USA > Maine > York County > History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 89
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
was formed by Rev. Paul C. Richmond, from the Maine Conference, in 1829. Meetings were first held in the vi- einity of the old Congregational church. Mr. Richmond was succeeded by appointments from the Conference of E. C. Ewins, Joseph Gerry, A. Hatch, and W. H. Pillsbury. In 1836, Rev. George D. Strout was sent to this charge, and eommeneed to hold meetings in a hall at the village. A meeting-house was dedicated June, 1838; sermon by G. F. Cox. In March, 1849, it was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt and dedicated 1850; sermon by Thomas Carver. In 1867 the house was enlarged by the addition of twenty pews, raised two feet from foundation, and a convenient vestry finished in the basement. Among the ministers who have been appointed to this society sinee were L. S. Stoek- man, H. Butler, J. W. Atkins, F. Yates, J. Cushing, P. Jaques, W. MacDonald, P. C. Richmond, John Moore, T. Greenhalgh, N. Hobart, J. Armstrong, J. Ilooper, U. Ride- out, A. Green, E. Smith, P. E. Brown to 1860. Sinee,- E. Martin, U. Rideout, C. W. Moore, O. W. Seott, W. B. Bartlett, Roseoe L. Green, G. F. Cobb. Membership about 120.
THE SECOND ADVENT SOCIETY AT GREAT WORKS was organized in the spring of 1871, by Revs. J. G. Smith and T. W. Piper. Its membership was 15. During the
320
HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.
fall and winter of 1870 a chapel for worship was erected, and dedicated, Jan. 8, 1871, by Elder D. M. Leavitt. Revs. G. W. Brown and Rev. Mr. Young have been pastors.
FRIENDS.
The first meeting held by the Friends in Maine was towards the latter part of December, 1662. Anne Coleman, Mary Tompkins, and Alice Ambrose, the three women who, by the order of Richard Waldren, of Dover, were made fast to a cart's tail, and driven from town and whipped on their bare backs, ten stripes each, till they were beyond the juris- diction of the colony, being set at liberty at Salisbury, came to Newichawannoek and held a meeting, at which Shubael Dummer was present and opposed their views.
Their persecution was vigorous and unrelenting. There was a fine of £5 exacted for their participating as officers in the affairs of the town. In 1663 the constable of Kit- tery was sent to Maj. Nicholas Shapleigh-who, though not one of their number, recognized their inherent rights as freemen-and ordered to repair to his house on two Sab- bath days, taking sufficient witnesses with him, and to " for- bid all persons assembled giving countenance to any such persons at their meetings, contrary to the laws of this jurisdiction." A list of the " Quakers" within the town of Kittery ( now Berwick and South Berwick ), entered on the town book March 17, 1732, contained the names of An- drew Neal, Sr., John Neal, Andrew Neal, Jr., Thomas Weed, Peter Withum, James Davis, John Morrill, Sr., John Mor- rill, Jr., Reynolds Jenkins, Peter Morrell, Jedediah Morrell, Francis Allen, Francis Allen, Jr., Robert Allen, William Fry, William Fry, Jr., Benjamin Fry, Samuel Hill, Jr., Michael Kennard, Widow Sarah Mitchell. In 1733-34 the names of Peter Withum, Samuel Johnson, Edward White- house, Jabez Jenkins, and Daniel Furbush, Sr., were added to the list. A large society still exists within the limits of the old parish of Berwiek, at what is uow North Berwick village, to which point their worship was subsequently trans- ferred.
SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES.
The first record of schools is the eall of Master Rock, in 1716, to teach a school at £40 a year. Two years later, John Bradstreet kept school near Mr. Chadbourne's. Ste- phen Emery was an early teacher, and took his pay in "one-half boards and one-half Publiek Bills." £600, " old tenor," were voted for schools in 1748. The next year school was kept two months in a place, and moved six times, viz., at the lower school-house, at James Goodwin's, at John Hooper, Jr.'s, or thereabouts, at Reuben Hayes' or John Morrell's, at Stephen Harris' or William Frost's, and at John Falls' or Thomas Downes'. There were two stationary schools in 1750. For five months schools were kept in the summer of 1770. In 1790 a plan was made " agreeable to the new law," and in 1791 an academy was incorporated. There are now, besides the academy, 14 district schools maintained for the benefit of 856 resident children, 576 of whom were registered on the school rolls in 1878. Expense of schools for 1878, met by town tax, $2125; value of school property, $6000; school supervi- sor, Rev. W. S. Vail.
