USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Wayne > History of the town of Wayne, Kennebec County, Maine, from its settlement to 1898 > Part 22
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He spent the last seventeen years of his life in Bowdoinham, where he was recognized as one of the best and most progressive farmers, not only in Sagadahoe County, but in the State. He also had much to do with the ice industry, being for a long time the manager and agent of the Read Ice Company.
Mr. Read was a warm-hearted, publie-spirited, Christian gentleman, one who kept himself thoroughly informed in regard to the questions of the day and the affairs of the world. He had a ready sense of humor, was an interesting conversationalist and a charming companion.
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His life was one of constant activity. He was courteous and affable in his intercourse with others, and faithful and earnest in every work in which he engaged. He died in 1888, in Bowdoinham, where his wife, Mrs. Margaret Read, his daughter, Julia Emma, and his sons James B., and Allen W., still reside.
Charles Stanchfield, M. D., a son of Isaac and Abigail L. (Knapp) Stinchfield, and a great grandson of Thomas Stinchfield, the first white settler of the town of Leeds, was born in that town Feb. 26, 1840. His boyhood days were spent on the farm in the north part of the town, near the line between the towns of Leeds and Wayne, a portion of which borders on Stinchfield cove, a name early given to the westerly part of Androscoggin lake lying northerly of Dead river. This farm was a part of the first land in the town owned by a white resident, and until recently has been owned by members of the Stinch- field family. He began his education in the old school house that formerly stood in the sands of Beech hill, near the dwelling of the late HI. J. Ridley, in Wayne. From this school house many teachers, and several persons of more or less eminence, have been sent out. From there he went to Towle Academy, in the town of Winthrop, where he was first in his classes, under the tuition of Prof. C. K. Hutchins. He next went to Lewiston to the Maine State Seminary where he complet- ed his preparatory course. During this time the winter months found him imparting to others his attainments in the capacity of teacher, from which source he derived the necessary funds to enable him to continue his studies. He graduated from the Medical Department of Bowdoin College in the class of 1865 from which he received the degree of M. D. From there he went to New York City, where he availed himself of the advantages in the clinics at Bellevue Hospital Medical College. He established himself in an extensive and luera- tive business in the city. While there he had a severe attack of pneumonia, which resulted in the entire loss of the use of his right lung. He returned to his okl home where, after a hard fight with the effects of this malady, he partially recuperated. Having the use of only one lung, the city air with its impurities was avoided. By urgent request of his many friends to locate near home, he was induced to make his residence in this town, if only temporary. He came here in 1870, and practiced medicine when his health would admit of it. He was always deeply interested in the cause of education. He was elected Supervisor of Schools in Wayne in 1872 and 1873, the duties
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of which office he discharged with credit to himself and to the satisfac- tion of the townsmen. His ambition merited a much stronger physique. He was many times restrained from carrying into effect things that would have been of interest and benefit to the people had he not been handicapped by this malady, which was a source of great sorrow and suffering. In the winter of 1874-5 he contracted a severe cold, in consequence of which he died of consumption, April 1, 1875. He was buried in the family lot, in the cemetery which he passed and repassed in going to and from the old school house, in, and around which, chuister many fond remembrances of the boyhood days of the writer.
Why, early in lifework of study, to prepare For a future once bright, which he hoped to share, Was he called to rest, till resurrection morn When the just are gathered. the earth to adorn?
Josiah Flint Taylor was born Nov. 11, 1804, in Southboro, Mass. ; thence he removed to Oxford, Mass., then to New London, N. H., and finally, in the year 1841, to North Wayne, living there until the time of his death, May 22, 1886. His parents were Gilbert and Margaret (Stone) Taylor, his mother's native place being South Framingham, Mass. On his father's side he was descended from one of three brothers of the name, who came from England to Cape Cod in the early days of the Colony. One of these brothers went West, and one South, of whom Gen. Zachary Taylor was a lineal descendant. The third brother remained in Massachusetts, and it is from this one that Josiah F. Tay- lor claimed descent, as did the late Joseph Taylor of Belgrade, the noted orchardist. On his mother's side he was connected with the Stone and Trowbridge families, prominent in the civil and military history of Massachusetts in Colonial times, his great grandfather, General Trowbridge, having been in the Revolutionary service. Mr. Taylor was exceptionally robust, physically and intellectually. In business his indomitable energy swept away every obstacle to success. When he came to North Wayne in 1841, Hon. R. B. Dunn had estab- lished a small scythe shop there. Of this Mr. Taylor became manager and home agent. Under the direction of these two men the growth of the enterprise was truly wonderful. In a few years the plant became the largest of the kind in the United States, if not in the world.
