Bowden, daughter of Jeremiah and Hannah Bowden, of Orring- ton, who were early settlers of the town. By this union two children were born-Charles M., with his father in the store; Rosa J., resides with her parents.

Elbridge Ware, deceased husband of Adaline Ware, was born in Orrington, Penobscot county, and was a son of Captain Warren Ware, who was one of the earliest settlers of the place; was captain of militia; was engaged in the lumber mills and tannery business for many years, and was one of the prominent men in the town. He married Lucy Bowden, of Brewer, and raised eight chil- dren-Priscilla, Abigail, Warren, Elbridge, Eliza, Alma- tia, Charlissa, Julia. He died in Orrington in 1870. He married Adaline Copeland, of Holden, by whom five children were born-Annette, Jonas, Elber, Charles, and Isabel.

Moses Rogers came to Orrington in 1780, a native of Eastham, Massachusetts. His wife was Thankful Free- man. Moses Rogers had three sons and three daughters, viz: J. H. Rogers, now first lieutenant in the United States Revenue Marine Service, stationed in Boston Har- bor; J. Skinner Rogers, President Michigan Military Academy, Orchard Lake, Michigan; Sidney Rogers, Or-

rington; Belle S. (Wynn), Milford, Massachusetts; Flora F. and Susie M., of Orrington. J. H. Rogers served as private in Second Maine Infantry from April 18, 1861, till October 18, 1862, and was then appointed Master's Mate in the navy, and served until the close of the war. He was promoted to Master for gallantry displayed at Mobile Bay. J. Sumner Rogers served as private in the Second Maine Infantry from April 18, 1861, till July 18, 1863, and was appointed second lieutenant in the Thirty- first Maine in October, 1864; was promoted to Captain and appointed Major by brevet for meritorious services. He was mustered out in July, 1865; appointed second lieutenant in the United States army October 1, 1867, and resigned after serving ten years. In 1877 he organ- ized the Michigan Military Academy, and is now Presi- dent of that institution. .

Thomas B. George was born in Wrentham, Massachu- setts, January 29, 1819. Emigrated to Maine in 1830 with his father, Timothy George, who settled in Orring- ton. Timothy George married Betsey Capron, of Mas- sachusetts, and had a family of nine children : Warren, Fanny, Charlotte, Julia, Seth, Thomas, Maria, William, and Ellen; five of whom are living. He died July 13, 1854. Thomas B. George married Polly Rogers, of Orrington, and had four children: Thomas H., Maria T., Charles W., and Mary C. Thomas H. is dead. His first wife died October 6, 1862, and he was again married to Susan E. Farrington, of Holden, who died July 25, 1877.

James Freeman, born in Orrington June 12, 1794, is a son of James Freeman, Sr., who came to Orrington with his father, Samuel, while a young man. He died in Orrington at seventy-nine years of age ; married Mary Freeman, of Orrington, by whom seven children were born: Joseph, James, Mercy, Olive, Mary A., Reuben, and Smith. James, the only representative of the above family, is still living at the age of eighty-seven. He was in the War of 1812, at the battle of Hampden ; has been Justice of the Peace forty years, and has held other town offices about twenty years; has held all the prominent township offices, and was captain of militia. He mar- ried for his first wife Azubah Hopkins, daughter of Bar- zilla Hopkins, of Orrington, and had the following chil- dren : Charles W., James W., Elisha, and Clorinda. His first wife died in 1851, and he was again married to Miss A. Norton, of Bangor, who died in 1862. James W. died of sickness in New Orleans in the late war.

Joseph King was born in Orrington April 4, 1808 ; he is a son of Samuel King, who emigrated from England and settled in Orrington in that year. He was one of the early settlers of the town, and did much in clearing the lands. In early life he engaged in sail-making; was also a seafaring man; was lost at sea. He married Mary Rodney, of New York City, and had five children, viz: Eliza (deceased), Jane, Joseph, Charlotte, John. Joseph King in early life lived with Ephraim Goodale, of Or- rington, until he was twenty-one, and since that time has been engaged in lumbering and farming. He built a mill in Hermon ; has been a member of the Methodist church fifty years ; married Susan Hurlty, daughter of Frederick Hurlty, of Machias, Maine. By this union

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

eleven children were born : Frederick, Elizabeth, Laura L., Gershom and Melville (dead), Ada, Joseph, Jennie, Laura L., Arthur W., and Joseph M.

Augustus Chapin was born in Orrington August II, 1822; he is a son of Josiah Chapin, who was one of the earliest settlers of the township, emigrating from Milford, Massachusetts, in 1814. Josiah Chapin was a shoemaker and farmer. He was in the War of 1812 as captain; was at the battle of Hampden. He was a Methodist and a class-leader in that church ; was Selectman, and held other

minor town offices; died at seventy-two years of age. He married Mary Willard, of Mendon, Massachusetts, and had seven children, six of whom grew up to adults, viz: William, Mary, Melissa, Josiah, John W. (deceased), Lorenzo, and Augustus. Augustus Chapin has always been engaged in farming and lumbering. December 19, 1849, he married Ann T. Hincks, daughter of Captain Elisha and Betsey Hincks, by whom he has five chil- dren, viz : Nellie E., Albert L. (deceased), Arthur, Charlie E., and Annie L.

PASSADUMKEAG.