BERWICK ACADEMY, SOUTH BERWICK, MAINE .*
This institution was incorporated in the year 1791 by the Legislature of Massachusetts. The Hon. Benjamin Chadbourue is mentioned in the act of incorporation as the donor of a very convenient "tract of land in said Berwiek to the use of an academy." He was the father and founder of this school. He was chosen president of the first board of trustees, and to his untiring zeal and exertions in its behalf, at this early stage of its existence, is to be attributed the fact that it has continued to this day. Col. Jonathan Hamilton was first secretary and treasurer, and Rev. John Tompson, Rev. James Pike, Hon. Edward Cutts, John Rollins, Esq., Mr. John Lord, Mr. John Hale, and Dr. Ivory Hovey were members of the first board of trustees.
The first funds of the academy were raised by subscrip- tion, and amounted to £500, besides 200 acres of wild land in Shapleigh, given by Benjamin Chadbourne and William Rogers. To this the State of Massachusetts added a town- ship of land, which is now the town of Athens, in Somerset County. In 1815 the Hon. John Lord gave $500 by will for the purpose of presenting each pupil who attends one term with a Bible. Up to this date, 2297 copies of the Scriptures have been distributed from this source. In 1856 three college scholarships were founded by Benjamin T. Tredick, Esq., of Philadelphia, since deceased, and by William L. Cogswell, Esq., of New York, and Hon. Francis B. Ilayes, of Boston. Mr. Cogswell has also given a fund for the purchase of gold medals and book prizes. More re- cently, the late Hon. John H. Burleigh procured a grant of 82000 from the State of Maine.
There have been two school buildings previous to the one now occupied. The first one was removed to another part of the village, and is now the residence of Mr. Robert Fernald. The second, which was built mainly through the enterprise and liberality of the late Hon. William A. Hayes, was destroyed by fire in the fall of 1851. The plan of the present structure, which was dedicated Dec. 6, 1853, was drawn by the late Richard Upjohn, of New York, and built of the best material and in the most thorough manner by Messrs. Fall & Rollins, then of Lebanon, Me. Hon. Francis B. Hayes, the president of the present board of trustees, following the commendable example of his father, took great interest in the erection of this building, and gave much of his time and money to its completion.
There have been 39 preceptors from 1793 to 1879,-a period of eighty-six years. Of these Messrs. Ira Young, who was principal in 1828, and Stephen Chase in 1836, were, subsequently, both professors in Dartmouth College.
The school was at first designed for boys only, but was afterwards thrown open to both sexes. The fortunes of the school have fluctuated from time to time, its suecess de- pending largely on the abilities of the teacher for the time being. In 1843 the number of scholars fell to 7 ; in 1855, under the management of Messrs. William S. Palmer and Joseph B. M. Gray, the number rose to 129. Mr. J. D. Berry, who was preceptor in 1838, had over 100 scholars, and, more recently, other gentlemen have had good numbers and taught good schools.
* By C. C. Hobbs, Esq.
321
TOWN OF SOUTH BERWICK.
The corporation has a record of the name of every boy and girl who attended school one term since 1815. Pre- vious to that date no record of names exists. Among the more prominent gentlemen who have attended school at Berwick Academy may be mentioned Hon. John Went- worth, of Chicago; Rev. Nathan Lord, D.D., for many years president of Dartmouth College ; John Lord, LL.D, the celebrated historical lecturer ; Hon. Bion Bradbury, of Portland ; the late Hon. Hiram R. Roberts, of Rollingsford ; Augustine Haines, Esq., of Biddeford, now deceased ; Rev. Daniel Goodwin, at one time professor in Bowdoin College, subsequently president of the University of Pennsylvania ; John Webster, Esq., of Boston ; the late Professor John S. Woodman, of Dartmouth College; the late Hon. John H. Burleigh ; Hon. Micajah C. and George William Burleigh ; Hon. John N. Goodwin, of New York ; Hon. Charles Doe, chief justice of New Hampshire ; James T. Furber, Esq., superintendent Boston and Maine Railroad; Rev. James Wilson Ward, editor of the New York Independent, and others.
