USA > Maine > Waldo County > Unity > History of Unity, Maine > Part 4
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December 15, 1901, a heavy rain was in progress. No trains ran from Burnham from Saturday, the four- teenth, until Sunday, the twenty-second, at 3 P. M., when a freight passed through to Belfast. The fol- lowing Monday the writer handled over sixty bags of mail.
July 16, 1901, the glass in the shade at noon stood at 100 degrees above zero.
The mill house opposite Connor's mill was built by Sherwin Crosby.
Nathan and Joseph Farwell, sons of Henry Far- well, were born in Unity and moved to Rockland. Nathan was elected to the United States Senate, and Joseph to the Governor's Council.
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History of Unity, Maine
On March 24, 1904, the sharp shock of an earth- quake was felt here at 1.50 A. M.
Clement Rackliff and his wife, H. Chase Rackliff, were members of the Society of Friends and used to attend the Friends' Yearly Meeting, held at Newport, Rhode Island, making the entire journey on horseback.
When Walter Hurd's barn was raised, Elias Jones made a speech from the ridgepole.
March 27, 1827, the support of Lydia Davis was sold to Isaac Mitchell for four cents a week.
Joseph Stevens built a house near a spring on the Jackson farm, now owned by Alonzo Bacon, it being east of south of Mr. Bacon's house. The six acres directly in front of Mr. Bacon's house were formerly owned by Henry Farwell. He left it unfenced for years, and it was called "Farwell's Common."
The first bridge at the village was built opposite the mill house.
Hezekiah Tilton, son of Gibbs and Huldah Tilton, was a noted Methodist minister, at one time bishop of the diocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Copps Opening was the section one mile west of the Elias Fowler place, now owned by William Gerald. Samuel Copps and a man named French built a log house here, each family occupying one-half. One-half mile this side lived a man by the name of Samuel Davis, one-fourth mile away a man by the name of Plummer, who built a log house north of the Fowler place on the main road. Isaiah Whitten built a house afterward owned by a Mr. Taylor.
Electricity was turned on in Unity Village for the first time on January 1, 1916.
The Unity postoffice will become a third-class office during 1916.
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History of Unity, Maine
REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS
In the records of the Revolutionary War, we find : from this town the names of James Packard, John Melvin, William Hanna, Thomas Fowler, Aaron Kelly, David Vickery, John McKenny, Nathan Parkhurst, Thomas Pearson and Ichabod Hunt.
.! James Packard enlisted January 1, 1781, for three years, under Col. Joseph Vose, was transferred to the artillery, under Col. Swift, September, 1781.
John Melvin enlisted July 1, 1775, served seven months and one day, transferred from Massachusetts to New York, mustered out at West Point, transferred into the regular army.
Thomas Fowler served one month and six days, was a scout under Col. Josiah Brown and Gen. Wadsworth.
Aaron Kelly served under Major Dummer Sewall, discharged at Boothbay, November 10, 1775, enlisted again July 12, 1776, served six months and four days for the defense of the sea. In 1780 in service again one month, under Brig. Gen. Wadsworth.
David Vickery enlisted at Fort George, December 1, 1775.
John McKenny, private in Capt. Daniel Strout's Company, enlisted July 17, 1775, served to December 31, 1775, five months, twenty-seven days, company sta- tioned at Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough.
Thomas Pearson enlisted July 7, 1779, in Capt. John Gray's company, Col. Jonathan Mitchell's regi- ment, discharged December 12, 1799, re-enlisted at North Yarmouth.
No record can be found concerning the service of William Hanna, Ichabod Hunt and Nathan Parkhurst.
I believe the above record to be correct. I have spent many hours searching the records made in those days.
