USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume IV > Part 42
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his activity in the business world, Mr. Snow is a prominent figure in several other departments of the city's life, and he is closely identified with everything connected with athletics and out-door sports and pastimes in the city. He is an enthu- siast for out-door life of all kinds, and is particu- larly fond of hunting and fishing, spending all his spare time in this manner. He is a member of the local lodge, Knights of Pythias, and is a staunch supporter of the principles and policies of the Republican party. In his religious belief Mr. Snow is a Congregationalist and is identified with the State Street Congregational Church, being very active in the work of the same.
On June 17, 1909, Wesley Morrill Snow was united in marriage with Blanche Ryder, a native of Orrington, Maine, a daughter of Benjamin and Rosilla (Powers) Ryder, both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. Snow, on her maternal side, is related to the late Governor Powers, of Maine, and is a member of an extremely distinguished family. Mr. and Mrs. Snow are the parents of one child, Natalie Ryder, born May 5, 1914.
While the life of Mr. Snow may not have been in any way noteworthy for strange and startling vicissitudes of fortune nor for those brilliant achievements over which the pages of history love to linger, it is the record of a simple career in which the distinguishing marks are a simple devotion to duty and a broad-minded affection for his fellows. It is a life at once the type and the model of the class of men upon whom the strength of the community is founded. In all his relations with his fellow-men he exhibits a healthy and wholesome manliness which wins in- stant good feeling and respect, so that he has scarcely an enemy and a great host of friends and well wishers. There is nothing that makes so di- rect an appeal to men as a manly, unfearful out- look on life, one not afraid to speak out its be- liefs, yet shrinks from hurting unnecessarily. These are the qualities which mark Mr. Snow in his dealings with men, and which account for his wide popularity. Perhaps there is no single re- lation of life that is more a test of a man's essen- tial worth than that most intimate one supplied by the home, and here, as elsewhere, Mr. Snow meas- ures up to the highest standard.
HORACE C. CHAPMAN-A man of advanced years of varied experience, and from 1889 until his death twenty-six years later, proprietor of the Bangor House, Horace C. Chapman was one of the best known hotel men in the State of Maine, having for seven years, 1882-1889, been proprietor
of the "Thorndike" at Rockland. This veteran of the hotel business was also a veteran of the Civil War, and a man highly regarded by a wealth of friends. He was the twelfth child of Captain William Chapman, and a grandson of Nathaniel Chapman, a soldier of the Revolution and a lineal descendant of Edward Chapman, the miller of Ipswich, who is believed to have come from near Hull, England, and to have landed in Boston in 1642. The name Chapman is of Saxon origin from Ceapman-a chapman-a merchant. The name appears as early as 1216, in Whitley Abbey, a Captain Benjamin Chapman then receiving grants of land. Several of the name came early to New England, and it is not clear that they were re- lated. An Edward Chapman was at Windsor, Connecticut, in 1662; John, at Boston, 1634; Rob- ert, at Saybrook, 1640; William, at New London, 1669; Ralph came in 1635 and was at Duxbury in 1640. This line descends from Edward Chapman of Ipswich, a miller who does not appear to have been related to any of the others. He died April 18, 1678, leaving a will and male issue.
Nathaniel Chapman, a lineal descendant of Ed- ward Chapman, the "miller of Ipswich," Massa- chusetts, was born in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, died January 2, 1819, and became a resident of Ipswich, Maine. He was a Revolutionary soldier, serving as a private in Colonel James Wesson's army, his pay account showing service from Janu- ary I, 1777, until December 31, 1779. He served in Captain Joseph Pettingill's company, Colonel Wesson's regiment, and also in Captain Putnam's regiment. He married Sally Gott, and they were the parents of twelve children, this review follow- ing the career of Captain William Chapman, their first born.