As in business, so in religion, "Whatsoever his hand found to do, he did with his might." He had been from his youth a member of
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the Methodist Episcopal Church, and principally through his agency a substantial church building was erected, and for many years the sup- port of the preaching of the Gospel largely depended upon him, and every moral and social enterprise felt his large-hearted generosity. His friendships were responsive, true, and enduring. His sympathies were easily moved, and found expression in acts. He was a benefactor to the poor, a sympathizer with the suffering. He was prominent in Masonry, having received the degree of Royal Arch Mason in King Solomon's Chapter at Charlestown, Mass., in 1828. He was twice mar- ried ; his first wife was Dolly Freeman who died in Southboro, Mass., within four years, leaving two children, William and Dolly E. His second wife was Nancy Searle, by whom he had three children, Gilbert P., Mary E., and Willard M. Of these five children only the two last mentioned sons are now living, their mother dying July 30, 1866.
One of the finest farm residences in this vicinity, an ornament to the town and an object of interest to the traveler, is the Jennings home- stead, a cut of which appears in this book. It is owned and occupied by the Jennings Brothers. It is pleasantly located on an eminence which commands a fine view of Wayne village, Pocasset and Andros- coggin lakes. The house is a large two story mansion surrounded by a row of stupendous elms that rear their lofty heads to the wild winds of heaven and wave their majestic branches in grandeur and glory. In the front rank of these stands a white birch, its trunk is very notice- able, the color contrasting with the chns on either side. The late Capt. J. F. Jennings set these elms many years ago. His daughter transplanted the white birch here from its forest home. So long as these grand old trees stand and flourish the memory of the planters should be kept fresh and green. The brothers have a large barn in which there is a silo; they have, in short, a complete set of substantial farm buildings. The extent of the home farm is more than 200 acres. They have a large orchard of some 3000 trees, old and young, to which they devote much time and which, in bearing years, yields a large re- turn. The trees are mostly Baldwin and Ben Davis. They are pro- gressive farmers and successful business men. They are descendants of one of the town's oldest families concerning which many interesting facts are recorded in the chapter on Early Settlers.
Rev. Joshua Millet, born in Leeds, Jan. 26, 1803, was of the sixth generation in lineal descent from Mr. Thomas Millet, who settled in
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RESIDENCE OF THE JENNINGS BROTHERS.
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Dorchester, Mass., in 1634. His grandfather, Thomas Millet, was a soldier in the French and Revolutionary wars, and at the close of the latter with his family settled in Leeds, migrating from Massachusetts. His father, John Millet, was one of the early settlers of that town.
The subject of this sketch was the eldest of a family of ten children. The life in a log cabin, and the acres of good tillage cleared of the primeval forests, testify to the hard work and privations of his early days. The educational opportunities were few and meagre. What there were he seized with avidity and made the most of. A few weeks of public instruction in a year and the toilsome reading by firelight in the long winter evenings of the few books which the family had brought with them to the settlement, were the only means open to him. After years of hard farm labor and a ceaseless seeking for knowledge, late in his youth he reached Waterville College. There he remained awhile; but having the purpose of entering the Christian ministry, he aban- doned his course of study there and in 1831, entering Newton Theolo- gical Institute, graduated from that institution in the class of 1835. During his student life he was licensed as a preacher by the Baptist Church of his native town and preached in Boston, Roxbury and in many other churches in Eastern Massachusetts.
On Oct. 26, 1835, he married Miss Sophronia Howard of Bridge- water, Mass., and soon after removing to his native State he was settled as the pastor of the Baptist Church in Charleston, Maine. In 1838 he removed to, and, became the pastor of the Baptist Church in Cherryfield. During the years he resided there he was active in every movement for the improvement of the people of his new home. Recognizing the great importance of a more extended opportunity for the instruction of the youth there, he ardently promoted the establish- ment and maintenance of an advanced school, at which he delivered a course of lectures on educational matters. Meanwhile he delivered many publie lectures and addresses on social, economical and philan- thropic topies. During these years there arose between the National Government and Great Britain a difficulty in the settlement of the boundary between Maine and the Provinces, and troops were sent to the eastern part of the State for our defense. To one of the regiments Mr. Millet was appointed chaplain and had this duty added to his many others.
