USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume IV > Part 14
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DANIEL W. GILMAN-Although a capable and prosperous farmer, owning one hundred and sixty-three acres of fine land at Easton, Maine, Mr. Gilman is largely interested in fire insurance, and is president of the Aroostook County Patrons Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Houlton, Aroostook county, Maine, and there pursues the quiet life of a farmer. The outbreak of war be- tween the North and the South broke the quiet of that Kennebec river lumber manufacturing town, and in 1861 Charles B. Gilman, father of Daniel W. Gilman, answered the call of President Lincoln, and with the First Maine Cavalry went to the front, where he performed a soldier's duty, then returned to his home. His wife, Lorean B. (Bennett) Gilman, was born in Brighton, Maine.
Daniel W. Gilman was born in the town of Bingham, Somerset county, Maine, fifty-two miles north of Augusta, on the Kennebec river, August 24, 1858. He was educated in the public schools, and in early life worked in the lumber mills and on the farm. He finally settled in Easton, Maine, his present home, where he owns a farm which he cultivates. He has other im- portant business interests, being president of the Aroostook County Patrons Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company; director of the Northern Mainc Patrons; director and local agent of the Oxford County Patrons; and has other business connec- tions. Mr. Gilman has passed all chairs of Ridgeley Lodge, No. 108, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and of the Encampment. He is a member of Trinity Lodge, No. 130, Free and Ac- cepted Masons of Presque Isle; the Ancient Or- der of United Workmen, and of Easton Grange, No. 159, Patrons of Husbandry; member of the State Grange Executive Committee, filling many State and county offices of the Grange, and is also a member of the National body of the or- der. He is active and prominent in the Meth- odist Episcopal church of Easton, and is inter- ested in all good works.
Mr. Gilman married, in Easton, July 3, 1886, Bertha Wight, born May 30, 1859, daughter of Louis and Margaret (Whittaker) Wight. Mr. and Mrs. Gilman are the parents of four children: Margaret, born September 24, 1887, died February 2, 1889; Esther J., born February 10, 1891; Avis M., born April 23, 1892; and Elizabeth B., born October 23, 1896.
CHARLES SUMNER MORRILL-The Mor- rill family from which Mr. Morrill was descended was one of the oldest in New England, the
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progenitor, having been Abraham Morrill, who was, according to the records, in Cambridge as early as 1632. He came in the famous ship, the Lion, with his brother, Isaac Morrill, who later settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts. Abraham Morrill was one of those versatile pioneer spirits who were able to turn their hand to almost any- thing. He was a proprietor at Cambridge, where he plied the trade of blacksmith. He was also a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artil- lery Company of Boston in 1638, and was besides a planter, a millwright and an iron founder. He was among the original proprietors of Salisbury, Massachusetts, where he received land in the first division. The descendants of this man are spread all over New England, where they have always held a high reputation for sterling char- acteristics, and have been men of force and enter- prise. While there are many Morrills in New England there are members of the family found in the most remote parts of the country.
Charles S. Morrill fulfilled in his life the tra- ditions of his honorable ancestry. He was born in Portland, in 1840, the son of Charles and Char- lotte (Vose) Morrill. The public schools sup- plied the beginning of his education, which he supplemented throughout his life with reading and observation. He was self-made in the usual sense of the term, but his large and trained mind was much better equipped than that of the self- made man who has given his attention exclusively to business success. He was also self-trained and self-cultivated. He left school at the age of fifteen and obtained a position in the employ of the firm of Rumery & Burnham, who were pioneers in the packing of corn and other vege- tables in hermetically sealed cans. Mr. Morrill early saw the great future of this industry, and in working zealously for his employers he realized that he was also gaining experience which would be of the greatest value to himself. In 1867 the original firm was dissolved and in the reorganization which followed, Mr. Morrill and associates in the former establishment formed a partnership under the style of Burn- ham & Morrill and continued the business. The young men associated together in the new enter- prise had sound judgment, energy and much ex- perience of the practical details of the work, and the venture was a success from the start. Its rapid growth called for a reorganization, and in April, 1892, it was incorporated under the name of the Burnham & Morrill Company. Although small in the beginning it has grown to be an industry giving employment to hundreds of
Maine people, and sending its products to the remotest parts of the country. The brand known as Maine Corn is a standard wherever such goods are sold. From the outset the high stand- ard of the product has been scrupulously main- tained, and the most sanitary and modern meth- ods and apparatus are used. He was a member of Portland Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and was also a member of the Cumberland Club.