Captain William Chapman was born in King- field, Franklin county, Maine, in 1800, died in Newburg, Maine, October 30, 1869. He removed to Newburg, Maine, in 1827, and there resided until his death, forty-two years later. By occupa- tion he was a farmer. In politics he was a Whig, and always interested in public affairs. His mili- tary title was gained through service in the Maine Militia. Captain Chapman married, May 24, 1823, Elizabeth Morrill, born March 29, 1804, died August 3, 1871, daughter of John and Abigail (Weeman) Morrill, of Newburg, a niece of Anson P. Morrill, and a descendant of John Morrill, of Kittery, Maine. Captain and Mrs. Chapman are the par- ents of thirteen children: Thomas Morrill Chap- man, born July 18, 1824, died November 5, 1868, leaving issue; Alfred Chapman, died unmarried at the age of twenty-five; William A. Chapman,
Slo Chapman
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died unmarried at the age of twenty-four; Charles Davis Chapman, born February 20, 1828, died April 12, 1887, a veteran of the Civil War; Elizabeth, married (first) Rufus Gilmore, (second) George C. Orne; Henry Clay Chapman, born January 10, 1832, killed by a train at Oil City, Pennsylvania, in 1873, married Mary Emmeline Bickford, and left issue; Augustus Peasley Chapman, born March 15, 1834, died November 30, 1889, married Mary Emma Hayes, and left five daughters; Hannah M., born September 30, 1835, died September 10, 1901, married Frank Glendenning, of Eureka, Cali- fornia, no issue; Adolphus J. Chapman, born July 4, 1837, died September 16, 1893; a veteran of the Civil War, first lieutenant and adjutant of the Fourteenth Regiment, Maine Volunteers; mar- ried Melinda C. Doane, and left two daughters; Martha, born September 2, 1839, died October 15, 1871, married William Simpson, of Newburg, Maine, and had a daughter, Edith E .; Milton C., born June 16, 1841, died October 5, 1903, a vet- eran of the Civil War, sergeant of Company A, First Maine Cavalry, a member of the Maine Legislature, and the holder of many other offices, married Rosina Newcomb and left two sons, Clarence L. and Doctor Henry M. Chapman; Horace C. Chapman, to whose memory this re- view is dedicated; Marie Abbie Chapman, married Professor Brown, and died in California, without issue.
Such are the antecedents of Horace C. Chap- man, twelfth child and ninth son of Captain Wil- liam and Elizabeth (Morrill) Chapman. He was born in Newburg, Maine, January 24, 1845, died in Bangor, Maine, February 19, 1915. He was educated in the public schools of Newburg, and Hampden, Maine, and while yet a minor enlisted in Company F, Fourteenth Regiment, Maine Vol- unteer Infantry, serving from February 27, 1865, until August 28, 1865. After receiving honorable discharge from the army he settled in Hampden, Maine, and learned the harness maker's trade. After becoming master of his trade he located in Winterport, Maine, there remaining until 1874, running his own harness shop quite successfully until 1870, when in partnership with Henry T. Sanborn, he became manager of the Commercial Hotel, but retaining his harness business. In 1874 he sold out and moved to Rockland, Maine, where he operated a harness shop until 1882. In that year he became proprietor of the "Thorndike" Hotel, so continuing until 1889. After surren- dering the management of the "Thorndike" in 1889, he located in Bangor, Maine, there purchas- ing the Bangor House lease of F. O. Beal, and
assuming the management of that popular house of entertainment. He continued as the success- ful manager of the Bangor House until his death. He was an executive director of the Merrill Trust Company of Bangor, and interested in other busi- ness enterprises of that city which was for so long his home.
Mr. Chapman was a Republican in politics, and a Unitarian in religious faith. He was a member of lodge, chapter, council and commandery of the Masonic order. For one year he was president of the Tarratine Club, of which he was long a mem- ber. He married, October 23, 1867, at Winterport, Maine, Lydia A. Rich, born in Winterport, March 20, 1845, died in Bangor, Maine, March 8, 1913, daughter of Charles P. Rich. Mr. and Mrs. Chap- inan were the parents of two children: Harry At- wood Chapman, born July 19, 1869, was educated in Rockland public schools and Rockland Busi- ness College, and is now (1919) proprietor of the Bangor House, having succeeded his honored father; Clara R. Chapman, born July 12, 1871, educated in Rockland public schools and Villa Maria Convent, Montreal, Canada.
ISAAC LA FORREST ROBBINS-The late Isaac La Forrest Robbins, who throughout his entire lifetime was a resident of his native city, Lewiston, was a man of prominence and influence in the community, active in business, political and fraternal circles, and his death deprived the city of Lewiston of one of its influential citizens.