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History of Unity, Maine
SOLDIERS IN THE WAR OF 1812
In Lieut. Benj. J. Rackliff's company, Lieut. H. Morris' regiment from September 12-27, 1814, the fol- lowing names appear from Unity: George I. Fowler, Archelaus Hunt, Robert Blanchard, Nathaniel Carll, Robert Carll, Eben Reynolds, Nathaniel Stevens, Dean Libby, Mark Libby, Elisha Bither, Josiah Murch, David Vickery, Samuel Kelly, Joel Vickery, Elisha Parkhurst, Nathan Parkhurst, Jacob Truworthy, Thomas Fowler, Daniel McManus, Richard Cornforth, Eben Farwell, Reuben Cookson, Benj. Melvin, Aaron McKenny, John Larrabee, Jeremiah Connor.
SOLDIERS OF THE MEXICAN WAR Otis Whitmore, Joseph Bither.
SOLDIERS OF THE CIVIL WAR
The Civil War began in 1861 and lasted four years. Unity was among the first to respond to the call for soldiers, and promptly furnished her quota of men, who proved themselves valiant fighters and of whom the town has always been proud. A large number lived to return. If I remember right, Unity sent nine- ty men, and I believe there are now twenty-two living among us, honored and respected by all.
The names of those who went to the war are: Isaac Avery, Ruel M. Berry, John Berry, Rufus B. Bither, Silas Bither, William Bither, Augustus Broad, Joseph A. Bacon, Eugene Boulter, Phineas Bennett, Rev. Jacob Crosby, Jefferson Clifford, John Crie, George Clifford, Eli Chase, Chas. O. Chase, Frank Cookson, Robert Cookson, Thomas Cookson, Alonzo Carter, Asa Douglas, Amos Douglas, Chas. Fogg, Dan- iel Flye, Elijah Flye, Walter Flye, Rufus Flye, Wil- liam Hamilton, Myrick Hagaty, Frank Hamilton, Ed-
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History of Unity, Maine
win, Hall, John W. Hall, Streeter Harding, Marcellus Harding, Denis Hartford, Ralph Harmon, Cyrus Has- kell, Eugene Hunt, Hoyt Hunt, Andrew A. Hurd, Boyd Hines, James Hines, Warren Jones, Jonathan Kelly, Joel Kelly, Joseph P. Libby, Nathan P. Libby, Alvano Lowell, Alonzo Libby, John T. Main, M. D., Chas. Mar- shall, Marcian McManus, Edwin Moore, William Moore, Daniel McManus, S. A. Myrick, Jeptha Murch, David H. Myrick, Otis McGray, Amos Moore, William Nason, Cyrus Myrick, E. R. Parkman, Thomas Phin- ney, Thean Randlett, John Randlett, Josiah Reynolds, Amander Rackliff, Amander Rackliff, Jr., Henry Rob- inson, Lemuel Reynolds, Hiram Reynolds, James Rey- nolds, Joseph Reynolds, Joseph E. Stone, Edwin E. Stevens, Josiah Scribner, Fred Seavy, Daniel Scribner, Daniel Starkey, Daniel Small, John Smith, Lewis Thompson, Marcellus Whitney, William Whitten, Benj. Williams, M. D., Samuel Webb, Richard Whitten, Chas. Webster, John Van Deets.
Marcian McManus was in Libby Prison nine months, and contracted a disease there from which he died a few years after the war closed.
Daniel Small, 2nd, was killed in battle.
Phineas Bennett died soon after getting home.
Cyrus Myrick was killed.
'Jeptha Murch died soon after getting home.
Lemuel Reynolds died in the hospital.
Alonzo Libby contracted disease in the army, from which he died soon after reaching home.
THE FORTY-NINERS FROM UNITY
When gold was discovered in California, Unity, like most other eastern towns, in spite of distance and perils, sent out her quota of men in the great search.
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History of Unity, Maine
In 1849, Hon. Crosby Fowler, his brother, Dutton Fowler, Joseph Bartlett, William Weeks, Stephen T. Rackliff and Joseph Rackliff sailed from Bath, Maine, in September, in the ship, "Hampden," arriving in San Francisco in a little less than six months. They went around Cape Horn. It took forty cents to send a letter to California in those days.
