USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 38
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF LAWYERS.
was twice the Congressional candidate of the Democrats in the third district, composed of Waldo and Lincoln Counties, and in 1858 lacked only sixty votes of an election. In 1856 and 1857, he was President of the Bank of Commerce. In July, 1867, he went abroad, intending to make a tour of Europe. A severe cold, contracted on the passage, developed a form of lung disease, which afterwards terminated his life. He returned in August of the year following, with impaired health, and failed gradually, until he died in Boston, Nov. 14, 1869, at the age of forty-four.
Possessing a cultivated mind, which was incessant in its de- mands for occupation, he was a great reader, not only of news- papers and the more ephemeral literature of the day, but of whatever could give him information on his favorite topics. With a strong liking for financial facts and statistics, there was little knowledge of political economy that he did not master, and noth- ing, once acquired, which his remarkable memory failed to retain. He was a sound lawyer, especially in commercial law.
Colonel Johnson never studied to be a popular man. His life was too busy for that. Still, he possessed the elements of true popularity, when they were called into exercise. He rarely said an unkind word of any person. For even those whose crimes against society were acknowledged, he had words of pity and condolence. His charity - and he was charitable beyond what the world knew or ever will know - was not ostentatious, but flowed in unseen channels, blessing him that gave and him that received. The humblest persons who approached him were sure of courteous treatment and respectful consideration. What might seem the lack of affability, at times, was really the preoccupation of thought, which is common to all men who have many cares. No truer man to his friends ever lived. Those who were ad- mitted to his intimate friendship, and endeared by long associa- tion, he " grappled to his soul with hooks of steel." 1
In the distribution of the wealth which his business sagacity had enabled him to accumulate, he remembered those connected with him by the ties of kindred, and did not forget the ties of friendship and humanity. Warmly attached to Bowdoin College, he contributed liberally, during his life, in aid of Memorial Hall, an edifice erected to perpetuate the memory of graduates who fell in the Rebellion. At the time of his death, he was a member of Board of Overseers of the College. Among the bequests under
1 Journal.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
his will was one of three thousand dollars to his Alma Mater for the support of three scholarships, to be called the " Alfred John- son Scholarships," in memory of his father and grandfather, who were for many years trustees of the institution. He also set apart an income of five hundred dollars a year, perpetually, to be ex- pended, under the direction of a committee, "for the relief of the needy poor of Belfast, who are not paupers." This is one of those benefactions which "soothe, and heal, and bless," and do their work the more kindly, because unobtrusively and silently. Many a sufferer has had, and will have, reason to bless the memory of him who devised this bounty, the considerate giver who had -
"-a tear for pity, and a hand Open as day for melting charity."
FREDERICK A. LEWIS was admitted to the Bar in 1848. He came here in 1823 from Groton, Mass., his native place, and for several years was engaged in manufacturing and in trade. He died of paralysis, Jan. 22, 1869, aged sixty-nine years.
WILLIAM L. PAGE, a native of Belfast, and son of the late Oshea Page, studied law with Solyman Heath, was admitted to the Bar in 1847, and had an office here for a few months. He subse-' quently resided in Massachusetts. He died in Belfast, Feb. 28, 1850, aged twenty-eight years.
WALTER BINGHAM ALDEN, son of Hiram O. Alden, graduated at Bowdoin College in 1847, was admitted to the Bar in 1849, and established himself here the same year, in partnership with Judge Dickerson, succeeding to the business of the well-known legal firm of Alden & Crosby. He retired from practice in 1853, and has since resided in New York and in Boston.
JOSEPH WILLIAMSON, after graduating at Bowdoin College in the class of 1849, studied law with his father, the late Joseph Wil- liamson, and was admitted to practice in December, 1851. In 1853, he received the appointment of Judge of the Police Court, and three years afterwards was unanimously chosen by the people to the same office, for a term of four years. He compiled "The Maine Register and State Reference Book for 1852," a duodecimo volume of two hundred and fifty-two pages.
WILLIAM M. RUST was admitted to the Bar in 1845, and for sev- eral years practised at Washington, then in the county of Lincoln. He came to Belfast in 1853, and the following year became con- nected with the " Progressive Age," of which he has ever since been
Joseph Williamson
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF LAWYERS.
the editor and proprietor. He was County Attorney from 1860 to 1863, and in 1868 and 1869 represented the city in the Legisla- ture. In 1874, he was appointed by Governor Dingley a member of the committee for revising the State Constitution.