Isaac La Forrest Robbins was born in Lewis- ton, Maine, January 2, 1868, and he died June 1, 1917. He attended the public schools of Lewis- ton, but was compelled at an early age, owing to the fact that his father died when he was an in- fant, to assist in earning his own livelihood and therefore had to relinquish his studies sooner than the majority of boys. His first position was in the hardware store of a Mr. Day, of Lewiston, and he served there in a clerical position for about five years, resigning in the year 1888. In the meantime, however, he accumulated a consid- erable sum of money, saved from his weekly wages, and with this he established himself in the coal and wood business, which met with success almost from the outset, increasing rapidly in vol- ume and importance, and in due course of time Mr. Robbins attained a position of prominence in the mercantile world of the city, remaining the active head of the business until his death, and since then it has been conducted by his nephew, Emery Russell. In addition to this enterprise, Mr. Robbins was prominently affiliated with a
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ยท number of other concerns. He was the owner of the Wakefield Brothers Drug Store located on Lisbon street, one of the pioneer drug concerns in the city. He was also a member of the firm of Ferguson Brothers & I. L. Robbins, who were extensive buyers of horses and operated a sales stable in Lewiston.
In addition to his business interests, Mr. Rob- bins was actively connected with public affairs. He was one of the prominent public men of Lewiston, and has been credited with doing more for the Republican party in that city than any other man in the past seventeen years. In 1916 he was a candidate on the Republican ticket for mayor of Lewiston, and for many years was a member of the City Council. When he was first elected to that body he was known familiarly as "The Boy Orator," being the youngest member of the Council at that time. Mr. Robbins was a great horseman, and he was usually chosen to act as marshal in all public parades and other gath- erings of a similar nature. He was the possessor of a wonderful horse-hair bridle, which was very costly, being braided of pure horse hair and which took nine hundred and seventy days in the operation. It is famous among horsemen, and is now on exhibition in the Ricker Historical Rooms at Poland Springs. Mr. Robbins became a mem- ber of the Lewiston Fire Department when twen- ty-seven years of age, and was afterwards elected captain of the Hook and Ladder Company there. In his religious belief he was a Universalist. He held membership in the order of Free and Ac- cepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Improved Order of Red Men, and the Order of Owls.
Mr. Robbins married, March 28, 1915, at Lewis- ton, Maetta Taylor, born in Malden, Massachu- setts, March 4, 1881, daughter of John Henry and Elizabeth (Burns) Taylor. Mr. Taylor was a native of England, born in London, March 24, 1845; he accompanied his parents and two broth- ers to this country, being then seven years of age, and they located in Boston, Massachusetts. For seven years Mr. Taylor was a member of the regular army of the United States, and in 1866 was presented with a gold emblem in recognition of an act of bravery performed by him while serving in the Civil War under the command of General Carlton. Mr. Taylor died May 8, 1916. His wife, Elizabeth (Burns) Taylor, a native of Lynn, Massachusetts, now resides in Malden, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were the parents of seven children, four of whom are liv-
ing, as follows: Lillian J., who became the wife of George S. Robinson, of Lewiston; William D., a nurse at the Massachusetts State Hospital at Tewksbury, Massachusetts; Maetta, widow of Mr. Robbins; Rebecca, who became the wife of Charles Austin, of Malden, Massachusetts. Mrs. Robbins is a trained nurse, having graduated from the Central Maine General Hospital in 1906.
GEORGE C. FOGG, one of the best known and most influential lumber dealers of his region of the State, is a man whose career has carried out the best traditions of a family which is one of the oldest in New England. The substantial and sturdy qualities of the stock have been handed down in unbroken line from father to son, even as the great tracts of land which they ac- quired from the original inhabitants, and have passed from one hand to another only through the devisal of will. The origin of the Foggs goes back in England to the remotest antiquity, the family having been long domiciled in the island, when their names were put in the Domes- day Book compiled by the commissioners of Wil- liam the Conqueror in 1086. The name is also found as land-owners in the Rotula Hundredorum prepared by King Edward I on his return from Palestine. The probabilities very strongly con- cur with the tradition that they were of those Danish freebooters who settled in England after the iorays which made their name so great a terror. The name was then Fogh, according to the story, but settling in Kent, the most Eng- lish or rather the most Saxon of the counties, they lost all the Danish peculiarities of their brethren in Northumbria, who to the present day show the characteristics of their Scandinavian origin. By a strange chance the name, which was once a common one in England, has become almost extinct in the mother country, though the stock has numerous representatives in New England.