In 1851, Gorham Hamilton, Joseph Chandler and Seth Thompson started west, and in 1852 C. E. Mit- chell and Chas. E. Taber, with his cousin, Albert Taber of Albion, went. In 1856, Joseph Kelly, Burnham Kelly and Simon Knight followed. In 1864, Crosby Fowler, J. F. Parkhurst and Wilbur Mitchell drove a herd of cattle across the plains, through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada, a long, hard journey. The cattle were mostly cows, which were sold to the dairymen. Job Chase, Bartlett and Harri- son G. Otis also went to California, but the date I am unable to ascertain.
I append a letter written home recently by one of the "boys" who left Unity in those early days, which gives a mind picture of the journey to California :
Grass Valley, California, Dec. 24, 1910.
I am going to hark back a long way and tell you when, where and how the California gold fever bacillus got into my system, so that as a result I have for nearly fifty-nine years been separated from all my kindred and the companions of my youth.
The time was the spring of 1851, and reports were in circulation of the finding of gold in the northern part of Maine. There was much excitement, and a rush for the mines was started. Four from Unity joined it, E. S. Stevens, Robert Lytte, the hotel keeper
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History of Unity, Maine
at the village, and myself. "Shelly" and I went to- gether with a little horse that grandfather had for his use. When we got on the main road up the Kennebec river, we were sometimes in a procession, all bound for the new Eldorado, but as we neared the boundary we began to meet teams returning, and after a brief examination of the mines a little farther on, we, too, turned and wended our way homeward.
Up to that time, I think I had never had any idea of going to California, but in three weeks from my return I was getting ready for the trip. At that time there was such a rush for California that tickets for passage were sold two or three months ahead. I paid three hundred and ten dollars for a steerage ticket.
We left New York on the 24th of February. My berth was away down in the lower regions of the steamer, but by the third night it was warm enough to sleep on deck, rolled in blankets, which I did for the rest of the trip. The steamer, the "Georgia," had as many-probably more-passengers as the law allowed. Food of all kinds was cooked by the barrel, and it didn't come out in a condition to invite. Often I passed through the mess room without taking more than a bite of what looked best, but I had a box of food with me and got along fairly well. Such fare wouldn't have seemed quite so bad to me after I had been in this state two or three years.
In due course of time we reached Havana, and at the same time the "Ohio" reached there with a load of passengers from New Orleans. Both steamers had all the passengers allowed, but at Havana all were taken upon the "Ohio" for the Isthmus. And such a crowd as there was! It was a jam upon decks and between decks and under decks. The cooks and wait- ers were kept "on the jump" from early morning till
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History of Unity, Maine
late at night to provide two meals a day. The first 1 mess would be called in quite early in the morning, and it would be ten or eleven at night before the last mess had its second meal.
I think we were eight or nine days from New York to the Isthmus. At Aspinwall (now Colon) the rail- road had been finished for about fourteen miles, at which point it reached the river, so, for the purpose of making a little easy money for the road, we were land- ed at Aspinwall. The fare for this ride on flat cars, with no seats, was five dollars. At one place where a stop was made for water, the engine could not start the train without help, and I was one of a number who got off to help boost.
When we reached the river, we found flat-bottomed boats with a capacity of from six to twenty. They were propelled by natives, standing upon the board walk on each side of the boat. In places where there was considerable current, the natives would jump off and push the boat along. Clad in the snug-fitting, waterproof garments provided by nature, the water being warm, they experienced no discomfort.
The end of boat navigation was at Gorgona, from which place one could proceed by "foot and walker's line," by jack or mule back, or be carried by natives. The four of us hired three jacks, upon one of which we packed our blankets and extra clothing, and took turns in riding the others.
Arriving at Panama, we found two steamers, "The Panama" and "The Isthmus," waiting for us. Our party was taken out to "The Panama," a mile or more from the shore. "The Isthmus" started several hours ahead of us, and we saw no more of her until we were making the Golden Gate. Heavy drafts were made upon our fuel, so a stop was made at San Diego-then
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History of Unity, Maine
a sleepy little hamlet, now preparing for a World's Fair in 1915.