WAKEFIELD GALE FRYE is a native of Montville. He graduated at Rochester University, N. Y., in 1851, and, being admitted to the Bar of Lincoln County in 1853, commenced practice in Rockland the same year. In the spring of 1856, he was elected Judge of the Municipal Court of that city, but soon resigned to accept a business offer in one of the Western States, from which he returned in 1859,1 and established himself here. He held the office of Dep- uty Collector of the customs from 1861 to 1871, excepting a few months in 1865. In 1871, he was chosen Clerk of the Courts for Waldo County, a position which he now holds.
PHILO CHASE was born in Monroe; and, after completing his legal studies with the Hon. Nehemiah Abbott, was admitted in 1857. He practised here until 1868, when he removed to New York, where he now resides.
JOSEPH S. NOYES was a native of Belfast. He commenced the study of law at a late period of life, and was admitted to the Bar in 1858. For many years, he was a successful school-teacher. In 1851 and 1852, he was representative to the Legislature, and the following year President Pierce appointed him postmaster, a position which he filled with great acceptance to the public. When the Rebellion commenced, he generously subscribed two hundred dollars towards raising the first company of volunteers from Belfast. He was a strong friend of religion, temperance, and education ; and his private life, in all respects, was most exemplary. No young man of this city has ever been more respected or be- loved, or his death more regretted.2 Mr. Noyes died Oct. 16, 1862, aged thirty-eight years. The Bar of Waldo County passed appropriate resolutions as a tribute to his memory.
JAMES B. MURCH was born in Unity, in 1811, and was admitted to practice in Kennebec County in 1835. He settled at Unity the following year, and removed to Belfast in 1858. He was County Attorney from 1852 to 1856, and for six years held the position of postmaster in his native town.
WILLARD P. HARRIMAN was born in Freedom, July 1, 1814, and for several years resided in Waldo, where he was a deputy sheriff.
1 Eaton's History Thomaston and Rockland.
2 Progressive Age.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
He was admitted to the Bar in 1860, and has since continued in active practice here. He was a member of the Senate in 1854, a representative from Waldo in 1848, from Belfast in 1870 and 1871, and a member of the valnation committees of 1850 and 1860.
WILLIAM HENRY MCLELLAN was born in Skowhegan, Nov. 26, 1834, and graduated at the University of New York in 1853. After studying law with Morrill & Fessenden, of Anburn, he was ad- mitted to the bar of Androscoggin County in 1855. He practised at Mechanic Falls until December, 1860, when he became estab- lished at Belfast. He was a Senator from this county in 1872.
ENOCH K. BOYLE was born in Palmyra in 1836, and prepared for admission to the Sophomore class of Bowdoin College, but in consequence of ill-health did not enter. He studied law with Judge William B. Snell, now of Washington, D. C., and was ad- mitted to the Somerset Bar in 1857. He commenced practice at Kendall's Mills, but removed to Unity the following year, and to Belfast in 1865. In 1862, he was chosen County Attorney, and held the office for three successive terms. As a lawyer of keen- ness and ability, he possessed a high reputation, and was especially successful in the management of criminal cases. He died April 17, 1874, of a long and exhausting lung disorder, aged thirty-eight years. At the time of his death, he was a Senator from this county.
WILLIAM HENRY FOGLER was born in Lincolnville, Nov. 10, 1837. He entered Waterville College in 1859, and remained two years. In 1862, after completing his professional studies with Hon. N. Abbott and Hon. J. G. Dickerson, he was admitted to the Bar ; but did not commence practice until 1866, having entered the service as Captain of Company D., Nineteenth Maine Regiment. He was promoted to Major and Lieutenant-colonel, and while commanding the regiment at the battle of Tolopotomoy received a severe wound. He declined the appointment of Colonel, and was soon after honorably discharged for disability.1 In 1864, the position of Provost Marshal for this district was conferred upon him. During 1866 and 1867, he was Deputy Collector of customs, and in 1871 was chosen County Attorney, an office he still holds.
GEORGE E. JOHNSON, born in Albion, Nov. 14, 1839, fitted for Waterville College, but did not enter. He was admitted to the Bar of this county in October, 1864; practised a year at Unity, and then came to Belfast, where he remains. In 1872, he was chosen Judge of the Police Court.
