USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume IV > Part 49
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LOUIS ANDREW DERRY is today regarded as one of the rising physicians of Portland, Maine, having reached a place of prominence in his profes- sion, in which, indeed, he is regarded as being a leader, alike by his fellow practitioners and by the community-at-large. He is a member of a family which was originally Irish, but which for a number of generations has resided on this side of the water, his grandfather having been born in the Province of Quebec, Canada. This gentleman, Louis Derry by name, was a blacksmith by trade, and during his manhood moved to the United States and settled at Champlain, New York, where his death eventu- ally occurred at the age of seventy years. He mar- ried a Miss Laingg, a lady of Scotch parentage, al- though like himself a native of Canada. They were the parents of the following children: Jane, now deceased; George, deecased; Louis, deceased; Gas- pard, deceased; Adolphus, who is mentioned below ; and John and Joseph, both of whom are alive to- day. Adolphus Derry, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born January 18, 1849, at Champlain, New York, and is now living with his son, Louis Andrew Derry. He was engaged in the coal and wood business for a period of about ten years and is now retired. He married Miss Katherine Doran, a native of St. John, New Brunswick, where she was born July 12, 1848, and to them were born five children, as follows: 1. Mary Adelaide, who died in infancy. 2. George Herman, born May 27, 1878, and is now a sub-master in the English High School in Boston. He is himself a highly educated man and has the degrees of Ph.D., A.B., and M.A. 3. Louis Andrew Derry, who is mentioned at length below. 4. Alice Katherine, born October 14, 1882, and be- came the wife of Henry Cleave Sullivan, Esquire, of Portland, Maine, to whom she has borne two chil- dren, Mary and Kathleen. 5. William Henry, born May 11, 1884, and now a resident of Portland, and is employed in the United States railway mail serv- ice. He married Miss Ethel Loretta Towle, of Port- land, by whom he has had one child, Cornelia. Mrs. Derry, Sr., is a daughter of Andrew Doran, a na- tive of County Mayo, Ireland, who came to America with his wife and children and settled in St. John, New Brunswick, where he met his death in an acci- dent. He and his wife were the parents of eight children of whom four are living today as fol- lows: Pierre, who resides in Boston; Andrew. of
Sullivan, Maine; Katherine, the mother of our sub- ject; and Julia, who is now Mrs. Hogan, of St. John, New Brunswick. Mr. and Mrs. Hogan lived for a time in Portland, Maine. They are the par- ents of five children : William H., deceased; Dr. Francis J., deceased ; Kathlynn ; Marion, Geraldine.
Louis Andrew Derry was born February 10, 1880, at Portland, Maine. He attended the local public schools for his early education, and after study- ing for a time at the Portland High School he entered Holy Cross College, at Worcester, Massachusetts, and graduated from the same with the class of 1902. He then matricu- lated at Bowdoin Medical School, from which he graduated in 1906, taking his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He supplemented his theoretical train- ing at this place by eighteen months practical ex- perience in Carney Hospital, Boston, where he was the house surgeon, and then in 1908 returned to liis native Portland, and began a general practice, which has steadily grown in importance up to the present time. His office is situated at 261 Congress street, and he is well known throughout not only his own immediate neighborhood, but the city generally and indeed even in the surrounding districts. Dr. Derry is active in other departments of the life of the community besides that connected with his profes- sional practice. He is a staunch member of the Roman Catholic church and attends mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. He is a prominent figure in the parish and in the general activities of the church and is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Dr. Derry was united in marriage on the first day of July, 1904, at Portland, Maine, with Edith Mary Hall, a native of that city, where she was born April 16, 1880, a daughter of Elton A. Hall, who was at one time general superintendent of the Maine Cen- tral Railroad, and of Sarah J. (Knight) Hall, his wife. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hall are natives of West- moreland, New Hampshire, and they are the parents of a family of children. To Dr. and Mrs. Derry two children have been born, the elder, George Her- man Derry, died at the age of six years in 1911. The second child, Richard Hall Derry, was born Sep- tember 18, 1908.