On the morning of April 1, "The Isthmus" was sighted, apparently a little in advance, though being outside, she was no nearer San Francisco than we. It soon became evident that a race was on between the two steamers. The passengers were made to keep in position to maintain an even keel. Fuel was wanting, and partitions and bulkheads were knocked down and fed to the furnaces. Our steamer had a little the advantage, but so little that the passengers were land- ed at the same time.
I recall here one sad event on the way up. A mon- key had been chained on the upper deck. One day a passenger was having a little sport with him, stepping back when the monkey jumped at him. There was an airshaft leading to the engine room far below .. In retreating, the man went down the shaft and was taken up dead. Nothing could be found upon him by which to learn his name or home; so I suppose that somewhere there was a long waiting for tidings that never came from the victim of this tragedy.
But here I am at last in San Francisco.
CHAS. E. TABER.
MEN WHO HAVE HELD TOWN, COUNTY OR STATE OFFICES
Members of Governor's Council
Joseph Farwell, Reuben Files.
State Senators
Hezekiah Chase, Amander Rackliff, Samuel S. Berry, James R. Taber.
Representatives to the Legislature
Rufus Burnham, Frederick Stevens, Lemuel Bart-
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History of Unity, Maine
.
lett, Thomas Fowler, Seth Thompson, James B. Murch,
Hale Parkhurst, Eli Vickery, James Connor, Abram Cookson, William Taber, James Fowler, Jr., Alfred Berry, John T. Main, M. D., James H. Cook, Ruel. M. Berry, Jesse E. Cook, M. D.
County Commissioner
Crosby Fowler.
Deputy Sheriff's
Peter Jackson, S. S. Berry, Alfred Berry, Augustus Fogg, Frank Mussey, James A. Adams, Joseph H. Farwell.
Plantation and Town Clerks
Abner Knowles, Robert Jackson, S. S. Berry, Chen- ery Broad, Benj. Chandler, James Patterson, Gorham Hamilton, J. F. Parkhurst, Alfred Berry, Benj. Fogg, N. B. Parkhurst, A. R. Myrick, D. W. Parkhurst, Charles Taylor, Mott Cates, J. H. Cook, E. P. Blanch- ard, E. D. Chase.
Selectmen
Jacob L. Ames, Lemuel Bartlett, Rufus Burnham, S. S. Berry, Benj. Bartlett, R. M. Berry, Jefferson Bartlett, F. A. Bartlett, Walter Bessey, Hezekiah Chase, John Carll, Richard Cornforth, Otis Cornforth, B. F. Chase, Nelson Dingley, Crosby Fowler, James Fowler, Jr., Benj. Fogg, Joseph Farwell, Joseph H. Farwell, A. W. Fletcher, C. R. Jones, A. J. Hurd, B. R. Hunt, E. B. Hunt, Newell Harding, Walter Hurd, Peter Jackson, James Libby, Jr., James W. Libby, Raymond McManus, Edmund Murch, D. R. McGray, L. H. Mosh- er, W. H. J. Moulton, John Murch, Elisha Mosher, Ruel Mussey, Ansel Perkins, John Perley, N. B. Parkhurst, H. B. Rackliff, Amander Rackliff, Edwin Rand, E. T. Reynolds, Edward Rand, B. B. Rackliff, Frederick
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History of Unity, Maine
Stevens, Alonzo Small, Daniel Small, E. S. Stevens, R. R. Spinney, Joseph Stevens, Chas. Stevens, William Taber, J. A. Thompson, Daniel Whitmore, B. J. Woods, Wesley Woods, Eli Vickery, Nelson Vickery, John Vick- ery, George Varney.