1 Adjutant-general's Report, 1864-65, pp. 279, 602.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF LAWYERS.
ALBERT S. LUCE, a native of Monroe, was admitted to the bar in 1870, and commenced practice here the same year. He was a member of the Twenty-sixth Maine Regiment, and while in the service lost the use of a leg. After a long illness of consumption, Mr. Luce died Jan. 3, 1872, at the age of thirty years. He was an honorable man, and gave promise of being a useful member of the profession.
SETH L. MILLIKEN was born in Montville, Dec. 12, 1831, and graduated at Union College in the class of 1856. He represented Camden in the House of Representatives for the year 1858. In 1859, he was chosen Clerk of the Courts, and held the office by repeated elections until 1871. He was admitted to the Bar dur- ing the latter year, but has not been in active practice.
GEORGE E. WALLACE, a native of Castine, was born Aug. 6, 1836. His parents moved to Jackson when he was young, and he was repeatedly clerk and selectman of that town. During the Re- bellion, he was a member of the Twenty-sixth Maine Regiment during its service of nine months, when he joined the Fourth Regi- ment. He was admitted to the Bar in 1873, and has since prac- tised here.
JAMES S. HARRIMAN, son of Hon. Willard P. Harriman, was born in Waldo, Nov. 24, 1848. He was admitted in 1874, and at once commenced practice here.
EMERY BOARDMAN was born here, March 23, 1849. He pre- pared for college, but relinquished his studies, owing to ill-health. His admission to the Bar dates from October, 1873. During 1874, he edited the " Belfast Advertiser." He has been City Clerk from March, 1873.
JAMES Y. MCCLINTOCK, a native of Bristol, came here in 1828 from Swanville, and engaged in trade at the Board Landing. He was appointed Sheriff of the county in 1838, 1843, and 1856, and was Deputy Sheriff for thirty years. He was admitted to the Bar in 1873.
PHILO HERSEY, born at Canton, Me., Nov. 7, 1836, graduated at Tufts College in 1861. He was principal of the Belfast High School in 1861, and while a student at law here the following year entered the service as Captain of Company I, Twenty-sixth Maine Regiment, from which position he was promoted to be Lieutenant- colonel. He received a severe wound at Irish Bend, La., April 14, 1863. After being discharged, he resumed his legal studies, and was admitted to the Bar in 1866. He did not commence
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
practice until 1873, having in the mean while been engaged in mer- cantile business. In 1866, he was Representative to the Legis- lature.
EMERY SAWYER was admitted to the Bar in 1866, and com- menced practice here the same year. He subsequently removed to Searsport, where he now remains.
WARREN C. PERRIGO came to Belfast in 1868, and was admitted to practice the same year. He remained a short time, and removed to Rockland.
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PHYSICIANS AND SANITARY HISTORY.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
PHYSICIANS AND SANITARY HISTORY.
Physicians from 1792 to 1874. - Natives of Belfast who are Physicians elsewhere. - Thomsonian Society formed. - Mesmerism. - Female Physician. - Maine Medical Association. - Reception to Dr. W. T. G. Morton. - Waldo County Medical Associa- tion. - Subscription to Maine General Hospital. - Municipal Regulations. - Board of Health. - Asiatic Cholera. - Small-pox. - Various Epidemics. - Mortality. - Bathing-houses. - Horse Distemper of 1872.
T `HE first physician here was Dr. JOHN SCOLLAY OSBORN, from Epsom, N. H., where he was born in 1771. He ar- rived here about 1792, and soon after built a house in 1795, on the site of the present American House, which remained there until the Eagle Hotel was built. It was the first framed house erected on Main Street. Some years after it was erected, he built another house on the site now occupied by the court-house, to which he removed, and in which he resided until his decease.
In the early part of his professional life, Dr. Osborn was quite too much attracted by gay and jovial associations, and the good cheer usually accompanying them, to be a close student of books; but he was a careful observer of cause and effect, and from his largely varied experience in practice became a skilful physician. About 1815, a marked change took place in his modes of thought and conduct. To the great surprise of his townsmen, he made his appearance in our streets one day, for the first time, arrayed in Quaker garb, using the language peculiar to that sect, and an- nouncing that he had joined the Society of Friends. To their faith he held fast to the close of his life. He was ever after spoken of as the " Quaker Doctor," or, being a man of small size, as the "Little Quaker." There was no other one of that sect residing here.