Dr. Derry is a man in whom the public and pri- vate virtues are admirably balanced. He is regarded in the professional world, and, indeed, in all his pub- lic relations as one whose principles are above re- proach, and whose strict ideals of honor and justice are applied to every detail of his professional con- duct. Nor is it only in his associations with his pa- tients that these characteristics are displayed. In it, with all those whom he comes in contact in his
Louis aturyml
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professional career and in every other department of life, his courtesy and unfailing concern for the welfare of all, makes him a highly popular figure in every circle and has established the esteem in which he is held upon the firmest kind of basis. In his private life these virtues have their analogues. A quiet and retiring character makes him a great lover of home and the domestic ties, and his never failing geniality endears him to the members of his family and to the friends of whom he possesses so many.
HERBERT OWEN PHILLIPS-Among the enterprising and highly successful business men of Portland, Maine, men who have attained success as the logical result of energy, capability, efficiency and a determination to succeed, must be mentioned Her- bert Owen Phillips, who, beginning as a news agent, has advanced step by step until at the present time (1917) he occupies an important place in the busi- ness and industrial development of his native city.
Alvin Phillips, grandfather of Herbert, Owen Phillips, was a native of Maine, born at Saco, and there spent his entire lifetime, devoting his attention during his active years to agricultural pursuits, de- riving therefrom a comfortable livelihood. Among his children was Ivory Phillips, father of Herbert Owen Phillips, who was born at Saco, Maine. He attended the schools in the neighborhood of his home, and during his active career engaged in the boot and shoe business at Biddeford, Maine, and in the manufacture of trunks, in both of which lines of business he continued for many years and was highly successful. He married Jennie Clark Wilkinson, a native of Springvale, Maine, and they were the parents of eight children, five of whom are living at the present time. Ivory Phillips died at Bidde- ford, Maine, in 1880, and the death of his wife oc- curred in Portland in 1889.
Herbert Owen Phillips was born at Portland, Maine, February 1, 1869. In 1872, the family mak- ing their residence at Biddeford, Maine, he received the preliminary portion of his education in the pub- lic schools of that city, returning to Portland in 1883. This was supplemented by a year's course of study at the Butler Grammar School, Portland, from which he was graduated in 1884, and that summer, at the age of fifteen, he obtained employment as news agent on the Maine Central Railroad, and in the fall of that year entered the office of the commission and wholesale firm in grain and feed. of Norton, Chapman & Company, Portland, in which line of business he has continued to date. With his prog- ressive ideas and foresight, in 1902 he organized in Bangor, Maine, the Eastern Grain Company, amal- gamating several old concerns, and from time to
time consolidating others, and today he is the presi- dent, general manager and principal owner of a chain of stores located in various sections of the State, all of which are in a prosperous condition, and reflect credit upon his ability and straight-for- ward business transactions. In addition to his ex- tensive business interests, Mr. Phillips devotes con- siderable attention to community affairs. He was chosen by his fellow citizens to represent them in the City Council, serving as a member of that body during the years 1897-98, the duties thereof receiving from him the same careful and conscientious atten- tion that he devotes to his private interests. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a life member of all the bodies, and a life member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Mr. Phillips married (first) in Portland, Maine, September 23, 1891, Georgia P. Bickford, born in Portland, Maine, and whose death occurred August 29, 1907. Mr. Phillips married (second) June I, 1912, Georgia C. Currier, a native of Lowden, New Hampshire.
HARRY BARKER EDDY-One of the earliest New England families is that which bears the name of Eddy, which was founded there as early as the year 1630 by two brothers, sons of the Rev. William Eddy, of Cranbrook, Kent, Eng- land, and who sailed in that year to Plymouth, Massachusetts, on the good ship Handmaid. From them various branches are descended, which have made their homes in many parts of the country, so that the name is well distributed throughout its territory. We find in the Massachusetts Revolutionary Rolls that the name was well rep- resented among the patriots who took part in the American War for Independence. One of these branches was represented in the generation just passed by George Warren Eddy, a son of Thomas Barker Eddy, of Charlestown, Massa- chusetts. Here George Warren Eddy was born and lived during the early portion of his life, and was for a number of years engaged in the mercantile business with the firm of Burr Brothers. Later, however, he severed this con- nection and came to Portland, Maine, where the remainder of his life was passed and where he identified himself closely with the general life of the place. He was married to Flavilla Barker, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Clement) Barker, and they were the parents of the follow- ing children: Harry Barker, who died in in- fancy; Augustus, who died in infancy; Flavilla, who became the wife of George W. Libby; and Harry Barker, of whom further.
