Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 108

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790

USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892 > Part 108

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FMGilbert

S. G. Firma

A VIEW FROM THE HILL ABOVE Mr. S. G. FOGG'S RESIDENCE, READFIELD, ME.

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TOWN OF READFIELD.

SAMUEL G. FOGG .- North from the Readfield depot on rolling land overlooking the beautiful Messalonskee, is one of the best culti- vated farms in Kennebec county. Here Dudley Fogg, a son of Major Josiah Fogg of Raymond, N. H. (a descendant of Samuel Fogg, of New Hampshire), settled in 1802, with his wife, Nancy Gove, and purchased this farm of 150 acres. The youngest of their eight child- ren, the present owner of the farm, is Samuel G. Fogg, who was born in 1823. His first wife was Mary A. Stevens, of Monmouth, who died leaving one son, George O. His second wife is Ann M., daughter of Ebenezer Prescott, of Raymond, N. H. Their children were: Nellie D., Frank P., Chase E., Mary M. and Saralı L. The accompanying illustration includes a glimpse this homestead and its picturesque surroundings.

Henry Greeley, son of Henry and Mehitable Greeley, and grand- son of Joseph Greeley, was born in 1823, and married Nancy, daughter of Moses Whittier. Their children were: Ella (Mrs. S. H. Morrill), Charles W., Etta F., died 1852, and O. Preston, died 1860.

Samuel Greeley, born in 1823, is the eldest son of Samuel and Nancy (Taylor) Greeley, and grandson of Joseph Greeley, who with his two brothers, Samuel and Noah, came to this part of Maine-one to Hallowell, one to Mt. Vernon, and Joseph settled in Readfield. Mr. Greeley was eight years in Boston, and aside from that has been a farmer on the farm where his father lived, it being a part of the Squire Page farm. He married Harriet, daughter of Gordon Haley, who died in 1889.

George Guptill was born in 1840 in Belgrade, on the farm which his grandfather, Nathaniel, settled, and where his father, Nathaniel Gup- till, was born and spent his life. Nathaniel, jun., married Sallie Yea- ton, of Belgrade, by whom he had ten children. George enlisted in 1863 and served under General Banks on the Red River expedition. He was next in the Shenandoah Valley and lost his left eye at Cedar Creek, on the morning that General Sheridan made his celebrated ride from Winchester. George married first, Matilda Tracy, of Rome, in 1863, and second, Ellen Lord, of Belgrade, in 1876. She died in 1880, leaving two children: George F. and Earl, since which he has lived five years in Rome, and since 1889 in Readfield.

Dudley W. Haines, farmer, born in 1834, is a son of Dudley and Rosanna (Hunton) Haines, and grandson of Captain Dudley and Alice (Ford) Haines, who came from New Hampshire to Readfield and had ten children. Mr. Haines married Clara A., daughter of William Hankerson, and their children are: Emma A. (Mrs. Frank S. Willard), Alice E., William D., Celia J. (Mrs. Eli Merriman), and Clyde B.

George W. Handy, born in 1838, in Wayne, is a son of Robert and Kate W. Handy. He served in the late war from November, 1861, to November, 1862, in the 4th Maine Battery. His first wife, Jennie W.

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

Wood, died leaving one son, Bertie A., who since died. He has one son, Charles A., by his second marriage.

Aaron Hannaford, born in Farmington in 1817, son of Robert and Keziah (Mckinney) Hannaford, came to Kents Hill from his native town in 1877, where he has since been a farmer on the John Jewett farm. He married Calista, daughter of Moses Stevens, and their chil- dren are: Eli S., M. D .; Ellen A., Emma B., Hattie Edna, Filmore A., Edwin H. and Howard C., who died.