Treasurers
Benj. Bartlett, Hale Parkhurst, Seth Thompson, Josiah Harmon, H. B. Rackliff, J. R. Taber, Benj. Fogg, T. H. Parkhurst, J. H. Damon, B. B. Whitney, Chas. Taylor, L. H. Mosher, E. B. Hunt, E. E. McCauslin, J. H. Farwell, L. J. Stevens, R. C. Whitaker.
School Superintendents
John T. Main, M. D., N. B. Parkhurst, John Gilman, Clara Vickery, James Craig, M. D., James Taber, James Libby, Jr., A. R. Murch, W. G. Fuller, George Fletcher, T. O. Knight, Myra Libby, E. M. Soule, C. M. Whitney, M. D., D. V. Rollins, Joseph Farwell, H. B. Arey, Arthur E. Irish.
School Committees
Hezekiah Chase, Peter Jackson, William McGray, Asa Jones, Chenery Broad, R. W. Murch, J. F. Fer- nald, B. B. Stevens, John T. Main, M. D., E. K. Boyle, Rev. E. H. Prescott, Alvano Lowell, Otis Cornforth, C. S. Cook, John Stewart, John Perley, George Grant, J. E. Cook, M. D., E. D. Chase, Harry Waning, T. O. Knight, J. B. Vickery, C. L. Gannett, E. M. Soule.
Postmasters
Lemuel Bartlett,
Apr. 1, 1807
Daniel Whitmore,
Oct. 10, 1815
Rufus Burnham,
Jan. 23, 1829
Hiram Whitehouse,
July 13, 1841
Joseph B. Gilkey,
July 29, 1845
James G. Patterson,
Apr. 9, 1849
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History of Unity, Maine
James B. Murch,
July 29, 1853
J. F. Parkhurst,
June 15, 1858
Alfred Berry,
Aug. 31, 1861
James R. Taber,
Dec. 13, 1865
Clement R. Taber,
July 15, 1867
Josiah Harmon,
Dec. 7, 1868
L. H. Whitaker,
June 15, 1874
I. F. Carter,
June 30, 1875
H. B. Rice,
Mar. 17, 1880
James R. Taber,
Nov. 24, 1885
H. C. Chandler,
Mar. 27, 1889
Robert B. Cookson,
Aug. 17, 1893
James R. Taber,
May 31, 1895
Edgar T. Whitehouse,
Oct. 17, 1914
Doctors
Abner Knowles, Rufus Burnham, John Milliken, Parker, Alexander Boothby, Stephen Boothby, John Cook, - West, Henry Hamilton, Dunlap, Loring Brown, John T. Main, Austin Thomas, J. M. Mussey, B. B. Whitney, C. L. McCurdy, James Craig, H. F. Benson, O. L. Emerson, C. M. Whitney, J. E. Cook, H. L. Truworthy, P. W. Whitaker.
Dentists W. G. Fuller, E. P. Blanchard, E. M. Soule.
Lawyers
Albert Bingham, Mr. Dinsmore, Samuel Benson, William Weeks, J. F. Fernald, James B. Murch, E. K. Boyle, A. F. Watson, James Libby, Jr.
Methodist Ministers
Thos. Perry, John Atwell (1817), Sullivan Bray (1820), Benj. Bryant, Eliot Fletcher (1828), Peter Burgess, Rufus Day, Cyrus Scammon, Theodore Hill, Geo. Pratt, James Hutchinson, John Benson, John Pin-
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History of Unity, Maine
gree, Isaac Moore, Gould Elliot, Kendrick Meservey, Mace Clough, Otis Jenkins, Josiah Brown, Wm. Bray, Levi Shaw, John Marsh, Henry Blood, Isaac Roberts, Phineas Higgins, Nelson Whitney, Rufus Dixon, Chas. Knowlton, John Simonton, Moses Miller, Alonzo Clif- ford, Gustavus Chadwick, Wm. Clifford, Edmund Tun- nicliff, James Morelan, John Bennett, Seth Beal, Wil- son Lermond, Thos. Wright, Willis Meservey, Mr. Dodge, Wm. Baker, Mr. Merrill, Edwin Burrill, Willis Luce, Chas. Ross, Erastus Wall, B. H. Tucker, James Ainslee, Wm. Snow.