Pushing now again to the newer towns up the Penob- scot, we pause at the tract bearing the singular name of Passadumkeag, a name derived originally from the fine stream of that designation, which enters the river within its limits. The word itself, in the Tarratine or Penob- scot tongue, signifies "quick water," though the same word in another Indian dialect is said to signify "inhab- itant of the valley." The town is not now a large one, though of respectable size; and it was larger by one- third from its incorporation New Year's Day, 1835, until 1842, when about that share of its territory and inhabi- tants was set off to its eastern neighbor, Lowell. At present it has scarcely more than twenty square miles. Its north line is three and one-fourth miles long; its east line, which is broken into two sections about midway of its length by a slight divergence more nearly to the southward, is five and three-fourths miles long; the south line three and a half; and the course of the Penobscot along the west front is about six miles. The south line is not quite parallel with the north; but converges a very little from east to west, so that the western length of the town is a trifle less than the extreme length. The great- est breadth of the town is measured by the north line; but it is closely approached by the width from the inner- most part of the bend below the station straight to the east line. The shortest breadth is two and a half miles, from the head of the little bay on the Penobscot, into which the Beaver Brook enters, in the northwest part of the town, to near the middle of the north section of the east line.

Passadumkeag is bounded on the north by Enfield, the east by Lowell, south by Greenbush, and west by the Penobscot, which lies between it and Edinburg. Many islands are in the river on this front; as the Long, Marsh, Nichola and Hog Islands, all within a mile below the

mouth of Beaver Brook; and the Pinaes, Craig, Frances Lazy, Joe Merry, and Murphy Islands, between the mouth of the Passadumkeag and the southwest corner of the town.

The stream just named is the principal and, with un- important exceptions, the only water of the town. The Cold Stream, however, is a respectable brook, the outlet of the remarkable chain of Cold Stream Ponds, and flowing itself directly from the large Cold Stream Pond, which occupies the whole eastern part of Enfield. The outlet comes down almost in the exact northeast corner of Passadumkeag, and flows near the east line of the town about three miles to the Passadumkeag Stream. A little more than half-way down from its point of entrance it receives the waters of the Little Cold Stream from En- field.

The Passadumkeag has its sources in lakes and springs far in the interior, in and near the south border of Lee; flows south and southwest through Township No. 3, Lakeville Plantation, a corner of Hancock county, the Allen Tract, and Township No. 2, through Suponic Lake into Burlington, the southeast angle of Lowell into Township No. I, and up into Lowell again. It crosses the southwest angle of that town about half a mile from the corner, and enters Passadumkeag nearly one and a half miles above its south line. A small fraction of a mile further it receives the Sam Ayres Brook from the northeast corner of Greenbush, and flows northwest till it takes in the Cold Stream, when it makes more nearly westward about two and a half miles, and joins the Pe- nobscot at the station, something less than half-way down the west side of the town. The whole course of the Passadumkeag in this town is less than four miles.

Across the northwest angle of the town, in a south course, flows the Beaver Brook from Enfield, receiving

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

the Bear Brook half a mile beyond the town line, and running one and one-fourth miles to a cove or little bay at Long Island, where it empties into the Penobscot.

The European & North American Railroad has a lit- tle more than six miles of track in this town, but only one station, which is about half-way up, and at the mouth of the stream whose name it shares with the town. Passadumkeag Station is beginning to flourish; has an extensive steam saw-, shingle-, and stave-mill, with cooper and blacksmith's shops, hotel, three general stores, public school-house, etc. The Boom House is a little way out, on the road up the Stream. The river road crosses the Passadumkeag by a bridge at the vil- lage. School No. I is a little less than two miles below, and School No. 3 less than one and a half miles above the village.

School No. 4 is in the southwest part of the town, on another north and south road which enters half a mile from the northwest corner, from Enfield village, and di- vides into two branches soon after crossing the line, one of which goes southwest to the Station and the other south- erly across the Passadumkeag a fourth of a mile below the mouth of the Cold Stream, and on through a toler- ably dense settlement below School No. 4 out of the town. A road from the Station east two miles along the north bank of the Stream, joining the main road a little north of the bridge, completes the short list of import- ant highways in the town. There is no east and west road as yet entirely across the town, unless it has been quite recently cut through.

The surface of this town is quite varied, and it pos- sesses a fertile and productive soil. Excellent mill-priv- ileges exist, furnishing fine facilities for lumbering, which has been the principal industry of the town. The village has a particularly good location.

One of the most interesting relics of antiquity to be found in the county remains upon the head of Nicolar's Island, in the shape of slight earthworks, which were identified by Judge Godfrey some years ago, with every appearance of probability, as marking the site of the French fort erected in the Penobscot Valley about 1700, and which was destroyed by Westbrook's expedition in 1723.

The original settlers of Passadumkeag were Messrs. Enoch and Joshua Ayers, in 1813. Then came, within the next few years, Tristram F. Jordan, James Sanders, Isaac P. and Aaron Haynes, Joshua Hathaway, James Comings and Benjamin his son, Peter Sibley and sons, Elijah P. Evans, Elijah Tourtillott, and Mrs. Ann Den- nis, the last with a large family of boys. But the Com- ingses, the Ayreses, Tourtillott, and Evans, are said to complete the entire roll of settlers in 1819. These all subsequently left, but their places were taken by others.

In 1840 Passadumkeag had a population of 394; in 1850, 295; in 1860, 360, and in 1870, 243. Its polls in 1870 numbered 73; its estates, $30,738.

Passadumkeag has generally been classed with ten other towns and plantations, for representation in the State Legislature. The Representatives from its own borders have been Tristram F. Jordan, Isaac P. and

Aaron Haynes, James B. Howland, and James M. Com- stock.

The town has a Congregational church, whose pulpit is just now vacant. There are four school-houses. A steam-mill, turning out boards, shingles, and staves, is operated by B. Plummer & Son; there is one manufac- turer of cooperage and one blacksmith and carriage- maker, and three general stores. The Exchange Hotel is kept by H. W. Chapman.

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History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 119

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co. Number of Pages: 1100

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100