Mr. Morrill married Calista Dobbins, daughter of William and Mary Miriam (Beales) Dobbins. of Jonesport. They had three children: I.
Clara V., married William C. Allen, and they have one son, Morrill Allen. 2. George B., who suc- ceeded his father in the Burnham & Morrill Company, married Margaret Elwell, and they have three children: Catharine C., Charles S. and George B. (2); all reside in Portland. 3. Helen H., married William Leonard.
WINFIELD SCOTT HILL, M.D., physician and surgeon, has carried on the traditions of the Hill family for substantial worth and faithful service to his fellow men. His energy and am- bition combined with his patriotism when a young man, took him into the service of the United States, where he did faithful and valuable work. His later career has been full of note- worthy success, and the honor and reputation he has gained has been fully earned. He is a son who has done honor to his State and this has received recognition in more than one quarter.
(I) The Hill family is one of the oldest in the State, the first settler of the name being Peter Hill, who came from Plymouth, England, in the Huntress with John Winter, and landed in this country late in March, 1632-33. The first landing was made at Richmond Island, but he settled with his son Roger, at Biddeford, near the mouth of what is now Little River. This was probably a few years previous to 1648. Described as a "planter and sailor" he was admitted as a freeman in 1653 at Saco, and was a member of the as- sembly of Lygonia, in 1648, and died in 1667. Peter Hill was among those notified to take the oath of allegiance in 1652, when the outlying regions of New Hampshire sought admission into Massachusetts.
(II) Roger Hill, the only son of Peter Hill, was born in 1635 and died in Wells in 1696. He was admitted as a freeman in 1653, at the same time as his father, and served as constable in 1661. He married in November, 1658, Mary, daughter of John Crosse, Sr., of Wells. She died June 24, 1696. Their children were: Sarah, Han-
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nah, John, Samuel, Joseph, of whom further; Mercy, Benjamin, and Ebenezer.
(III) Joseph, the fifth child of Roger and Mary (Crosse) Hill, was born at Saco, Maine, in 1670, and resided in Wells, where he died July 12, 1743. In the "History of Wells and Kennebunk" he is thus described: "He was a prominent man among the inhabitants, though he does not ap- pear to have been much in public office. He served as justice of the peace for many years. He was a gentleman of the old school, and his intercourse was marked with that courteous and gentlemanly demeanor which the best civilization of the day inculcated. He had a good property and indulged in a style of life above that of the people of that period, and was anxious that the dignity of the name should be maintained through all coming time. He therefore made such an en- tail of his estate that from generation to genera- tion it should 'bear up' the name of Hill. Ii .. was commissioned as a magistrate; he was rep- resentative in 1727; and collector of the excise in 1734. Various municipal offices were com- mitted to him, and in the disposition of the pews in the meeting-house, the best appears to have been conceded to him as a matter of pro- priety. He had three slaves, Sharper, Plato, and 'the negro boy Tom.' In his will he gave the first and last to his wife, Plato to his son Nathaniel, and to the church and minister each ten pounds." His wife and the mother of his children was Hannah Littlefield, and their chil- dren were: Joseph, Benjamin, Nathaniel, of fur- ther mention; Hannah, and Peniniah. His first wife died October 10, 1738, and he married (sec- ond) April 10, 1739, Sarah, daughter of Daniel Sayer. Joseph Hill served as lieutenant under his brother, Captain John Hill at Saco Fort.
(IV) Nathaniel Hill, third son of Joseph and Hannah (Littlefield) Hill, was born in Wells, November 13, 1701, and he and his brothers re- ceived large estates by bequest from their father, among them being the negro slaves already men- tioned. Nathaniel Hill was esteemed a promi- nent man and one of large property, as according to the records for one year he is shown to have raised one hundred and fifty bushels of corn and kept nine cows and six oxen. He married, De- cember II, 1729, Priscilla Littlefield. Their chil- dren were: Joseph, who died young; Joseph, Hannah, Benjamin, who died young; Nathaniel, Benjamin, and Jonathan, of further mention.