Samuel Fogg, the progenitor of most of that name in America, came about 1630 from Exeter to Boston. The tradition is that he came with John Winthrop, who was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in the Arabella, ar- riving at Salem, June 12, after a voyage of al- most two months and a half. Later he went further North, and settled at Hampton, New Hampshire, and his descendants have owned land along the New Hampshire coast and in York and Cumberland counties in Maine for two and a half centuries. He married (first) December 10, 1652, Anne Shaw, of Hampton. From this
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marriage there were two sons and a daughter. Mrs. Shaw died in 1661, and he then married (sec- ond) December 28, 1665, Mary Page, daughter of Robert Page, of Hampton. Her father was one of the prominent men of the place, and a large land-owner, as well as a member of the General Court. Of this marriage there were two sons.
Daniel Fogg, the youngest son of Samuel and Anne (Shaw) Fogg, was twelve years old when his father died. He was apprenticed to a black- smith, and stayed in Hampton until he was twen- ty-seven years old. He then removed to the Spurwink river, in Scarboro, Maine, and there worked at his trade. He received grants of land from the town, and in 1684 he married Han- nah Libby. From these two most of the Foggs of Maine are descended. As was customary among persons of means in those days, the Foggs owned many negro slaves, and the name is a common one with the negroes of that section, the old custom being for the servants to take the name of the master. Daniel Fogg was born April 16, 1660, and died in 1755, at the age of ninety-five, having lived to see four generations of his descendants spread throughout that part of the State. He left Scarboro, Maine, after the break up of that settlement by the Indians, about 1690. He then returned to New Hampshire, ac- cording to tradition, settling on an island in the Piscataqua river, near Portsmouth, and here he remained until 1750. In that year he returned to Maine, settling this time at Kittery (now Eliot) on a farm which he purchased and which is still in the possession of his descendants. Here he lived until his death. He was one of the original members of the Congregational church when it was organized at Kittery, in 1721.
Of the family of this stalwart pioneer, George C. Fogg, the son of James Henry Fogg, was born in Biddeford, Maine, October 4, 1868, and as a boy was sent to the local schools of the town. He was then fitted for a place in the business arena by a course at the business col- lege at Portland. After leaving school he worked for two years on the street railroad, and then be- came connected, together with his father, with the buying and selling of horses. Later they turned their attention to the lumber business, and at the present time Mr. Fogg is one of the largest lumber dealers in the country, holding a very large tract of timber land. He is inter- ested in fraternal association, and is an Odd Fel- low, and is a popular Mason, a member of Dun- lap Lodge, York Royal Arch Chapter, Maine
Council, and Bradford Commandery. He is president of the Biddeford Building Company. He is a director in the Shipbuilding Company, and is president of the Greenwood Cemetery As- sociation.
Mr. Fogg married Fannie Roberts, of Saco, and their children are: Marcia and Donald.
James Henry Fogg, the father of George C. Fogg, and himself the son of James Fogg, was born in Saco, Maine, June 18, 1835, and in his early life was in the wholesale meat business, buying at that time large numbers of cattle. In this he was later joined by his son, George C. Fogg, as previously mentioned. With him also he became interested in the lumber business. He married Lydia Haley, January 1, 1860, and their children are: Charles Henry, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Frederick R., deceased; George C., of present mention; and a daughter deceased. James Henry Fogg, died December 29, 1911.
TABER DAVIS BAILEY-In the forefront of the able and progressive lawyers of Bangor, Maine, Taber Davis Bailey is a conspicuous fig- ure. He was born at Oldtown, Maine, April 5, 1874, son of Charles Alanson and Frances Ellen (Davis) Bailey. His father was a prominent lawyer in Maine, and filled several offices in the gift of the people, having been sent to the Maine Legislature in 1870, and having served as county attorney for Penobscot county for eight years. He was judge of the Municipal Court of Bangor for four years. As a young man he had served in the Thirtieth Maine Regiment, rising from the ranks to a second lieutenant's commission.