His health undermined by his elose application to his labors, and affected by his residence by the sea shore, he found it necessary to dwell in a more inland town. Receiving an invitation to become the
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pastor of the Baptist Church at Wayne, he accepted it, and moved there early in 1844, where he lived the remainder of his life. While there he completed the writing of the History of the Baptists of Maine. It was published in 1845, and constituted the only complete and ex- tended narrative of this denomination and its work in the State. The undertaking was discouraging, and only entered upon by him after many men distinguished in his denomination had declined it. With declining health and increasing pastoral burdens, he saw only the duty, which he then made his own, to resene from quick coming obliv- ion the early records and knowledge of his church which he so much loved.
At Wayne he at once identified himself with the interests of the town, moral, philanthropic and secular, so far as his health would per- mit. He always had at heart the public schools, and here he gave the same attention to advance them and extend their usefulness. At this time the great temperance movement which was sweeping over the country made its appearance in Wayne, and he became at once one of its chief promoters, establishing what was then known as the Cold Water Army. Then, too, the North began to be interested in the Anti-slavery work, and was becoming more and more aroused to the enormity of the evil of slavery in the South. On this question Mr. Millet had no doubts. Early he had espoused the cause of universal freedom and the extirpation of chattel slavery. In season and out of season he had preached and spoken against this national sin, and had contributed all that he could from his limited means to the practical solution of the question, as the anti-slavery societies and many a poor fleeing slave could testify. He never lived to see the day of the emancipation of the negro race in our country. Constantly failing in health and overcome with the cares of his professional duties, he strug- gled to perform the work he had devoted his life to do, and surrendered only when a worn out body refused to respond to the demands of his mind and heart. On the tenth day of March, 1848, after several weeks of suffering, he died. He was buried at Leeds, in his native town, be- loved by his church and mourned by the community in which he had lived. His wife and three children survived him.
Mr. Millet had a well balanced mind, stored with varied learning, acquired through careful study and observation. Logical in his con- sideration of any topic, he was a close reasoner, and became a sturdy opponent. This faculty gave a hardness to his interpretation of matters under discussion, which sometimes might appear to be intoler-
ISAAC MAXIM.
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ance on his part ; yet while seemingly unbending and severe it was far from his nature to wound, or repress the sincere views and judg- ments of others. Conscientious and devout as a preacher of the Gospel, boldly standing for the right as he understood it, and allowing no departure from it, he was in his family and social relations a kind husband and father, sympathetic friend and a good citizen.
Isaac Maxim was born in the town of Wayne, Oct. 16, 1814. By careful research we are able to present the following, concerning his ancestry : Samuel Maxim of Rochester, Mass., is the first of the name of which we find any record. The inventory of his estate bears date of May 27, 1729. His wife's name was Hannah and they had issue Jacob?, Thaddeus?, Dinah", Samuel?, Edmunde, Adonijah2, John2 and Freelove. Samuel, son of Samuel and Hannah, died in 1762, and left a widow Elizabeth, and issue Hannah3, born JJuly 2, 1737 : Na- than3, born Oct. 2, 1739; David?, born Sept. 30, 1741; Elizabeth3, born Jan. 19, 1743; Caleb3, born June 9, 1746 and Samuel3, born Sept. 12, 1748.
Nathan Maxim3 (Muxsom) of Rochester, married Martha Chubbuck of Wareham, Mass., Jan. 17, 1761. Martha was born Nov. 30, 1741. They had issue Lydia, Phebe, Silas, Ephraim, Samuel+, Jacob, Nathan, Martha, Clara, Freelove and Benjamin. Several of this family settled in Wayne, notably Lydia, who married William Churchill; Ephraim, who married Jemima Curtis ; Jacob, who mar- ried Sarah Washburn ; Martha, who married Dr. Moses Wing ; Clara, who married Melatiah Raymond; Freelove, who married David Howe; Benjamin, who married Eunice Raymond, and Samuel4, who first settled in Paris, and later removed to Wayne. He was born in 1769. He married Saviah Rider of Middleboro, Mass., and had issue Clara, who married Francis Knights of Wayne; Patience, who mar- ried Jason Caswell, of Leeds; Eliza, who married Asa Upton ; Samuel, who married Caroline Bryant and settled in Sangerville; Lucy, who married Jesse Bishop, Jr., of Wayne ; and the subject of this sketch, > Isaac Maxim5, who married Harriet Boston (Stevens) Maxim in the town of Blanchard, and settled in the town of Sangerville. He lived in several different towns in the counties of Penobscot and Piscataquis, where his eight children were born. In 1872, he returned to the town of Wayne, the place of his birth, and where he spent his boyhood days. He died April 29, 1883, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery. He
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left a widow and three sons, the youngest of which, Samuel, and his mother now reside at the old homestead in Wayne.