Born March 25. 1861, in the city of Portland,
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Maine, Harry Barker Eddy, fourth and youngest child of George Warren and Flavilla (Barker) Eddy, made his native city his home and the scene of his active business life continuously until his death. He received his early education at the local public schools and later attended a private school, where he studied under the well known educator, Professor Patten. At the lat- ter institution he prepared for a college career, it being his intention at the time to carry on his studies in such an institution, but about the time when he was ready to put this intention into effect, he was offered an excellent place with the firm of Deering, Milliken & Company, which he accepted, giving up his studies to start that mer- cantile career in which he was so successful. For twenty-one years he was connected with the firm as an employee, occupying various positions, and at length, in the year 1900, his long service was rewarded by his admission into the concern as a partner. In 1908 the store was destroyed by fire, and in May, 1908, it was reorganized as the Clark Eddy Company, Mr. Eddy, at the time of his death, being its vice-president.
Mr. Eddy was a very prominent figure in the social and fraternal life of Portland, and was af- filiated with a number of important organiza- tions there. He was a member of the Maine United Travelers' Association, United Commer- cial Travelers' Association, the Portland Aquatic Club, the Lincoln Century Travelers' Club, and the Chamber of Commerce. He was a staunch Republican in politics, but his business interests were of so onerons a nature that he never en- tered political life nor held the offices for which his talents and abilities so eminently fitted him. In his religions belief Mr. Eddy was a Univer- salist, and attended Congress Square Church of that denomination in Portland, having been a member of the Men's Association.
On November 18, 1885, Harry Barker Eddy was united in marriage with Lillian Day, a native of Portland, a daughter of Charles Day, who was an importer and wholesale and retail dealer in toys in that city. To Mr. and Mrs. Eddy one child was born, Warren Day. Mr. Eddy died May 31, 1917.
ARA BROOKS LIBBY-One of the most prominent figures in the life of Kennebec county, and a physician of far more than local reputa- tion, a man who has identified himself with the great development which the science of medicine has made in the last few decades, and kept abreast of its most advanced practice, is Dr.
Ara Brooks Libby, a physician which any com- munity might well feel proud to number amongst its citizens, and whose career reflects great credit upon the one in which he has elected to reside and carry on his work. Dr. Libby is a son of Nathaniel and Nancy (Lydston) Libby, the former a native of Litchfield, Maine, and the latter of Bowdoin also in this State. They were married in Litchfield, and there Nathaniel Libby was for many years an active and successful farmer, and there he now lives retired.
It was at Litchfield, Maine, that Dr. Ara Brooks Libby was born Jannary 11, 1870, his child- hood being spent in his native place, where he first attended school. Litchfield boasts among its educational institutions the Litchfield Academy, well known throughout the State, and there it was that the lad studied for a number of years. He then attended the Latin School at Lewiston, Maine, and completed his preparations for col- lege. Entering Bates College he took the usual classical course, and after distinguishing himself as a student and drawing the favorable attention of his masters and instructors upon his work, he was graduated with the class of 1893. Fol- lowing his graduation, the young man, who had always a leaning to professional life, and some- thing of the scholar in his makeup, became a teacher, and was employed in this capacity in the schools of New Hampshire until the year 1896. During that time, however, he had de- termined to take up medicine and accordingly en- tered the Medical Department of Bowdoin Col- lege in that year, and graduated in due time with the class of 1899. Shortly afterwards Dr. Libby went to Waterford, Maine, and engaged in prac- tice there for about two years. Notwithstanding the fact that he was meeting with a substantial success at Waterford, and that he was at least as well equipped for practice as the majority of the young physicians in the region, Dr. Libby felt that experience in some larger center would be to his advantage, and, accordingly, went to New York City and associated himself with hos- pital work there. After six months' work he re- turned to Maine and settled at Gardiner, where he has remained ever since. It was in 1902 that Dr. Libby came to Gardiner, and in the sixteen years that have elapsed since then he has taken his place as easily the leading physician in this region. His knowledge of his subject, to- gether with an unusually and sensitive mind, which is readily open to new facts and does not fear to make original deductions, has made him unusually successful in dealing with disease, while