GRADUATES OF NORMAL SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
Eastern State Normal School
James E. Kelly, Herbert L. Rand, Harry Moore, Ethel Clark, Mabel A. Bacon, Marietta Bacon, Joseph Farwell, Thos. Knight.
Bridgewater Normal School
Herbert L. Rand.
Bates College
George C. Chase, J. Aubery Chase, F. Wallace Chase, George B. Files, Fred J. Chase, Chas. Rose- land, Harold Roseland.
Boston University
James E. Kelly (Law School).
Vivian H. Taber (post-graduate work at Columbia University).
Bowdoin College
Frank L. Dingley, Granville C. Waterman, Stephen Boothby, Herbert Chase, Albert Winslow Paine, Wil- liam Spinney, James Craig (Med.), B. Bartlett Whit- ney (Med.), Clarendon M. Whitney (Med.).
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History of Unity, Maine
Colby College
George Snell, Chas. Chase, Chas. Foster, Solomon Hunt, William Lincoln Jones, Benj. Fowler, E. Kelly, Herbert Kelly, Austin Thomas, Asa Jones, Albert Blanchard.
Dartmouth College
Nelson Dingley, Jr., Ephraim Murch, 2d, Jesse E. Cook (Med.).
Leland Stanford University
Stillman S. Berry (post-graduate work at Har- vard).
University of Maine
Wesley Webb, Joseph Rackliff, Curtis Boyce Mit- chell, Benj. W. Blanchard, Maurice D. Jones, Lynn Rand, Philip Grant.
New York Medical College
Alexander Boothby.
Oxford University, England
Eliza J. Perley (also studied in France and Ger- many).
Tufts College
Harry L. Truworthy (Med.)
Wellesley College
Sybil Berry. Yale University
P. W. Whitaker.
Baltimore Dental College
Ellery P. Blanchard, E. M. Soule.
Harvard Dental College Arthur Rand.
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History of Unity, Maine
Merchants
The first store in "The Settlement" was owned by Chandler Hopkins. In the village, Isaac Adams and Thomas Chandler traded where Jack Van Deets lives, and Allen Taber where Mrs. L. H. Mosher's store now is. They were the first traders in the village. Then came the following: E. K. Ada, J. A. Adams, C. A. Adams, Henry Baker, Alfred Berry, S. S. Berry, J. S. Bither, Gustavus Broad, Thos. Chandler, W. R. Chandler, A. H. Clark, H. M. Clark, Sanford Colson, T. B. Cook, Thos. Cornforth, John Crie, Nelson Ding- ley, A. L. Estes, Henry Farwell, Joseph Farwell, Jo- seph Gilkey, George E. Grant, H. H. Grant, Moses Hanson, B. F. Harmon, Josiah Harmon, Fred Hunt, Asa Howe, Karam Brothers, Henry Kelly, Ansel Kelly, Samuel Kelly, George E. Linkfield, E. E. Mc- Causlin, C. E. Mitchell, C. B. Mitchell, L. H. Mosher, A. R. Myrick, James G. Patterson, J. F. Parkhurst, Benj. Pattie, John Rackliff, Willard Rand, Frank Rice, J. S. Rollins, Thos. Snell, Daniel Spring, Harry Stearns, Benj. Stevens, Jr., Allen Taber, Clement R. Taber, James R. Taber, Chas. Taylor, Edgar Tolman, N. D. Webb, Robert Webb, L. H. Whitaker, F. A. Whitehouse, E. T. Whitehouse, Hiram Whitehouse, Elijah Winslow, Nelson Vickery, N. W. Vickery, Vol- ney Vickery, John A. Van Deets.
Station Agents
Alfred Berry, G. Fred Terry, Harry Walker, Fred A. Whitehouse, E. T. Whitehouse, Mr. Files, H. M. Gregory, Beverley Robinson. -
Insurance Agents
Chas. Taylor, Chas. Stevens, George Taylor, Lynn Stevens.