He was a man of irascible temperament, but with the change of religious faith came a wonderful self-control and power to resist and overcome that natural infirmity. It was not in his nature readily to form personal attachments, but once formed they were constant. His friendship never grew cold, whatever might be said
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
or done to chill it. He continued in the practice of his profession until near the close of his life, and for many years after his death it was not unusual to hear, in seasons of sickness, from the lips of those whose family physican he had been for years, the language of regret that the "Little Quaker " had left them.
He died Feb. 13, 1831, aged sixty.1 Several amusing anecdotes are still told of him by old inhabitants. On the occasion of a violent thunder-storm, he undertook to allay the fears of a terrified family. He found the alarmed mother and children huddled to- gether in a room with closed windows and doors. "Betsey," said he, " thee is acting very foolish. Thee is in no danger. Let me show thee how to do." Throwing open a window, he sat down by it, to prove the harmlessness of lightning. At that moment there came a terrible erash from the clouds, which imparted to the doctor enough electricity to knock him into the middle of the room.2
Dr. JOSEPH UNDERWOOD came here about 1800, and soon afterwards built the house subsequently occupied by Robert Pat- terson, 4th, on the site of Charles B. Hazeltine's house. He remained but a short time, and did not acquire much of a repu- tation.
Dr. WEBSTER lived in the Russ House, on Main Street, in 1803. Contemporary, or nearly so, with him, were Dr. William Crooks,8 who deserted his wife, and Dr. McMillan, who moved to Knox, and thence to Ohio. The stay of each of these was short, and but little is known of them. Probably neither was an educated physician, and perhaps did not possess even what Field- ing termed " a small smattering in surgery."
Dr. CHAUNCY C. CHANDLER, born in 1774, came here from Vermont about 1803. He stood high in his profession. In 1828, he removed to Warren, where he died in 1833. Hon. Lueius H. Chandler, now of Virginia, is his son.
Dr. THADDEUS HUBBARD came here about the same time as Dr. Chandler. He had an apothecary store on the corner of Main and Washington Streets. He was a surgeon in the war of 1812, returned here, practised temporarily in Prospect, now Searsport, about 1821, and removed to Norridgewock in 1846, where he died in 1853.
1 Crosby's Annals.
2 Journal.
8 He was appointed surgeon's mate on the regimental staff of Colonel Brewer, in 1793; but was removed from that position.
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PHYSICIANS AND SANITARY HISTORY.
Dr. CHARLES HALL, a good physician, and a man of fine per- sonal appearance, established himself here in 1807. He was from Northampton, Mass., and came with Phineas Ashmun. He died Feb. 19, 1819.
Dr. EDWARD CREMER was here from 1808 to 1810. He came from Boothbay, and was a small-sized man. He died in the island of Jamaica in August of the last-named year.
Dr. CALEB BOUTELLE, a graduate of Harvard in 1806, came with his classmate, Joseph G. Cogswell, who commenced the prac- tice of law here in 1810. He was a brother of the late Timothy Boutelle, of Waterville. His residence here continued a year or two. During the war of 1812, while a surgeon in the navy, be was taken prisoner, and carried to Gibraltar. He died in 1819.
Dr. EBEN POOR was born in Andover, Mass., Oct. 28, 1765, studied his profession with Dr. Thomas Kittredge of that town, practised in Massachusetts and in Andover, Me., and removed here from the latter place in December, 1814. In 1822, he went to Castine, being appointed Clerk of the Courts, and resided there and in Penobscot until 1829, when he returned to Andover, Me., where, honored and respected, he practised until his death, Jan. 18, 1837. He was a safe and judicious physician.1 He held several political offices, and was a Senator from Hancock County during his residence here, in 1822.
Dr. HERMAN ABBOT, a native of Wilton, N. H., practised here from 1810 to 1825. His death occurred July 25th in the latter year, at the age of forty-two. An obituary in the " Hancock Gazette " speaks of him as follows : -
" His scientific research and professional skill have been tested by many years' successful practice in this town, where he will long be remembered by his intimate friends with grateful affection, and by the community of which he was a member with universal respect. But we love to contemplate him in a still higher char- acter, - higher, because it bad a more important bearing upon the world to which be is now removed. We mean his character as a man of unbending integrity, a Christian of unaffected piety. The church, of which he was both a highly valued member and officer, have regarded him as a brother, to whom they could look with confidence in seasons of difficulty, and whom they now monrn with a sorrow alleviated only by the delightful conviction that their loss is his unspeakable gain. Having lived with the
1 Wheeler's Hist. Castine, 224.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
awards of eternity in view, death met him not unprepared. In his last hours he observed to a friend that 'he considered death as the inevitable lot, but to the Christian not an evil.'"