While it has in no manner interfered with the efficiency of the public schools, it has aided and supplemented their work, and enabled many young men of moderate means to obtain a collegiate education who would otherwise have been deprived of that advantage.
The school is now in a very flourishing condition, with an attendance of nearly 50 scholars, under the charge of William O. M. Lord, a graduate of Bowdoin College, as- sisted by Miss Etta E. Koowlton, a graduate of the Robin- son Female Seminary, and Miss Pichette, teacher of French.
ASSOCIATIONS.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD-FELLOWS.
Olive Branch Lodge, No. 28, was instituted June 3, 1845. The charter members were John Hubbard, Theodore H. Jewett, E. H. Jewett, Isaac P. Yeaton, O. P. Emery, George S. Woodman, Charles T. Trafton, John G. Thomp- son, Caleb Sanborn, John B. Nealley.
The officers in 1879 were Edwin S. Goodwin, N. G. ; Charles H. Hubbard, V. G. ; Engene Goodwin, Sec. ; E. R. McIntire, Treas. ; R. L. Goodwin, R. S .; Thomas Bent- ley, Marshal ; J. S. Ford, O. G .; Charles E. Dodge, Con- ductor ; Rev. W. S. Vail, Chaplain. The lodge owns a fine hall in a three-story brick block, erected by them in 1845, at an expense of $5000. The membership is 125.
Agamenticus Encampment, No. 15, was instituted March 19, 1872. The charter members were John B. Nealley, Charles E. and William H. Durgin, John W. Adams, William A. McIntire, Charles W. Murphy, Jacob S. Ford, Eben F. Nealley, Joseph A. Hanson, Charles A. Harney, Frederick B. Smith, Oliver Stevens.
The officers in 1879 were Jacob Ford, H. P .; E. R. McIntire, Treas. ; Charles Robbins, Scribe ; Eugene Good- win, S. W .; Jacob Ridley, J. W. The membership is 38.
MASONS.
St. John Lodge, No. 51, F. A. M., was chartered Feb. 13, 1827.
The officers in 1879 were George H. Wakefield, W. M .; Otis E. Moulton, S. W .; Charles H. Cooper, J. W. ; John
F. Walker, Treas .; George H. Muzzey, Sec .; Edward A. Chesley, S. D. ; Joseph A. Lord, J. D. ; William M. San- born, S. S .; Daniel E. McIntire, J. S. ; Horace Sanderson, Tyler.
This lodge has a fine hall, 75 feet square, erected over the principal business block of South Berwick village, at an expense of about $5000. .
Unity Chapter, No. 32, R. A. M., was chartered May 5, 1869, and worked at first under dispensation, with the following officers : Sylvanus Hayward, H. P. ; James Ham- ilton, K .; Alonzo Stackpole, S .; L. B. Young, L .; G. C. Yeaton, Scribe ; Abner Oakes, P. S .; W. P. Bradford, R. C .; I. P. Fall, Sec. The present officers are John H. Plummer, H. P .; George Wakefield, K .; Ed. McIntire, Scribe ; John F. Walker, Treas. ; Wm. M. Sanborn, Sec.
CIVIL LIST. TOWN CLERKS.
Nathaniel Nason, 1814-16; Joshua Roberts, 1817-20; Nirum Nor- ton, 1821 ; John Goodwin, 1823-26: Charlea E. Norton, 1837- 45 ; John Colcord, 1846-47 ; Charles E. Norton, 1848-50 ; Benja- min F. Parks, 1851-57 ; William A. Cromwell, 1858-59; Edward Hayman, 1860; Joseph E. Davis, 1861 ; Edward Hayman, 1862- 63; Alonzo Stockpole, 1864; William Thompson, 1865-67; Eben- ezer S. Hanson, 1868-69; Charles C. Hobbs, 1870-71; Abner Oakes, 1872-76; Charles C. Hobbs, 1877-79.
SELECTMEN.