(V) Jonathan, youngest son of Nathaniel and Priscilla (Littlefield) Hill, was born in Wells, June 22, 1746, and died March II, 1817, at
the age of seventy-one years. He was a man of substance, high worth, and great repute in the community. In 1808 he was one of a commit- tee of three deputed "to make a survey of the outlines of the proprietors' lands which remain undivided, and return a plan of the same." Jonathan Hill married, in 1766, Huldah, daughter of Samuel Littlefield. Their children were: Priscilla, Nathaniel, of further mention; Jona- than, Abraham, who was lost at sea; Japhet, Jacob, Samuel and Huldah.
(VI) Nathaniel (2), eldest son of Nathaniel (1) and Huldah (Littlefield) Hill, was born in Wells, March 19, 1769, and died in Greene, De- cember 28, 1847, at the age of seventy-eight. When he was thirty-eight years old he removed his family to Greene and settled there buying a farm, and carrying on in addition a shoe-mak- ing business. He was thrifty and became very prosperous and increased his original holdings of one hundred and twenty-five by purchase to one hundred and sixty acres. He belonged to the Whig school of political opinion, and held the offices of constable and tax collector. He married, February 7, 1793, Mary, daughter of Benjamin and Dorcas (Black) Littlefield. Their children were: Priscilla, Jane, Dorcas, Huldah, Jonas, and Tristram, of further mention.
(VII) Tristram, youngest of the children of Nathaniel (2) and Mary (Littlefield) Hill, was born in Wells, June 26, 1806, and died in Greene, December 2, 1877. His education was obtained in the public schools of Greene, but he early showed evidences of an unusual mind and of scholarly instincts, and these found play in his teaching for about fifteen years from the tinie he was twenty in the towns of Greene, Webster, and Harpswell. He became the owner of the Hill property, which is still in the possession of a member of the family. Always interested in the cause of public education he served the town faithfully for years, as a member of the school committee. He was also a selectman, justice of the peace, and represented the town in the Legis- lature. A progressive and thoughtful man, his interest in farming was thoroughly modern and scientific, and he was one of the founders of the Androscoggin Agricultural Society, serving also as an officer.
Tristram Hill married, May 28, 1837, Christina Brewster Sprague, born August 29, 1817, died October 7, 1887, daughter of William and Martha (Brewster) Sprague, of Greene, and of Leeds. Their children were: I. Winfield Scott, a bio- graphical sketch of whom appears below. 2.
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Byron Gordon, born October 26, 1840; married June 20, 1865, Octavia Hannah Lowell, by whom he had six children. 3. Cedora Jane, born Feb- ruary 8, 1845; married November 16, 1872, Ar- thur Given Moulton, and has one child, Edith Sprague; married, September 14, 1901, Charles A. Knight. 4. Clara Acte, born October 9, 1848; married, December 27, 1868, Wilbur F. Mower, and died childless. 5. Mary Christina, born Au- gust 20, 1853; married, September 2, 1873, John W. Moulton, and has one child, Clara Ella. 6. Frederic Tristram, born July 15, 1861; married November 15, 1882, Stella Adelaide Washburn, of Greene. They have two children: Ada Louise and Royden Mellen.
(VIII) Winfield Scott Hill, M.D., eldest child of Tristram and Christina B. (Sprague) Hill, was born in Greene, January 19, 1839. He went as a young boy to the town school and later was sent to the Lewiston Academy, and the Maine State Seminary in Lewiston, where he was pre- pared for college. In 1863 he entered Tufts Col- lege, but the following year he volunteered for service in the army hospital in Augusta and worked there for several months gaining valu- able experience, and feeling the stimulus of doing patriotic work for his country. He then en- listed in the United States navy and for a time served as a surgeon's steward up and down the Atlantic coast. He had before this begun the study of medicine under Dr. Milan Graves, of Sabattus, Maine. At the close of the Civil War he received his discharge, and began on the for- mal study of his profession at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, graduating from this March I, 1867, and receiving at that time his degree of Doctor of Medicine.
In April, 1867, he opened his office in Augusta, and there he has continued for over fifty years, practising with success and gaining a wide repu- tation as a physician and surgeon. In 1874, Prof. Esmarch, an eminent foreign surgeon, made known to the medical profession his remarkable procedure in making what he called a bloodless operation. Following a description of this method, Dr. Hill, in the latter part of the same year, in association with Dr. George W. Martin, performed the first bloodless amputation in this part of the State, removing a leg from William B. Small, of Augusta. The patient made a rapid recovery, and the operation was widely talked of in medical and other circles. In the memorial erected by Tufts College in commemoration of those students who had taken a part in the war, a place was given to the name of Dr. Hill.