To say of Mr. Isaac Maxim that he was the greatest mechanical genius the world ever produced, up to his time, will express but a minor part of the merit to which he is truly entitled. Not unlike most country boys, of nearly a century gone by, he was born of poor parentage, reared with an axe in his hand, and educated in the chinmey corner by the light of a pitch-pine knot. Could he but have had the advantages of education, and sufficient wealth to enable him to apply his mechanical genius, it would not have been left to his sons to revolutionize the world in that line. What others learned by re- search and experiment, he knew by intuition. No machinery was so complicated or intricate that he could not see through it at a glance. Married young, a family of children following, possessed of small means of support, not burdened with the executive ability of a Napo- leon, generous, free-hearted, courteous, and strictly honest, may we not ask, what time had he to devote to the improvement of his native gifts and make a practical application of them? Yet he made many discoveries and inventions and instilled into his sons many important principles and ideas which have been ever present with them and developed by them. It was he who conceived the idea of, and modeled machine guns. He invented the netting guards for war vessels, the same as now used by the nations of the earth. The inventor of knitting machines exhausted his skill in trying to produce a double mitten. He had heard of Mr. Maxim's gift and sent him a machine, stating his inability and failure to produce one, and asked his assistance. He at once saw the necessary changes, made them, knit the mitten, for- warded it to the party and received therefor the gift of a machine. His spare time, largely night-time, was occupied in thought and study. He had a wonderful mind and a retentive memory. He was a good historical and biblical scholar, an easy and entertaining conversation- alist, a great reasoner, and never, under any circumstances, lowered his standard to vulgarity or profanity. His religious belief was closely Unitarian.
"Chill penury repressed his noble rage, And froze the genial current of his soul."
Mrs. Harriet Boston (Stevens) Maxim, widow of the late Isaac Maxim, was born in the town of Strong, Franklin County, May 18, 1815. She was the eldest of twelve children in a family of fourteen,
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HARRIET BOSTON MAXIM.
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the two older having died in infancy. The earliest knowledge we have of her paternal ancestry was Joseph Stevens, who was born pre- vions to 1700, his first wife having died Feb. 6, 1713. Ile married Elizabeth Sherman, in 1719, by whom he raised a family, one of whom was Joseph, Jr., born in Billerica, Mass., Oct. 17, 1720. Ile married Elizabeth Emery of Billerica. He settled in New Ipswich, N. H., where the most of his children were born. In 1769, with his wife and seven children he moved to Winthrop. He settled on a 200 acre lot on the west side of Maranocook lake, near the north line of the town as now established. His nearest neighbor, with one exception, was Gen. John Chandler, at the Mills (Winthrop Village) nearly three miles distant. Amos Stevens was the fourth child of Joseph, Jr., and was born in New Ipswich, N. H., July 16, 1749. He came from New Ipswich to Winthrop in 1767, two years earlier than his parents, with a crew of men hired by John Chandler to erect the mills at the village. When he became of age, he obtained a grant of a 200 acre lot of land ou the west side of Maranocook lake, bordering thereon, built him a awelling, and married Mary, daughter of Jona- than Whiting, who was an early settler and located in the east part of the town, (now called East Winthrop.) Mr. Whiting, as were his children, was born in Wrentham, Mass. Better educated than any of his townsmen, with natural abilities of a high order, benevolent in disposition, possessed of abundant energy, just and honorable in hisdeal- ings, he had so endeared himself to his fellow citizens, that on the organ- ization of the town in 1771, he was elected moderator, town clerk, treasurer and selectman, and continued to enjoy their confidence and esteem until the close of his active life. He was Winthrop's first Justice of the Peace, in which capacity he solemnized the marriages of the early settlers of the town and plantations to the West and North, even to the Sandy River. He was born May 25, 1726. He married Deborah P. Thurston, born May 19, 1728. He died Oct. 12, 1807. Amos Stevens lived on the place of his first location, worked at his trade, that of carpenter, and in the meantime subduing the forest and fitting the soil for the plow until 1803, when disposing of his estate he removed to Strong, where he remained until his death, Feb. 4, 1832. His seventh child, Levi, was born in Winthrop, April 3, 1787. He went to Strong with the family and there settled. He married Anna Hatch, daughter of Gideon Hatch, born in the town of Greene, April 7, 1795. Died in Abbot in 1863. He continued his residence in that town until about 1825, when he removed his family to Windham
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and subsequently to what is now the town of Blanchard, Piscataquis County, incorporated in 1831. "A rolling stone gathers no moss." He lived in several towns in Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties, and died in the town of Abbot, April 30, 1866. To his credit the honor is due of being the father of the subject of this sketch. Born in Strong, her childhood days were spent in that town. Much of her time was devoted to an extensive household education, embracing many important features since transferred to mechanical labor. Oct. 4, 1838, when 23 years old, she married Mr. Isaac Maxim, and first settled in the town of Sangerville. The custom of moving from place to place, acquired while living with parents was continued after her marriage. She said, "I have changed my residence 33 times." Her early acquirements were later her essential resources. None but one possessed of great executive ability, combined with energy and tact, and a mighty physical structure, could have taken her place and achieved so great a victory. Napoleon once said, "Great men have great mothers." Whose mother is justly entitled to greater honor, for who has produced greater men than she? "She perceiveth that her mer- chandise is good: her candle goeth not ont by night."-Proverbs XXXI, 18.