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A. B. Libby
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his strong and cheerful personality, acting as an encouragement in the sick room is in itself a therapeutic agent of no mean power. He is rightly regarded as a brilliant diagnostician, and the physician who can rightly appraise the trou- ble he must handle, has already won half the battle. In spite of the position that he had al- ready reached in the esteem of the community, Dr. Libby, in 1913, seeking to increase still fur- ther his equipment as a successful practitioner, went to Europe and visited the great centers of Germany, France and England, where medical science has reached its highest development, and there took post-graduate courses in several sub- jects. He also visited the hospitals in these countries and those of Belgium and Holland, making himself familiar by actual observation with all the most modern improvements in treat- ment and hygiene. Upon returning to the United States he once more took up his prac- tice and is now actively engaged in his work. During the present war Dr. Libby, besides his strong feeling concerning the general questions involved, has been intensely interested in the great strides made in surgery and allied sci- ences, and he has placed himself at the disposal of the Red Cross Medical Reserve Corps for service. One of the most important gatherings in the history of medicine was the Congress of Physicians and Surgeons of the World, held in London in 1913. Dr. Libby was one of the ten thousand representative men who attended from every part of the globe and took part in the memorable proceedings. One of the great serv- ices done by Dr. Libby to this community, was the founding and organization of the Gardiner General Hospital for which he furnished the funds and which he organized. This modern es- tablishment was opened in January, 1918.
Dr. Libby is a member of many organizations in Gardiner and elsewhere, and is prominently identified with the general life of the community. He is, of course, affiliated with the various pro- fessional bodies, including the Gardiner Medical Society, the Kennebec County Medical Society, the Maine State Medical Society and the Ameri- can Medical Association. His club is the Bates Stanton. Dr. Libby is a prominent Free Mason, and has attained the thirty-second degree in that order. In politics he is a Progressive Repub- lican, but votes entirely independent of parties in local affairs. He has taken an active part in these affairs himself, especially in connection with educational matters, and has served as a mem- ber of the school board for five years here. As
a young man, before coming to Gardiner, he filled the office of school superintendent for two years. In his religious belief Dr. Libby is a Congregationalist and attends the church of that denomination at Gardiner.
On August 29, 1895, Dr. Libby was united in marriage, at Gardiner, with Lucy Harris Libby, a daughter of Doville and Mary (White) Libby, of Gardiner. Doville Libby was a native of Massachusetts, but came to Maine in early man- hood and here engaged in farming. He was prominent in the affairs of the community and was a city commissioner of Gardiner for a time, and here eventually died. His wife survives him and still makes her home here.
ARTHUR (ANDRE) HENRI BENOIT- Modern New England owes much of its prog- ress and development to the industry, enterprise and steadfast character of its citizens of Cana- dian birth. Among those who have attained a high standing in the business world is Arthur H. Benoit, who was born in St. Dominique, Province of Quebec, May 12, 1865. He is a grandson of Toussaint and Rosalie (Laperche) Benoit, na- tives of Canada, of ancient French lineage, the latter born at dit Sabourin. His father, Charles Benoit, one of eight children, was born April 28, 1828, at St. John Baptiste de Ranville, Province of Quebec. He was not only a blacksmith and farmer, but also one of the early miners. His mother, Amelie (Clement) Benoit, was born August 14, 1832, at St. Andre des Equart, On- tario, was the daughter of John Clement, an Englishman, born at La Point Claire, and Tasette (Lefebre) Clement, born at Vandreuil. Six of their nine children grew to maturity and became honored citizens. His family was reared under elevating conditions. His mother's people were scholars and engaged in many intellectual pur- suits and held important positions under the Ca- nadian government.