He is a member of the National Association of United States Examining Surgeons, and is also a United States pension examiner, and a medical examiner of the New York Life, the Equitable Life, and the Etna Life Insurance companies. He is a member of the Maine Homoeopathic Medical Society, and the Ameri- can Institute of Homoeopathy. In 1888, Dr. Hill became a member of the oldest fraternal or- ganization of this country and is now a member of Bethlehem Lodge, No. 35, Free and Accepted Masons; Cushnoc Royal Arch Chapter, No. 43, Alpha Council, No. 3, and Trinity Commandery, No. 7, Knights Templar. He is also a member of the Abenaki Club.
Dr. Hill married, August 30, 1868, in Gardiner, Catherine Ward, born in Gardiner, October 9, 1843, daughter of Eliakim and Caroline (Nelson) Norton. She died August 2, 1877. He married (second) at Augusta, October 16, 1889, Lydia Estelle, daughter of Benjamin and Lydia (Treat) Park, of Searsport. She died September 4, 19II.
ELMER GRANT BUYSON, one of the most conspicuous figures in the lumbering industry, and a prosperous farmer of Houlton, Maine, is a native of the town of Haynesville, Aroostook county, in this State, where he was born, April 15, 1865. Mr. Buyson is a son of James F. and May Ellen (Whittier) Buyson, old and highly- respected residents of this region, where his father was engaged in farming for many years. The elder Mr. Buyson was a prominent man in this region, and enjoyed the highest esteem and regard of his fellow-citizens.
The early life of Elmer Grant Buyson was passed in his native place, where he attended the local public schools, including the high school there, and displayed marked talent as a student and the same industrious character that has marked his subsequent career. Upon completing his studies at Haynesville, Mr. Buyson took up farming and lumbering as an occupation, and has continued in this line uninterruptedly up to the present time. He is now the owner of two fine farms near Houlton, and about twenty-five miles from his native town of Haynesville. Mr. Buyson also became interested early in life in the great lumber industry of the northern part of the State, and has engaged extensively in this line of business. He is now the owner of a sawmill at Houlton, where he cuts and shapes the rough timbers of the forest into various mar- ketable sizes. But Mr. Buyson is perhaps bet- ter known in connection with his service as a
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public officer than as a business man, and has taken a very active part in public affairs for many years. He is a staunch Republican in politics. and has been elected to a number of public of- ces on the ticket of his party. For six years he served as selectman of the town of Haynes- ville, and was elected sheriff of Aroostook county January 1, 1912. He served in that office con- tinuously for six years and is the only man who was ever elected to three consecutive terms as sheriff in this county. Mr. Buyson is a well- known figure in fraternal circles herabouts, and is a member of the local lodges of the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks, Order of Foresters, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of the Grange, and has been active in the affairs of these sev- eral organizations. In his religious belief Mr. Buyson is a Baptist, and attends the church of that denomination at Houlton.
Elmer Grant Buyson was united in marriage, August 20, 1881, at Woodstock, New Bruns- wick, with Exie Faulkner ,a native of the western part of Aroostook county, and a daughter of Patrick and Eunice Faulkner, old and highly-re- spected residents of that region. One child has been born of this union, namely: Cana Winnona.
LEANDER E. TUTTLE, a prominent real estate and insurance agent at Caribou, is a mem- ber of a very distinguished New England family, and a son of John H. and Ruth (Libby) Tuttle, old and highly-respected residents of Pownal, Cumberland county, Maine, where the former was engaged in business as a ship carpenter, and also carried on extensive farm operations.
Leander E. Tuttle was born at his father's home at Pownal, November 1I, 1854, and as a lad attended the common schools of his native place. Upon completing his studies he engaged in op- erating his father's farm in connection with a marketing business, the operation of which he continued until the year 1878. He then disposed of all of his interests at Pownal, and moved to Washburn, Aroostook county, Maine, where he purchased a tract of wild land, and started in at the arduous task of clearing a farm. After thirty- five years of hard labor he found himself in pos- session of one of the most desirable and profit- able farms in the town. During this time he not only carried on extensive farm operations but he became interested in several business enterprises in his own and the adjoining town of Caribou. In 1913 he sold his farm and moved into the thriving village of Caribou, where he opened a real estate
and insurance office. He also became interested in the Tuttle & Thomas Company, dealers in potatoes.
