USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume IV > Part 59
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Clarence Augustine Powers is a son of Roderick and Elizabeth (Hodgson) Powers, and was born at Fort Fairfield, Maine, February 29, 1868. Roderick Powers had made his home in Aroostook county when a boy. Mr. Powers at- tended the public schools of Fort Fairfield and Easton, and was graduated from the Fort Fair- field High School. His active life has been passed in agricultural operations, and in addi- tion to the cultivation of his own property, he has conducted an extensive business in the mar- keting of farm products from the surrounding region. Mr. Powers is a director of the Fort Fairfield National Bank, and is a member of the Board of Selectman of his town. He is a sup- porter of Republican principles and as the can- didate of that party has represented his district in the Maine House of Representatives. His services and abilities were later recognized by appointment to the Governor's Council for a two-year term.
He is a member of the Masonic Order, belong- ing also to the Mystic Shrine, and he is identi- fied with the United Commercial Travelers' As- sociation and the Patrons of Husbandry. His club is the Masonic, of Fort Fairfield.
Clarence Augustine Powers married, at Fort Fairfield, Maine, April 29. 1893, Ida Frances, daughter of Franklin and Harriet (Batten) Grant. Her father was a farmer and blacksmith of Ac- ton, York county, Maine. Mr. and Mrs. Powers are the parents of a daughter, Helen Grant, born April 18, 1894, married Edmund Edwards, Jr.
MORTIMER LIVINGSTON HARRIS, the capable and enterprising railroad man of Port- land, Maine, who now (1917) holds the respon- sible position of general passenger agent of the Maine Central Railroad Company, is a native of Massachusetts, and a member of a family resident
in that State for many years. Mortimer L. Har- ris was born January 5, 1873, at Wakefield, Massa- chusetts, son of Stephen Francis and Georgiana (Adams) Harris, old and highly respected resi- dents of that town, Mr. Harris, Sr., having served in the capacity of salesman for a large retail hat concern. The childhood and early youth of Mor- timer L. Harris were spent at Wakefield, and he acquired a fundamental education by attendance at the public schools. On May 1, 1889, when six- teen years old, he secured a position in the pas- senger department of the Boston & Maine Rail- road Company, at Boston, Massachusetts, and re- mained there for about eighteen years, becoming in the meantime thoroughly familiar with the de- tails of that branch of the railroad business. On February 4, 1907, he came to New York City, and there entered the passenger department of the Consolidated Steamship Lines, in whose employ he remained until November 5, 1907, and on the following day he became identified with the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad Company, serving in the same department as formerly, and there remained until September, 1908, when he ac- cepted a position in the passenger department of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road Company, at New Haven, Connecticut. In January, 1911, he was elected to the position of secretary and treasurer of the New England Pas- senger Association of Boston, and on February I, 19II, assumed the duties of his new office. His association with the various transportation com- panies made him familiar with the very last de- tail of the business, and thoroughly qualified him to take charge of practically any department. On May 31, 1913, he dissolved his relations with the New England Passenger Association, and on June 2, 1913, became associated with the Maine Central Railroad Company, which connection con- tinucs at the present time. Upon entering the traffic department of this company, Mr. Harris's title was that of assistant to the general passen- ger agent, a title that was changed on September 23, 1915, to that of assistant general passenger agent, changed again on April 16, 1917, to gen- eral passenger agent, having charge of the entire passenger traffic of that system. Mr. Harris is undoubtedly a young man to hold so responsible a position, but he has been well trained, and his native abilities are such that he can apply his theoretical knowledge to each practical problem of the situation as it arises, with a degree of orig- inality and an accuracy that makes him one of the most valued officers on the staff of the great railroad.
Mr. Harris is pre-eminently a railroad man, his
de A. Teners
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time being entirely occupied with the problems which confront him in the exercise of his duties, therefore he cannot pay attention to other mat- ters for which his talents and abilities qualify him. He is a Republican in politics, but has never sought nor held public office. He is, however, a conspicuous figure in the social and fraternal life of Portland, and is particularly prominent in Ma- sonic circles, being affiliated with a large number of Masonic bodies of that region, holding mem-' bership in Golden Rule Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Wakefield, Massachusetts, of which he is past master; St. Stephen's Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Quincy, Massachusetts; Portland Council, No. 14, Royal and Select Mas- ters; Portland Commandery, No. 2, Knights Templar; Yates Lodge of Perfection, in which he took his fourteenth degree in Free Masonry; Portland Council, Princes of Jerusalem, in which he attaincd the sixteenth degree; Dunlap Chap- ter of Rose Croix, in which he attained the eighteenth degree; and Maine Consistory, Sov- ereign Princes of the Royal Secret, in which he attained the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the Economic Club of Portland.