BENJAMIN W. HARRIMAN .- If consistency is a jewel, so also is per- sistency, for the latter quality rightly directly, is the true secret of success. To this salient characteristic is attributable the substantial success in life achieved by Benjamin W. Harriman, of Readfield. His father, James Shepherd Harriman, was born in South Kingston, N. H., in 1785. He was a farmer and cooper and a captain of a cavalry com- pany in his native state. About 1810 he removed from Plaistow, N. H., to New Sharon, Me., where he was engaged in farming until his death, in 1843. His first wife, Sarah George, of New Hampshire, died in New Sharon in 1830, having borne him six children, two of whom, Abigail and Ira F., are still living. His second wife, Cynthia, daughter of Daniel Gould, was born in New Sharon in 1806, and died in Gor- ham, Me., in 1883. They also had six children, all born in New Sharon: Daniel G., born in 1833; Benjamin W., 1835; Asa G., 1836, who died in infancy; Mary E. (Mrs. Henry Leavet), 1837; Hannah A., 1839; and Ellen A. (Mrs. B. L. Hammon), 1841. The daughters are now all residing in Gorham.

The elder son, Daniel G., lived on the home farm until he was seventeen years old. Shortly after reaching his majority he was sent as delegate to the first republican convention in the county, held at Strong, August 7, 1854. From 1864 to 1866, inclusive, he held a pro- fessor's chair in Kents Hill Seminary. Resigning from this institu- tion, he read law, was admitted to the bar in 1867, removed to Brook- lyn, N. Y., and since that time has very successfully pursued his pro- fession in New York city. Being an earnest student of political issues he was active on the stump in support of the republican ticket in the campaigns of 1880, '84 and '88, and possessing a mind of keen per- ceptive quality, and strong logical instincts, he contributed much of value to the political literature of his party. In 1888 he wrote a pam- phlet entitled Protection vs. Free Trade, which attained the remarkable circulation of over 1,250,000 copies. Another pamphlet, American Tariffs, from Plymouth Rock to McKinley, written in 1892, attained dur- ing the first two months after its issue a circulation of more than 150, 000 copies.

Benjamin W., the younger son and principal subject of this sketch, was but eight years old when their father died, and he soon, obliged to become self-supporting, went to work with the energy that has

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TOWN OF READFIELD.

characterized his entire business life. In his leisure hours he gained such education as could be obtained at the common schools of his na- tive town; but as in the history of many other successful men, the world was his best school, and experience his greatest teacher. In 1860 he removed from New Sharon to Kents Hill, and attended the seminary there in 1861 and 1862. In the latter year his mother bought the Dudley Moody house, which had long been the only tav- ern at Kents Hill. In that and the following year Mr. Harriman, with Gustavus Clark as partner, traded at Kents Hill for eighteen months. In 1863 Mr. Harriman bought the mail route and express

Residence of BENJAMIN W. HARRIMAN, Kents Hill, Me.

business between Kents Hill and Readfield Depot, and for seventeen years conducted it with marked success.

In July, 1870, Mr. Harriman married Mary, daughter of Rev. Parker Jaques, one of the early Methodist preachers of Maine. He was born in Newburyport, Mass., in 1817. At the age of eighteen he entered the seminary at Kents Hill to prepare for the ministry, sup- porting himself while at school. He soon after entered the ministry and in 1837 received his first appointment, at Dixfield Circuit. He died March 31, 1885, after forty-six years of itinerant service, during which he took no vacation. From 1875 to 1881 he served as presiding

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

elder. He was a diligent and thorough student, and received from Bowdoin College the honorary degree of Master of Arts. Mr. Harri- man is also an earnest and substantial supporter of the Methodist church.

In 1875 the house bought by Mr. Harriman's mother was burned and Mr. Harriman purchased the place and built upon it his present attractive residence, as it appears in the illustration on page 915. By his persistent attention to business he has amassed a handsome com- petency. He has dealt in agricultural implements and carriages since 1880, and at his residence and at Readfield station has supply depots for various kinds of farming machinery. Probably no man now living in this section of the country has had business relations with as many people of these towns as he. Since 1881 he has been engaged in buying cattle for the Brighton market, shipping by rail to that point as many as sixty oxen in a single week. For the last ten years he has been a large buyer of wool, having in one year bought in Readfield and other places over 50,000 pounds. In connection with his large business in- terests he has also since 1870 represented at Readfield leading in- surance companies. Mr. Harriman has held various town offices, and in 1879 was elected a member of the legislature. He has three sons: Mearle J., Benjamin W., jun., and Carl R.