Taber D. Bailey attended the public schools of Bangor, and graduated from the high school in 1892. From this he entered Bowdoin College, and received from that institution his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1896. Upon leaving college he entered at once on the study of the law in the offices of the firm of Davis & Bailey, ex- Governor Daniel F. Davis being the senior mem- ber, and his father, Charles A. Bailey, being the junior member. This was an excellent prepara- tion for his profession, as the work of the firm was not only large, but extremely diversified in character. Young Mr. Bailey took advantage of his unusual opportunities and his success shows that he made use of the valuable experi- ence that lay in his way. In August, 1898, he was admitted to practice in the courts of the State of Maine, and by the age of thirty-five he was established in a large and growing practice, pleading his cases in the State and Federal courts.
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Besides his law practice Mr. Bailey is very ex- tensively interested in timber lands and timber transactions of different kinds.
Mr. Bailey has, like his father, taken a keen interest in political matters, and has held several offices in the service of the community and State. From 1897 to 1900 he was a member of the City Council, and in 1901 was president of the Com- mon Council. In 1902 and 1903 he was city solicitor of Bangor, and 1913 and 1914 he was sent to the Maine Senate, and in 1917 and 1918 served as president of the Senate. Mr. Bailey is a member of the Odd Fellows, of the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, having served the latter order in 1914 as exalted ruler. He is also a member of the Tarratine Club, of the Conduskeag Country Club, and of the Bangor Yacht Club. He is a member of All Souls' Congregational Church.
Mr. Bailey married, at Bangor, Maine, June 17, 1901, Leila M. McDonald, daughter of Isaac and Abethany McDonald.
HARRY STEVENS COOMBS, man of affairs and successful business man, comes of good old "Pine Tree State" stock. He is a son of George M. Coombs, who was born at Brunswick, Maine, November 27, 1851, the son of John and Hannah (Morse) Coombs, who like himself were natives of Brunswick, where the father was engaged in business as a shipbuilder. At the age of seven- teen years George M. Coombs came to the city of Lewiston, worked for two years as a car- penter and then, when still lacking two years of his majority, engaged in business independently as an architect. He finally built up a large and prosperous business, and until the time of his death remained most actively engaged in this line. Mr. Coombs took an active part in the public affairs of Lewiston and was elected to both branches of the Municipal Government, be- ing at first a member of the Common Council and later a member of the Board of Aldermen. He was exceedingly energetic and took a leading part in framing the city ordinance of his time. Mr. Coombs married Clara Coffin, who died August 4, 1916, at the age of sixty. They were the parents of the following children: Fred Hamilton, who resides in Lewiston; Harry Stevens.
Born October 27, 1878, at Lewiston, Maine, Harry Stevens Coombs has passed practically his entire life in his native city. He attended the local public schools for the elementary portion of his education, and was prepared for college
at the Lewiston High School, and at the Nichols Latin School of Lewiston, from which he grad- uated in 1897. Mr. Coombs then matriculated at Bowdoin College, where after establishing a record for scholarship and general character, he was graduated with the class of 1901, taking the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Immediately upon completing his studies at the last named institu- tion, the young man entered his father's office and there very rapidly picked up the details of the architectural profession, and remained thus employed until the death of the elder man, in the year 1909, when he assumed entire control of the business. Mr. Coombs has operated the same with a high degree of success, many of the largest and handsomest buildings in Lewiston having been erected from his plans, and among those should be mentioned the Central Maine General Hospital. His reputation was not con- fined to his home city, however, and he has been sought as an architect in the surrounding region. In the neighboring city of Auburn, he has erected among others the handsome building of the Webster Grammar School, which is conceded to be one of the finest schools in the State of Maine, being in much the same class among schools as the Central Maine General Hospital is among institutions of its own line. Mr. Coombs also erected the Municipal Building at Rumford, Maine, besides many other important edifices. In his political belief, Mr. Coombs is a Republican, and like his father takes an active part in public affairs. He has been in the past a member of the Board of Education in Lewiston and has given no little time and thought to the educational problems of the city. Mr. Coombs is also quite prominent in fraternal life and is af- filiated with the Masonic Order. He is a mem- ber of Ashlar Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; King Hiram Chapter, Royal Arch Ma- sons; Lewiston Commandery, Knights Templar; and Kora Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. While in college Mr. Coombs became a member of the Delta Upsilon. In religious belief he is a Congregationalist.
Harry Stevens Coombs was united in marriage, October 1, 1902, at Bath, Maine, with Jane B. Coombs, a daughter of Isaiah S. and Margaret (Lord) Coombs, of Bath, where Mrs. Coombs was born. Isaiah S. Coombs was for many years engaged in the shipbuilding business at Bath.
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