Mr. Harris married, June 15, 1898, at Wake- field, Massachusetts, Jessie Vieth Vose, daughter of Charles Ferdinand and Jessie Anne (Vieth) Vose, of Wakefield.
LOUIS PROVOST, late of Lewiston, Maine, where, with his father, he conducted a grocery store for a number of years, and later a furniture store, also a wood and coal yard, and where his death occurred February 24, 1906, was a native of Ste. Madeleine, Canada, his birth occurring at that place, October 4, 1861. Mr. Provost is a member of an old French family, which came from that country to Canada, and was among the early pioneer settlers there. 'He was a son of Eusebe and Arsene (Chabot) Provost, both of whom were natives of Canada. The elder Mr. and Mrs. Provost were married in that country, and then in 1873 canie to Lewiston, where the former worked for a time in a local mill, and in 1880 opened a grocery establishment, in which he con- tinned until the time of his death. The first seven years of Louis Provost's life were spent in his native country, where he gained a somewhat meager education, which he afterwards supple- mented by individual study and an unusual abil- ity of observation. Upon coming to Lewiston with his parents, he attended a private school for a short time, and then secured employment in the Continental Mill, while still a young lad. Here he
learned the business of cotton manufacturing, but when twenty years of age was taken by his father into the new grocery business established by the latter on Lincoln street, and there remained about fifteen years, in partnership with the elder Mr. Provost and his brothers, Regis and Pierre Eusebe. At the end of that time Mr. Provost withdrew from this concern and engaged in partnership with his brothers in the furniture business, and later ad- ded a coal and wood yard, continuing in this line until the time of his death. Both he and his father and brothers were very well liked in the community, and the various businesses estab- lished by them were highly successful. Mr. Pro- vost also engaged largely in the real estate line, and was regarded as an exceptionally capable and successful business man. In politics Mr. Provost was a staunch Democrat, but was never ambitious to hold office, though his elder brother, Regis, was for some time a member of the City Council. Although unambitious, Mr. Provost took a deep interest in all matters that tended to advance the welfare of his adopted community, and in many ways proved his broad minded public spirit. He was a prominent figure in the social life of Lewis- ton, especially in the large French Colony of the city, and was a member of the Institute Jacques Cartier, the Maccabees, and French Artisan So- ciety. He was also a member of the French Musical and Literary Club. In his religious belief Mr. Provost was a Roman Catholic, and was a member . of St. Peters' Church of this denomina- tion at Lewiston. He took a very keen and ac- tive interest in religious and church work, and was especially prominent in promoting the build- ing of the new church edifice here.
Louis Provost was united in marriage (first) August 30, 1887, with Hermine Cote, whose death occurred July 1, 1900. Four children were born of this union, all of whom died in infancy. On September 2, 1901, Mr. Provost married (second) Marie Josephine Cote, a sister of his first wife, and a daughter of Alphonse and Hermine (Four- iner) Cote, the former a native of Weedon, Can- ada, and the latter of Cape St. Ignace. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Cote occurred in Weedon, and the former died in 1878, Mrs. Cote now resid- ing with Mrs. Provost. By his second marriage three children were born to Mr. Provost as fol- lows: Roland Eusebe, Marie Simone and Marie Louise.
REGIS PROVOST-No man in the French- Canadian circles of the two cities of Lewiston and Auburn, Maine, held a higher or more revered
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place amongst the communities at large than did Regis Provost, of the firm of E. Provost & Sons. Of an unfailing generosity, of a business ability of the first rank, his death was a loss to the city of his adoption, which was felt by the whole com- munity as a calamity. It is seldom that a man who has not yet rounded out a half century of life can command such a deep feeling of affection and esteem, and when it is considered that he came here as a stranger in a strange land and made his way to the top, it becomes evident that he was an unusual man, with qualities of heart and mind that fitted him for leadership and suc- cess. Mr. Provost was what might be termed a self-made man, never having received but the rudiments of an education, but such was his natural ability and instinct for the best in life that he never ceased to learn while he lived, and this supplemented the formal training in school which he had missed. He always showed a marked grasp of business principles, and was the guiding spirit in the house of E. Provost & Sons, which was one of the largest grocery establish- ments in our two cities.