WILLIAM HARVEY was born at Readfield June 26, 1841. His pa- rents were of English and Scotch extraction. His father, William, was born at North Yarmouth, Me., in 1800, and died at Augusta at the ripe age of eighty. His mother, Dorathy Ann Smith, was born at Mt. Vernon in 1823, and died in Readfield in 1889. Mr. Harvey's early boyhood was passed in Readfield, where he attended the com- mon schools and later the Maine Wesleyan Seminary. In 1864 he married Elsie W. Brande, of Readfield, by whom he had four chil- dren, three of whom are still living: Roscoe W., James E. and Elsie L.

In 1862 Mr. Harvey becaine interested in the salt industry and has been engaged in it ever since. From 1867 to 1875 he carried on ex- tensive lumber operations in Lenoxville and Warwick, P. Q. Since the latter year he has been connected with various manufacturing en- terprises in the state. The salt business in which he and his sons are now engaged is carried on under the name of the Dirigo Salt and Soda Company. They also are engaged in the manufacture of edge tools, under the firm name of William Harvey & Sons.

Mr. Harvey lived in Augusta from 1865 to 1883, but since the lat- ter year has resided in Readfield. He had three brothers: John R., Franklin and Winfield S. John R., of Readfield, is the only one living.

John Henderson, son of Thomas Henderson, was born in 1827 in England. Thomas Henderson was born in the county of Kent, Eng- land, and died in Pepperell, Mass., in 1842. He was married in Bris- tol, Eng., to Sarah, daughter of John Philips, keeper of Market House,

Harvey Homestead, half-mile south of Readfield Corner, on Lake Maranacook, where William Harvey was born June 26, 1841.

Present Residence of

Readfield Corner, Me.

918

HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

at Milford, Milford Haven, Wales. John Henderson came to America in 1839 and was paper maker and manufacturer at intervals until 1876, since which time he has been a farmer. He bought the Jacob Graves farm in Readfield in 1864, where he has since lived. He mar- ried Orinda S., youngest daughter of Franklin and Sally (Macomber) Bean. Their children are: Frank T., Alice J. and John H.

William H. Hunt, born in 1844, is the youngest of five children of Noah F. Hunt (1802-1882), who came to Readfield from Kingsfield, N. H., when a boy, with his parents, Robert and Betsey (Maloon) Hunt. Mr. Hunt was eleven months in the late war in Company F., 21st Maine, was one year in California, and has since been a farmer in Readfield. He married Frances C., daughter of Moses and grand- daughter of Henry Dudley. They have two children: Warren A. and Lillian (Mrs. Albert Stevens).

George Washington Hunton, born in 1809, is the eldest of five sons of Peter, and grandson of Jonathan Hunton. Peter Hunton came from New Hampshire to Maine when a boy, and died in 1836, aged sixty-seven years. Mr. Hunton's maternal grandparents were Christopher and Catherine (Carlow) Turner. He is a farmer on the place where Shubael Luce settled in 1789. He was representative in 1856 and was several years selectman. He married Emily A., daugh- ter of William C. Fuller and granddaughter of Francis Fuller. Their children were: Nancy, Elizabeth, William G. and Edna, who died.

Henry A. Hutchinson (1808-1865) was the twelfth of a family of thirteen children of Joseph and Annie (Whittier) Hutchinson. Jo- seph Hutchinson came to East Readfield from New Hampshire and settled where Charles A. Mace now lives. Mr. Hutchinson was a me- chanic. He married Eliza, daughter of Benjamin Dudley. They had four children: Sarah E. (deceased), Elmina S. (Mrs. George L. Royall), who has taught about one hundred terms of school, and has two chil- dren by a former marriage-Edwin M. and Elizabeth S. Hutchinson; Mary N., now the widow of Albion Stevens; and Henry A., who has been station agent at Walnut Hill, Mass., for twenty three years.