1814 .- Benjamin Green, Samael Nichols, Simeon Lord (2d). 1815 .- Samuel Nichols, Benjamin Grant, Esq., Simeon Lord (2d). 1816-17 .- Robinson Palmer, Daniel Page, Joseph Emery. 1818 .- Robinson Palmer, Daniel Page, Andrew Goodwin. 1819-26 .- Benjamin Goodwin, Andrew Goodwin, Samuel Wentworth. 1827-28 .- Thomas Goodwin, John P. Lord (2d), Andrew Austin. 1829-34 .- Thomas Goodwin, Andrew Austin, Wm. A. Thompson. 1835 .- Thomas Goodwin, John Warren, Wm. A. Thompson. 1836 .- Thomas Goodwin, John Warren, Andrew Austin. 1837-38 .- Thomas Goodwin, David Boyd, William Hight. 1839-41 .- Thomas Goodwin, Richard H. Walker, Richard Davis. 1842 .- Thomas Goodwin (2d), Richard Davis, Rufus Thurrell. 1843-45 .- John P. Lord, Augustus Goodwin, Richard H. Walker. 1846-47 .- David Boyd, Job Emery, Jedediah Goodwin.
1848-57 .- Bartholomew Wentworth, Mark F. Goodwin, John Hans- com.
1858-59 .- Paul Stone, Isaac P. Ycaton, David M. Goodwin.
1860,-Elisha H. Jewett, Sylvester W. Chadbourne, Ephraim Hods-
don.
1861 .- Nehemiah Colby, Elisha H. Jewett, Sylvester W. Chadbourne. 1862 .- Nehemiah Colby, William A. Young, Sylvester W. Chadbourne. 1863-64 .- William A. Young, George Hobbs, Gideon Waldron. 1865 .- Isaac P. Yeaton, William A. Young, John Gray.
1866 .- John Gray, Edward S. Goodwin, John A. Dennett. 1867 .- John Gray, Edward S. Goodwin, Isaac L. Moore.
1868-69 .- Shepley W. Ricker, John A. Hooper, Horace J. Goodwin. 1870-71 .- Thomas J. Goodwin, Joshua Goodwin (2d), John Blaisdell. 1871-72 .- Joshua Goodwin, Nathaniel Kimball, Isaac Libby, Jr. 1873 .- Joshua Goodwin, Nathaniel Kimball, Thomas J. Goodwin. 1874 .- Nathaniel Kimball, Henry A. Stone, Thomas J. Goodwin. 1875 .- Henry A. Stone, Thomas J. Goodwin, Isaac Hersom. 1876 .- Isaac Hersom, John A. Dennett, Sewall F. Lord. 1877-79 .- John A. Dennett, Charles Bennett, Isaac Hanscom.
PROMINENT MEN.
Gen. Ichabod Goodwin was the grandson of Thomas, the first emigrant of the Goodwin name in town, having settled here as early as 1660. A portion of the old farm is still in possession of a descendant of the first settler. Ichabod,
41
322
HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.
a son of Thomas, was a member of the General Court of Massachusetts in 1754, a captain in the Provincial army, and at the breaking out of the French war raised a company from among his neighbors and friends, and in 1758 was or- dered to Lake George to join Abercrombie in the attack upon Ticonderoga. He was wounded and returned home. His son Ichabod, the subject of this sketch, was born May 25, 1743. He carly became accustomed to the bustle of camp and din of battle. Though a boy of fifteen, he ac- companied the captain in his Ticonderoga campaign. He was a member of the Provincial Congress in 1775-77. In 1775 he was appointed, in connection with others, to pur- chase arms for the troops. At the surrender of Burgoyne's army the York County regiment of militia was detailed to guard the prisoners, Col. Gerrish and Lieut .- Col. I. Good- win in command. In 1780, while colonel of 2d Regiment of York County, he was appointed superintendent of troops to be enlisted in the county. After the Revolution he be- came the first major-general of militia for the county of York. In 1792 he was representative from Berwick ; was sheriff of the county nearly twenty-seven years. His first commission as lieutenant was issued by King George III. In the war of 1812, while major-general, his division was called out, and portions of it stationed at exposed points, as Kittery, York, etc. He died May 25, 1829, aged eighty- six. Two sons, Dominicus and James S., graduated at Dartmouth. The first studied law, but died suddenly from exposure in the trenches at Boston. James became a physician. The family has numerous descendants in the county, whose names are often found upon the records as connected with the administration of public affairs.
Dudley Hubbard was born in Ipswich, Mass., March 3, 1763; graduated from Harvard in 1786; studied law with Daniel Davis, of Portland; admitted to the bar in 1789; established himself at South Berwick, and became one of the leading lawyers of the county. His tact in the mau- agement of cases, and his close attention to the business of his profession, secured for him a large and lucrative prac- tice. Young men sought his office as an admirable legal school.