In politics Mr. Tuttle is a Republican, being a staunch supporter of the principles of the party, and has been elected to a number of important offices on its ticket. He was selectman of Washburn township in the year 1900, and in 1914 was elected to represent his town in the State Legislature for the two year term of 1915-16, and was re-elected for the term of 1918-19. He was then elected to the Maine Senate, and is still a member of that body at the present time. Mr. Tuttle's record as a capable and interested legis- lator is an enviable one, and he has earned a reputation for propriety, sagacity and efficiency second to none in this community. Mr. Tuttle is also very prominent in social and fraternal cir- cles, and is an active member of a number of important organizations here. He is affiliated with the Aroostook Valley Lodge, No. 88, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Tuttle is also active in the local Grange, and held the mas- ter's chair therein for seven years. He has also been master for two years of Pomona Grange, treasurer of the county Grange, a position which he holds at the present time. He held office in the Maine State Grange for twelve years, serving on the executive board for eight years. He was also very active in many of the Grange co-oper- ative business enterprises, for which the county is noted, and was for several years on the execu- tive board of the State Grange, besides holding the position of gate keeper of the same for eight years. Mr. Tuttle is a Universalist in his relig- ious belief, and is very prominent in the church of that denomination at Caribou.
Leander E. Tuttle was united in marriage, No- vember 11, 1875, at North Pownal, Maine, with Margaret J. Tuttle, a native of that place, and a daughter of Joseph and Dorcas W. (Davis) Tut- tle. To Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle the following chil- dren have been born: Edna Estella, born July 29, 1876; Elsie Ruth, born March 3, 1878; Elnora Dorcas, born December 13, 1879; Emery Howell, born December 10, 1881; Evie Blanche, born Sep- tember 18, 1883; Annie Eula, born January 31, 1888; Sadie Frances, born March 22, 1890; and Ruby Margaret, born August 16, 1895.
CHARLES HUNTINGTON WHITMAN, A.B., Ph.D .- Upon receiving his Ph.D., Yale Uni- versity, 1900, Professor Whitman became an in- structor at Lehigh University, and has since that year been continuously engaged as an educator,
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filling the chair of English Language and Litera- ture at Rutgers College, and since 1918 has also been professor of English at the Women's Col- lege of New Jersey. He is an author of note and a valued contributor to the literature of his profession. Professor Whitman is a son of Nathan Whitman, a merchant of Bangor, Maine, a grandson of Gilbert Whitman, a farmer of Waterville, Maine, and a great-grandson of Nathan Whitman, of East Bridgewater, Massa- chusetts, and a descendant in direct line from John Whitman, the founder of the Whitman fam- ily in New England.
John Whitman came from England to this country prior to December, 1638, for, according to Governor Winthrop's Journal, he was on that date admitted to the rights and privlieges of a citizen of Weymouth, Massachusetts. In 1645 he was appointed an ensign of the Weymouth Military Company, and he served the Weymouth church as a deacon from its establishment until his death. It is believed that his wife was Ruth Reed, daughter of William Reed. Deacon John Whitman had nine children, five of them sons, and through these sons descend nearly all of the name in this coun- try. John Whitman was one of the worthy and exemplary planters of the Massachusetts Colony, and his upright life seems to have left its im- press upon the lives of his children and chil- dren's children, even to the present. All of his children survived him, and six of them lived to be over eighty. He was truly blessed with ma- terial prosperity, children, and length of days. He fulfilled every obligation, civil, religious, or moral, and left to posterity an example worthy of emulation.
On maternal lines Professor Whitman de- scends from Thomas Penney, who came from England to Cape Ann, Massachusetts, in 1652. Professor Whitman's great-grandmother, Sally Penney, married, in 1809, at New Gloucester, Maine, Isaac B. Wharff, of Litchfield, Maine. In 1813 they removed with their three children to the town of Guilford, making the journey on foot and horseback over the "spotted" trail. They made a clearing in the forest, erected a log cabin, and there reared a family of twelve, all of whom grew to years of maturity. The mother did the cooking for the family over an open fire, carded and spun wool from which she wove the cloth that later she made into clothing for them to wear, and then, at the age of seventy-seven, she passed to her reward. Her husband died aged eighty-eight.
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