Noah Jewett, born in 1835, is one of four survivors of a family of eleven children of John and Betsey (Barker) Jewett. He was edu- cated at Kents Hill. He served fifty-two months in the late war; after two years' service in Company B, 10th Maine, he was discharged as sergeant; he reënlisted as second lieutenant in Company B, 2d Cav- alry, and was twice promoted, leaving the service in 1865 as captain. He was engaged in mechanical work ten years, and since 1875 has been a merchant at Kents Hill, where he also did barber work. He was postmaster from March, 1875, until August, 1885, and was re- appointed in July, 1889. He married Sarah, daughter of Zelotes Marrow. They have one child living-Susie M., now a music teacher in Auburn and Lewiston-and two that died-Harry and Fannie.

Harry Jacket

PRINT, E. BIERSTADT N Y.

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TOWN OF READFIELD.

Nathaniel Jordan, born in 1818 at Cape Elizabeth, Me., is a son of Richard and Sarah (Mckinney) Jordan. He learned the trade of edged tool maker, and followed it in different places until 1864, when he bought a farm in Readfield, where he has since lived. He married first, Sarah J. Woodbury, who died leaving three children: Etta, Wil- liam E. and Arthur D. His second wife was Abigail Dresser, and his present wife is Hannah, sister of Gustavus Smith.

HARVEY LADD, of Readfield and Winthrop, was in the seventh generation from Daniel Ladd', of England, who took the oath of supremacy and allegiance to pass to New England in the ship Mary and John, of London, Robert Sayers, master, March 24, 1633. Daniel landed and settled in Ipswich, where he bought land, and removed to Salisbury, and thence to Haverhill, of which town he was one of the original settlers, and in 1668 one of the selectmen. He was a man of good social position, which was the highest mark society could bestow in the days when the vulgar distinctions of wealth were not possible, because everybody was poor. Daniel Ladd died July 27, 1693, in Haverhill.

Nathaniel", the seventh of his eight children, was born March 10, 1651, in Haverhill, and married Elizabeth Gilman, July 12, 1678, daughter of Hon. John Gilman, of Exeter, N. H., who was a delegate to the assembly, speaker of the house, and the founder of a family that for two hundred years was distinguished in the annals of the state. Nathaniel died from wounds received in fighting the Indians, August 11, 1691.

Nathaniel3, his oldest child, was born in Exeter, April 6, 1697. He was a farmer and lived in a brick house, and married Mrs. Mercy Hil- ton for his third wife. Paul', their oldest child, was born in March, 1719, married Martha Folsom, and removed to Epping, N. H., where he was a well-to-do farmer.

Simeon®, their sixth child, born January 15, 1757, was a farmer and married Lizzie Hines, of Nottingham, N. H., where he lived for a time and removed to Readfield. Simeon, jun., their fourth child, was born February 23, 1780, and married Mercy, daughter of Nathaniel Folsom, of Mt. Vernon. She died in 1820, and he married Lydia San- born. The children by his first wife were: Gorham, Paul, Warren, Harvey' and Hiram. Simeon Ladd® was a farmer and lived one mile north of Readfield Corner, where his son Cyrus, by his second wife, now lives.

Harvey Ladd', whose portrait appears in connection with this family sketch, was born January 21, 1814. He was brought up on the old homestead, and with his farming, learned the carpenter's trade of Joshua Packard, whose daughter, Laura Ann, he married September 30, 1839.

In 1842 he bought and settled on a farm in Winthrop, which was

920

HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

his home for over forty years. Here he divided his time between the arts of husbandry and the art of building, working sturdily at his trade a part of each year during the whole of his active life. Both vocations were profitable under his management. He was a thrifty farmer, a reliable mechanic, a life-long democrat and a good citizen.

Harvey Ladd by his first wife had two children: Harriet E., born April 21, 1841, who married Greenwood Arnold, of Augusta; and Laura Frances®, born April 21, 1843. She married, December 24, 1874, Lewis Curtis, son of Atsett Luce, of Readfield. Mr. Ladd lost his first wife in 1846, and in 1850 he married Rebecca Holmes, who died about 1860. His house and buildings in Winthrop were burned in 1890, after which his home was with his daughter and her husband, Lewis Curtis Luce, at whose house in Readfield he died, June 27, 1892.