There is no name in the world, today, so celebrated in the annals of mechanical science as that of Hiram S. Maxim, the inventor of the "Maxim Gun." He is a son of the late Isaac Maxim who was born and reared in the town of Wayne, and although absent in the eastern part of the State for a term of years, during which time his children were born, he returned to his native home where he continued his residence and died April 29, 1883, and where his widow and one son now reside. While Sangerville has a legitimate claim to the honor of being the birth-place of Hiram, yet the tree that bore this fruit was a native of Wayne, born, nurtured and reared therein, and is now his resting place.
As a boy, Hiram's educational advantages were those of a district school in the town that gave him birth. His celebrated career is an- other illustration of what sometimes results from humble beginnings. At the age of fourteen, he started out to seek his fortune, with a brain and a jack-knife as the nucleus around which his splendid career as a scientist and inventor has grown. He was first apprenticed to a car- riage maker. He next went to Fitchburg, Mass., where he was given employment in his uncle's metal-working establishment. From there
HIRAM S. MAXIM.
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he entered the factory of a philosophical instrument maker, in Boston, and later joined the staff of an iron workers' and shipbuilders' factory. Not being satisfied with the prospect held out to him, he went to Mon- treal, Can., and thence to New York. When he reached Fort Coving- ton he had but 25 cents in his pocket. Happening to go into a work- shop he noticed a part of the wall newly painted white. He took out his paint brush, drew an oval and painted a landscape within. Then on either side of the oval he painted a bunch of roses. He had not forgotten that, down in Maine, he had done that kind of work on the sides of sleighs. He was engaged at once, and there began his famous career, for he soon turned his attention to electrical science.
It is not generally known that he was the first man who invented an electric light. Some time subsequent when Edison's name began to be identified with that pursuit, Mr. Maxim's light was somewhat hidden under a bushel, so to speak. One night while watching one of his lamps in a large hotel in New York, a young lady came up to him and striking a tragic attitude, exclaimed: "Ah! how wonderful! What a brilliantly marvelous conception! How like the thrilling effect of Pompeii by moonlight ! Who but Edison could have con- ceived such a magical luminary?" Another time, being in a hurry to get a train to take a newly finished lamp out of town, he rushed off without stopping to wrap it up in paper. Sitting in easy range were two countrymen who eyed his machine with great curiosity, and pres- ently came over to ask him what was the contrivance he was carrying. Had he told them they would have asked him if it was Edison's, so he effectually silenced their rejoinder by replying: "Oh, this is a patent sausage stuffer." To attempt the enumeration of all the inventions he has patented would be a long task, too long for such a work as this. Among the total, which would require four figures to number them, a few of the most important, perhaps, are a smokeless powder, an auto- matie gas headlight for locomotives, a gas generating apparatus, a steam trap or valve which cannot be excelled and is still the standard in use, an automatic steam pumping engine, feed valve heaters, gas making devices, steam and vacuum pumps, engine governers, gas motors, liquid meters, apparatus for carburetting air for illuminating purposes, &e. In 1881 his electrical patents were put into "interfer- ence" with Edison's, and in four trials the decisions were against Edison.
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