For several years, Dr. Abbot had been collecting materials for a history of the town. His manuscripts are unfortunately lost. He was Town Clerk from 1821 to his decease.
Dr. WILLIAM POOR, a native of Andover, Mass., removed here from Andover, Me., in 1815. His first place of residence was a building on Main Street, where the store of Francis M. Lancaster now stands : it was destroyed in the great fire of 1865. A portion of the building he used for the sale of drugs and medicines. He afterwards resided in the house now occupied by Martin P. White, at the intersection of Main and Miller Streets, where he died September 17, 1829, aged fifty-three years. Dr. Poor was a quiet, unassuming man, fond of his profession and of scientific pursuits.
No higher tribute can be accorded to him than that contained in a local newspaper soon after his decease. "His life was one uninterrupted scene of benevolence and charity. To the naked he gave clothing, to the hungry food, and to the sick he was a kind physician. His memory will ever remain in the hearts of those acquainted with his worth." I
Dr. HOLLIS MONROE, the oldest son of Dr. Philip Monroe, of Surry, N. H., was born in December, 1789, and received his medi- cal diploma from Yale College in 1819. He came here imme- diately after graduating, not with a view to permanent settlement, but to afford temporary aid to an established physician in a time of prevailing sickness. But this place proved to be the scene of his long career of activity and usefulness. Such was the begin- ning of his professional life, which was protracted to over forty years. He soon became widely known, and always enjoyed the confidence and esteem both of the community and of his medical brethren. His naturally vigorous and inquiring mind prompted him to keep pace with scientific discoveries, and made him a learner through life. He assiduously cultivated all the branches of natural history, and his love of botany continued unabated to the last. He possessed no inconsiderable share of mechanical ingenuity, of which he availed himself, with useful results, in dentistry and surgical practice.
1
He was a singularly sincere man, simple in manners, straight- forward and plain in speech. Of a social nature, he loved to talk,
1 Maine Farmer.
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PHYSICIANS AND SANITARY HISTORY.
and out of the stores of a well-furnished mind his conversation was always instructive and profitable. The rules of health and the right modes of living were a favorite topic with him. Many of his wise and timely suggestions were long remembered, and produced incalculable good. He taught temperance in all things, by example as well as precept; for his own mode of living was plain, simple, self-denying, and almost ascetic.
As an example of professional enthusiasm, of single-hearted devotion to the purposes of his calling, he stood eminent. His profession occupied the place of domestic relations. His patients were his family. He refused no call for his services, however poor might be the applicant, and however distant his abode ; but in cold and stormy nights, and over difficult roads, he would repair to the dwellings of humble poverty, remaining as long as his pres- ence was needed, and sharing the discomforts of the situation.
Dr. Monroe was a member of the Maine Medical Society, formed in 1821, and also of the Maine Medical Association, subse- quently instituted. He was also a member of the American Medi- cal Association. His death occurred, of congestion of the lungs, June 21, 1861, at the age of seventy-one. At his funeral from the Unitarian Church, on the following Sunday, an address was delivered by Rev. Dr. Palfrey. The large concourse of attached friends and sincere mourners, who followed his remains to the grave, bore testimony to the esteem in which he was held by the whole community.1
Dr. JONATHAN P. ALDEN became established here in April, 1823, and remained in active practice until about 1848.
A tariff of medical fees, adopted in 1826 by Dr. Prescott and himself, and made public, is as follows : Single visit in the village, fifty to seventy-five cents ; constant daily visits, one dollar per day. Country practice, twenty-five cents per mile, with seventy- five cents for medicine and advice. If called at considerable dis- tance, and from home over night, two dollars at least to be added. Ordinary obstetric case in Belfast, five dollars.
Dr. JOSIAH PRESCOTT, last mentioned, resided here for a few years between 1820 and 1830. He received the degree of Bache- lor of Medicine in 1810. In his later life, he was known as a hydropathic physician. His death occurred in 1864.
Dr. ABIEL REED, a graduate at Brunswick in 1822, was here a short time in 1826.
1 Rep. Journal ; Progressive Age.
.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
Dr. DANIEL McRUER practised temporarily at the Head of the Tide, during a portion of the time that Dr. Prescott was here. He afterwards became a distinguished physician and sur- geon at Bangor, where he resided forty years. He died April 5, 1873, aged seventy-one. He was a native of Scotland.
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