Kidder R. Linnell, born in Skowhegan in 1840, is a son of Robey K. and Charlotte G. (Clark) Linnell, and grandson of Sturgis Linnell, who came from Cape Cod, Mass., to Belgrade, Me., and later removed to Skowhegan. Mr. Linnell had been a blacksmith at Lowell, Mass., for six years, and in 1878 he came to Readfield, where he is a farmer. He married Ella F., daughter of David Larrabee. They have one daughter, Ada E.

Joseph B. Low, son of Stephen Low, was born in 1819 in Vassal- boro, and was a farmer there until 1869, when he came to Readfield, where he has since lived. He was representative from Vassalboro in 1864, and was several years selectman there; he has been six years on the board of selectmen in Readfield, and has held the office of town treasurer. He has been secretary, agent and president of the Kenne- bec County Agricultural Society. He married Susan A., daughter of John Simpson. She died in 1891.

John Edward McCormick, son of John and Serena (Dudley) Mc- Cormick, was born in Gardiner in 1856. His maternal grandfather was John Dudley, who married a daughter of Abram Brown, who kept a tavern and was a farmer, being succeeded in 1827 by his son-in-law, Mr. Dudley. In 1884 Mr. McCormick bought the farm and now occu- pies it. He married Margaret, daughter of Daniel MacDonald. Their two sons are: John C. and Daniel A.

RODERICK MACDONALD was born in Arisaig, Nova Scotia, August 15, 1826, to which place his father, Donald MacDonald, came from the Highlands of Scotland, and married Margaret MacDonald, who be- longed to a family of his name, in Arisaig, and there settled as a farmer. Their eleven children were: Angus, Nancy, Catherine, Alexander, Mary, Ronald, John, Donald, Roderick, John and Hugh. Roderick staid at home, faithful on the farm and dilligent at school till he was fifteen years old, when he began a three and a half years' ap- prenticeship at the tailor's trade. When this was completed he

Poder of Has Sanald

PRINT, E. BIERSTADT, N. Y.

921

TOWN OF READFIELD.

worked at his trade in Nova Scotia till August, 1849, when he went to London, Eng., in the schooner London Kate, as steward.

After spending a week in London and a week in Liverpool, he sailed in the ship Michael Angelo, which landed in Boston in October, 1849, after losing thirty emigrant passengers with ship fever during the gloomy passage. The following winter he worked at tailoring in Bos- ton, and for the next three years in Lowell, Mass. Two of these years he was employed by S. H. Hastings, in whose shop he became ac- quainted with Julia Franklin Bean, also an employee. This acquaint- ance resulted in their marriage the next year. The new relation was profitable as well as pleasant-side by side in their vocation, the great partnership for life was most fitly begun.

After another year's work they came to Readfield. Roderick, in the meantime had been slowly yielding to an attack of the California fever, which in its genuine form could only be cured by going there. Accordingly he hastened to New York, and took passage July 20, 1853, in the steamer Cortes for Aspinwall. At that time only eight miles of the isthmus railroad were completed, from the end of which the party Mr. MacDonald was with easily walked the balance of the distance to Panama in one day. At the latter place they took the steamer Golden Gate, arriving at San Francisco August 16th. From there a steamer took them to Sacramento, and another to Marysville, and from thence a stage to Grass Valley, where Roderick found his brother, Ronald, who had already been a year on the Pacific coast, working in a mine at Industry Bar, on Yuba river. Roderick joined him at once, staying there till the November rains set in, when they found employment in a deep mine at Grass Valley.