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History of Unity, Maine
Milliner's®
Sarah Colbroth, Susan and Hannah Sturgis, Mrs. Heman Fowler, Mrs. Rhoda Mitchell, Lydia Harmon, Mrs. Nellie Turner, Mrs. G. E. Linkfield, Mrs. Lucre- tia Moulton, Mrs. L. H. Mosher, Mrs. Lottie Nutter, Caroline Fuller, Sonnie Mallett, Mrs. E. M. · Soule, Lelia Smith, Mrs. Ethel Whitehouse.
Shoemakers
R. B. Stone, Benj. Fogg, Otis and Daniel Starkey, Thorndike Blethen, Nathaniel Rice, Bryant and Amos Moore, John Chase, W. N. Woodsum, James Myrick, Asa Jones, Joseph Small, O. J. Whitten, Lewis Thomp- son.
Blacksmiths
Chenery Broad, Fred Burrill, Isaac Avery, Miller Munroe, Joseph Munroe, David Dyer, George Sher- man, B. T. March, Chas. Means, William Gerrish, Chas. Graffam, Chas. Stroples, D. H. Davis.
Tinsmiths Call, N. C. Knight, H. M. Clark.
Barbers
John Van Deets, Archie ToTzier, Lewis Thompson, Frank L. Tozier, C. A. Adams.
The following items concerning men who have gone out from our town to make places for themselves in a larger world, and who have met with unusual success, may be of interest :
THE BRACKETT FAMILY
But few of the present generation are aware that the well-known Brackett family once lived in Unity.
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History of Unity; Maine
Their home was where Chas. S. Cook now lives. Mr. Reuben Brackett married Elizabeth Starkey of Vassal- boro. Being members of the Friends' Society, they settled near that church. That Mr. Brackett was es- teemed and acknowledged a leader among his friends, is corroborated by the fact that there are those still living who remember hearing their parents quote him as authority on matters under discussion."
Besides the work on his farm, he manufactured clocks and oilcloth carpets, and was the first man in the United States to use rubber on fabrics. He had a family of four sons and one daughter. Edward Au- gustus was chairman of the Fish Commission of Massa- chusetts for thirty-five years. Col. Gustavus B. was colonel of an Iowa regiment during the Civil War and head of the Pomological Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C., for fifteen years. Walter M. is the greatest painter of fish in America. When you visit the House of Representatives in Boston and look at the historic codfish hanging in their hall, remember that the finishing touches upon it show the skill of Walter. M. Brackett.
I have visited Mr. Brackett several times in his studio. He is now over ninety years old, but he does not look it, and is, he says, perfectly well. He gives one a cordial greeting, which seems to come from his heart. A man of sterling character, strong in his friendships, he attracts to him many friends. That my readers may know the estimation in which he is held by those who have known him many years, I give a letter written by Edgar Aldrich, judge of the United States Court of Appeals, which he gave me permission to use :
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History of Unity, Maine
JUDGE ALDRICH'S LETTER United States Courts Boston
BOSTON, April 21, 1913.
Mr. Frederick H. Mills, Secretary of the Boston Art Club, Boston, Massachusetts.
Dear Mr. Mills:
My heart is broken because I find myself obliged to go away, and because I cannot be present at the complimentary dinner to be given by the Boston Art Club to Walter Brackett, in celebration and in honor of his coming 90th birthday. A complimentary din- ner to a man of ninety "whom time in passing has for- gotten to make old"-a complimentary dinner to a man who has painted "to immortality"-is something which ought not to be missed. But, alas! alas !
Mr. Brackett is one of those rare men whose lot it has been to touch manifold things, and sweetly to adorn everything he has touched ; the course of his life stretches across a broad field of social and industrial development and change, yet through it all he has scattered only sunshine and sweet flavor. His life has been full of helpful good cheer, happy generosities, and glorious optimisms.
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