Edward P. Hayman was born in Boston, Feb. 22, 1771 ; came to South Berwick while a young man ; entered the office of Mr. Hubbard, where he remained five years, the term of apprenticeship then required before admission to the bar, Hle was admitted November, 1796. In 1800 he was elected clerk of the Massachusetts Senate, the same year appointed assistant clerk of the Supreme Court, and the next year one of the circuit clerks, which office he held till 1820. Ile then returned to the practice of his pro- fossion till 1823, when he assumed the duties of cashier of South Berwick Bank, which position he filled acceptably till his death, Dee 25, 1831.
Benjamin Greene was born May 5, 1764; graduated from Harvard in 1784; took charge of Berwick Academy in 1797; ahinitted to the bar in 1801; representative to the General Court from 1809-11, 1813-17, and in 1819; member of convention to frame State Constitution in 1819; chief justice of Court of Common Pleas from 1811 to 1822; Speaker of the House in 1824; marshal of United States, by appointment of President Adams, from 1824 to 1830.
He left several sons, who, as doctors and lawyers, became prominent in other towns .*
Among the leading men of a more recent period may be mentioned William Burleigh, a representative to the Eigh- teenth and Nineteenth Congresses.
John N. Goodwin was a representative in the Thirty- seventh Congress, Governor of Arizona, and delegate from that Territory to Congress. He is now a resident of New York City.
Charles Greene, son of Hon. Benjamin Greene, entered the practice of law from South Berwick.
Ebenezer Sullivan was born in Berwick, studied law, and practiced here for a short time, a contemporary with Huh- bard, but his habits were irregular, and his practice failed. He possessed the Sullivan talent, and at one time com- manded a company against the Western Indians. He died in New York.
William A. Hayes was born in North Yarmouth, Oct. 20, 1783; graduated at Dartmouth with the highest honors in 1805. Que year he studied law with E. Whitman, a short time with Mr. Hubbard, finishing his course with Artemas Ward, of Charlestown. He was admitted to the Middlesex bar in 1809, and soon opened an office in the village, where he spent the remainder of his life. At the death of Mr. Hubbard he succeeded to his business, as well as to his elegant mansion and farm. He was presi- dent of the bank more than twenty-five years ; president of York County bar about the same length of time; many years president of the board of trustees of academy; judge of probate from 1828 to 1847; also a representative to the Legislature in 1822. He was a useful and public- spirited man, and enjoyed the confidence of his fellow- citizens.
Charles Northend Cogswell was born in Berwick, April 24, 1797, graduated from Bowdoin in 1814, studied law in the office of Judge Hayes, and was admitted to the bar in 1817. He was a representative and a State senator. He died in 1843.
Charles C. Cogswell, a prominent lawyer in another State, and a member of the Senate, was a native of this town.
John P. Lord, son of Gen. John Lord, studied law, but engaged in mercantile pursuits. He is popularly known as the author of the Maine Townsman, the first edition of which appeared in 1844. For a number of years he occu- pied a position in the custom-house at Boston. He died in 1878, at the age of ninety-three years. He was the father of nineteen children ; one of these, Rev. John Lord, LL.D., of Stamford, Conn., has made himself eminent as a lecturer upon history. Also, Rev. Charles Lord, an au- thor of some note.
Hiram H. Hobbs, a son of Nathaniel Hobbs, of North Berwick, graduated at Bowdoin in 1823, and has since been a successful lawyer of this town.
John Hubbard, a rising young lawyer and graduate of Harvard College, died in 1838.
Hon. John B. Nealley, who has practiced law here since 1845, has been a member of the State Senate.
# See Bench and Bar, in General History.
323
TOWN OF SOUTH BERWICK.
George C. Yeaton, late county attorney of York County, is a resident of South Berwick village and a prominent citizen.
Charles C. Hobbs, son of Hiram C. Hobbs, graduated at Harvard in the class of 1855, and, after a short practice in Boston, Mass., returned and entered practice with his father.
Hon. John H. Burleigh has been in both branches of the Legislature, and for several years has been the enter- prising agent of the Newichawannock Company.
Elisha H. Jewett has represented his district in the State Senate.