The next summer Roderick again returned to his old job at In- dustry Bar, and during the following winter he worked in Grass Val- ley for the Rocky Bar Mining Company, owned largely in Massa- chusetts. They had rich diggings and made a great deal of money. An absence of three years from his young wife and his home, and the very comfortable reward secured for the time thus spent, decided Mr. MacDonald to return east. So he left the mines in May, 1856, and reached San Francisco just after the celebrated vigilance committee had hung a half dozen desperadoes-among them James P. Casey and the noted gambler, Cory. Mr. MacDonald put up at the What Cheer House, kept by the proprietor of the since noted Woodward Garden. In the night he was called on by the vigilance committee, and assisted them two days and nights in guarding public and private property. June 5, 1856, he left San Francisco on the Golden Age for Panama, crossed the Isthmus, and returned to New York in the steamer George Law.

After a visit at home he worked in Woburn, Mass., for two years, and in Portland and Thomaston, Me., another two years, at his old

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HISTORY OF KENNEBEC COUNTY.

trade. In July, 1860, he established his present business in Readfield amid prophecies of starvation and failure. Self-supporting from the start, his trade has grown to large proportions for a country village. Moderate prices and sterling quality have made customers who send back to the home shop from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Chicago, Kansas, Montana and California, for regular supplies of clothing. Scotch persistence and honorable dealing have done it.

Roderick MacDonald and Julia F. Bean were married at Nashua, N. H., July 6, 1852. Three children were born to them: Richard H., who died when three months old; Hattie L., born April 7, 1859; and Julia M., who was born May 22, 1870, and died September 15, 1886. Mr. MacDonald and his daughter, Hattie L., experienced the great loss of a faithful wife and a devoted mother by the death of Mrs. Mac- Donald, August 24, 1892. She was the daughter of Franklin Bean, whose father, Joel Bean, was born in Readfield, and whose grand- father, Joshua Bean, all prominent citizens, came from Gilmanton, N. H., to this section at a very early day.

Charles Ansel Mace, born in 1839, is the only son of Charles and Martha A. (Dudley) Mace, grandson of Richard, and great-grandson of Andrew Mace (1757-1845), who lost both hands by the premature explosion of a cannon at the muster grounds, East Readfield. Mr. Mace has been a teacher and farmer, and has been for several years a member of the school board of the town. He married Lucy A. Rich- ardson, of Monmouth. Their two sons are: Will T. and Burt E. Mr. Mace owns and occupies the old Joseph Hutchinson farm at East Readfield.

John W. Manter (1812-1878) was a son of Henry Manter, of In- dustry, Me. He came to Readfield in 1863, and six years later bought a mercantile business at Kents Hill, where he was postmaster and merchant six years. In June, 1875, he bought the business at Read- field Corner, where, since his death, in 1878, his sons, George W. and Melville W., have continued. He married Hannah C. West, and their children were: George W., John W., Melville W .; and two daughters that died, Juliet W. and H. Ellen.

D. D. Merriman, born at Harpswell, Me., in 1831, is a son of Robert and grandson of Walter Merriman. In 1850 he began to learn tailor- ing in Richmond, Me., and was engaged at that trade in various places in connection with other mercantile business. In June, 1872, he came to Readfield, where he has since been a merchant, and thirteen years of that time has manufactured clothing. He married Emeline M. Perkins, and has two sons: Edward A., now editor and publisher of The Madison Bulletin, Madison, Me .; and Eli, who is a tailor in Readfield. Both sons graduated from Westbrook Seminary.

Dudley Moody, born 1789, and died 1865, was a son of Gilman and Annie (James) Moody. He came to Kents Hill in 1826 from Mon-

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TOWN OF READFIELD.

mouth, where he had kept store and been a farmer; and he followed the same vocation here, kept tavern, was several years postmaster, and was officially connected with the seminary for many years. His wife was Mary Richardson, and they had four children: Elizabeth J., Mary Ann, Joseph G. and Harriet A. Only two are now living: Harriet A., the widow of Alvin Packard, and Elizabeth J., widow of Rev. Howard Brooks Abbott, who died in 1876, aged sixty-six years. Mrs. Abbott now lives at Kents Hill.

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Illustrated history of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1892, Part 108

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed Publication date: 1892 Publisher: New York, Blake Number of Pages: 1790

Author: Kingsbury, Henry D; Deyo, Simeon L., ed
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: New York, Blake
Number of Pages: 1790