Arthur H. Benoit passed his boyhood at St. Dominique and received instruction in the French language. On the removal of the family to Bid- deford, Maine, he became a student of the pub- lic schools of that city and pursued a short course in the English language. He set out at an early age to make his own way in the world and was employed four years in the York Mills at Saco, Maine. Subsequently he became a clerk in the clothing store of C. H. Webber, of Saco, where he continued six years. About 1890 he became a partner with Mr. Webber and opened a branch store at Westbrook, Maine, which he continued
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to manage, and in 1893 purchased the interest of his partner and continued the store alone. By careful attention to the arts of his trade he built up a large business, and in 1896 opened a branch store at Biddeford, Maine. From this small be- ginning has grown the Benoit System of Stores, comprising seven clothing stores at the date of publication of this sketch. In Maine: Benoit- Dunn Company, of Biddeford; Benoit Clothing Company, of Westbrook; Benoit-Mutty Company, of Bangor; Frank M. Low & Company, of Port- land; in Massachusetts: Benoit-McShane Com- pany, of Malden; Benoit-Bourassa Company, of New Bedford; and Benoit-Blanchard Company, of Framingham. He also organized and owns a large interest in the Swan-Russell Company, of Boston, Massachusetts, wholesale hat and cap store.
Mr. Benoit has always taken an intelligent in- terest in the progress of his adopted country, and is ever ready to aid in promoting those influences which make for development and the better- ment of society. In religion he is a devout Roman Catholic. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He also is vice-president of the Malden Fellsway Cooperative Bank. By his thorough and upright business methods he has at- tracted to himself a large body of friends and enjoys the esteem and confidence of those who arc privileged to know him.
He married (first) February 10, 1890, Philamene Anna Brodeur, born February 28, 1868, in Montreal, Canada. He married (second) January 8, 1910, Olive Rose Eva Mutty, daughter of Joseph and Mary Eleanor (Lambert) Mutty. His children, all by first marriage: Arthur Henri, born Decem- ber 16, 1891; Eugene Romeo, June 27, 1893; Rob- ert Leo, September 25, 1895; Germain Heloise, September 16, 1898, deceased; Juliette Catherine, November 1, 1901, deceased; Oscar Laurent, Sep- tember 5, 1905.
In June, 1917, the three oldest sons volunteered their services to help defend their beloved coun- try. Arthur Henri was made a lieutenant, Eugene R. a sergeant in the First Maine Heavy Field Artillery, and Robert L. became a wireless operator in the Navy. In them speaks the noble French and English blood of their forefathers combined with American patriotism.
ARTHUR PERCIVAL FOSS, youngest child of Charles and Hannah (Weymouth) Foss, was born March 25, 1869, at Abbot, Piscataquis county, Maine. He passed his childhood up to
the time of reaching his sixteenth year in his native place. In the meantime he attended the local public schools, and after completing his studies at these institutions, he left the parental roof and went to Pittsfield, where he attended the Maine Central Institute. Mr. Foss was eighteen years of age when he first became as- sociated with the Maine Central Railroad, his work at the outset being that of freight clerk, and telegraph operator. He was stationed at Augusta, the capital of the State, and there re- mained until some time in March, 1892, when he was transferred to Portland, Maine, which city has remained his home ever since. Here he was advanced to the position of traveling auditor. On the first of October, 1899, he was promoted to the position of chief clerk in the accounting de- partment, and he held that position until July 1, 1907. He was then made auditor of disburse- ments of the Maine Central Railroad, and held that office until November 1, 1911, when he was appointed assistant comptroller. Mr. Foss was elected comptroller of the Maine Central Rail- road July 9, 1913, and is now, since the Maine Central is under Federal control, treasurer and clerk of the corporation as well.
HON. PETER CHARLES KEEGAN - It would be difficult to find anywhere in Maine or even in the whole of New England a man who epitomizes so the figliting blood and the sheer "down east grit" of that famous region as does Peter Charles Keegan, of Van Buren. The story of his life is the story of a fight, and his sturdy record begins with his earliest campaign for an education. In the "bright lexicon of his youth there was no such word as fail," nor has he ever acknowledged that there was such a thing as de- feat. It sets the blood beating to hear of the pluck and indomitable courage that this country lad showed to gain his place by means of an edu- cation, and that accomplished, to make it tell in the improvement of the part of the world in which he had been set. There is a barrelful of sermons in the record of this hardy lad, and am- bitious and determined man, and in the use he made of his achievements. Of such men this republic is built, each life making more sure and more valuable the structure reared from the spiritual struggle of the finer ones to carry on the hopes of the race.
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