Jeremiah Bradley was clerk of the county court for many years.
Richard Leader, who built the Great Works mill, was a prominent man, and acquired wealth through his immense lumbering operations. He was elected six times a member of the board of associates under Governor Godfrey's ad- ministration previous to its termination in 1652.
Benjamin Chadbourne, a descendant of one of the first settlers, is remembered as an extensive landholder and a man of public spirit. He was a representative of the town, a magistrate, and member of the Congregational Church, and was the father of Jonathan C., Benjamin, and Ichabod R. Chadbourne.
John Cushing, a native of Scituate, Mass., and a mer- chant of Boston in 1776, became a citizen of South Ber- wick after the close of the war. He was a nephew of Chief Justice William Cushing.
Gen. John Lord was a prosperous merchant, and was a representative and State senator. He was the father of Nathan Lord, D.D., ex-president of Dartmouth College. He had five children,-John P., Samuel, Nathan, Augus- tus, and Susan. Augustus died young; Susan married Judge Hayes ; Samuel became a cashier in a bank at Portsmouth, which position he held uninterruptedly for a period of fifty years.
Three citizens of the town have been members of the United States Congress : William Burleigh, 1823-25; John N. Goodwin, in the Thirty-seventh Congress; John H. Burleigh, in 1873-75. Ichabod Goodwin and William Gerrish were members of the Provincial Congress from Oct. 17, 1774, to July 19, 1775.
Ichabod R. Chadbourne entered the service and was lieutenant of Col. Bartholomew Thompson's company in the war of 1812.
Col. Bartholomew Thompson went into that war as a cap- tain, and became a colonel.
Capt. Horace Jewett, now brevet-major in the United States army, entered the service as captain in the 15th In- fantry in December, 1862, and has since remained in the service.
Benjamin Greene was representative in the General Court in 1714-15; none in 1716-19.
PHYSICIANS.
Among the physicians of the town have been Richard Hazeltine, M.D., who was an active participant in town affairs in 1812-14; T. H. Jewett, M.D., became a pro- fessor in a medical college and an eminent practitioner ; Nathaniel Low, M.D., member of the Legislature in 1824.
The more recent physicians have been C. F. Trafton, S. H. Jewett, C. Sauborn, E. P. Gerrish, E. D. Jacques, Calvin H. Guptill, John L. Willis, since 1878.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.
HON. JOHN HOLMES BURLEIGH
was born in South Berwick, Me., Oct. 22, 1822. His father, Hon. William Burleigh, was a member of the Eigh- teenth and Nineteenth Congresses, and member elect of the Twentieth Congress at the time of his death, in July, 1827. John was the youngest of three sons, and when he was six- teen, the property left by his father having been exhausted, he was compelled by necessity to go to sea before the mast at seven dollars a month. He became an able seaman, and was successively second mate, chief mate, and captain of a ship sailing on foreign voyages. He sailed several times around the world. In 1850 his wife accompanied him on a voyage around Cape Horn to Calcutta, and thence home- ward by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Mr. Burleigh had all the variety of adventure attendant upon seafaring life. His ship was dismantled in a hurricane off the island of Bermuda, and wrecked on one of the Orkney Islands. He finally abandoned the sea in 1853, and went with his brother into the foundry business, in which they were very successful. Two years later he aided in forming in his native town a wool-manufacturing corporation, afterwards known as the "Newichawannock Woolen-Mills," of which, in 1855, he became the leading owner and manager, and remained so to the time of his death. He was for several years president of the South Berwick National Bank, and of the savings bank of the same town.
In politics he was a Republican from the first. He was a member of the State Legislatures of 1862, 1864, 1866, and 1872. He was chosen by his party in the State Legis- lature of 1864 delegate-at-large to the Baltimore Conven- tion that nominated Lincoln and Johnson. In 1872 he was elected a representative from the First District of Maine to the Forty-third Congress, by a large majority .* He served on the Committee on Naval Affairs, and, without being prominent in debate, was faithful in the discharge of all his duties as a representative. Mr. Burleigh was remarkably successful in all his undertakings. He was an active mem- ber of the Congregational Church, and a liberal promoter of religious, moral, and benevolent enterprises. He was a trained business man, of strietest integrity, clear, cool- headed, not ostentatious, and never assuming more than he could perform.
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.