Regis Provost was the son of Eusebe and Arsene (Chabot) Provost, and was born at Ste. Madeleine, Canada, in 1863, and died at Lewiston in 1904, thus being only forty-one years old. He was eight years of age when his parents left Ste. Madeleine to come to settle in Lewiston. After going to the parochial schools for several years, he secured a position in the Bates Mills, and then at the Continental, where he was employed for a time. Latterly, Eusebe Provost, having opened a grocery store in partnership with Jo- seph Chaput, Regis Provost was taken into their employ. It was not long before he drew the at- tention of the management to his tact and cour- tesy in dealing with the public, to his aptitude in business affairs and to the sureness and sound- ness of his judgment. It came about, therefore, in the course of time, that Eusebe Provost event- ually decided to buy out the interest of Mr. Cha- put and, going into a business arrangement with his three sons, to establish a house under the style of E. Provost & Sons. This project was carried out, and the venture has, during the pass- ing years, become increasingly prosperous, and has grown to an unprecedented extent.
Though it is generally considered that advers- ity is the true test of a man's character, and this is so as regards the ability to stand up against difficulty and hardship, yet, perhaps, the most real and decisive test after all is success, and what he does with it. According to this cri-
terion, Mr. Provost was one of the noblest spirits, sharing with all with whom he came in contact the prosperity which he had achieved, and showing a generosity to his own people which was hardly more marked than that used towards the community of which he was part. From the outset his helpful fellowship towards his Canadian compatriots kept pace with his growing fortunes and successful business ven- tures, and ere long his liberality became pro- verbial. Where was the poor family that he did not help? Who was the unfortunate, who in a inoment of weakness had come within the reach of the law, that did not receive his legal assist- ance? For all religions and civic causes, especi- ally those which affected his own people, Mr. Provost was always among the first to subscribe, and the good of the community ever occupied a place in the front rank of his interests. This was not froni a mere sense of duty, because it is undoubtedly true that he loved the city of his adoption, where his powers had had full play and where he had experienced the genuine Ameri- can spirit of goodwill and business fairness. This feeling on his part was appreciated by the public of Lewiston, and it showed its confidence in him by electing him to several town offices of trust, and these in turn enabled him to put his shoulder to the work of civic betterment. In 1893 he was elected an alderman, being one of the first French names to appear on the Board of Aldermen. He mingled in politics until 1902, being elected to the Board of Aldermen five times during his career. He was a Democrat in his political views, and was a Roman Catholic in his religious faith. He was a member of several fraternal and patriotic societies and clubs among his fellow Canadians, among these being the Institute Jacques Cartier, the Union St. Joseph, and the Société Artisans Canadiens-Francais, as well as to a number of musical and literary clubs. He and his family were attendants of the Church of St. Peter and Paul, at Lewiston.
Mr. Provost married, May 14, 1888, Zoraide Guay, daughter of Joseph and Emerence (Bour- get) Guay, both of them natives of Canada, the former a farmer by occupation, who lived and died at St. Joseph de Levis. Mr. and Mrs. Pro- vost were the parents of eight children, of whom two still survive: Adrien P., served in France in the World War as interpreter in the United States Army; and Romeo R., enlisted at Platts- burg, and later served at Fort Williams, Port- land, Maine.
Mr. Provost had, a short time before his death,.
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purchased the property on Sabattus street, and there in the midst of his family circle he was able to spend his happiest days and enjoy the well earned rest to which he was entitled. Here death claimed the man who was still in his prime, and who was so dear to his own family, to the larger circle of his friends and associates, and to the still larger number of his fellow Cana- dians. Mr. Provost had been in frail health for some time and had at times suffered greatly. He was stricken with apoplexy, and although he ral- lied and was able to receive the last rites of the church, the end came suddenly that same day. The beauty and the number of floral and other tributes at his funeral testified to the love and veneration of the town in which he had been so esteemed and respected a citizen. The passing of such a man is a public loss, and the gap left is one that is hard to heal. The memory of such a man is a treasure to all who have known him.
PIERRE EUSEBE PROVOST, one of the most prominent citizens of Auburn, Maine, and alderman of this city at the time of his death, which occurred January 4, 1909, was a native of Canada. His birth occurred at the town of Ste. Madeleine, in the county of St. Hyacinthe, De- cember 6, 1866. He was the third son of Eusebe and Arsene (Chabot) Provost. His father had owned a farm in Canada for a number of years. In 1872, when Alderman Provost was six years of age, the whole family removed from Canada to Lewiston, Maine, the proceeds from the sale of the farm being invested in a small grocery es- tablishment in that city. The lad, Pierre Eusebe, had comparatively little opportunity for school- ing, and when only seven years of age was placed in a mill, where he worked for three years. His ambitions, however, were great, even at that age, and in the meantime he attended night school. At the age of eleven he went to parochial school and remained there until he was fourteen. He then worked a year as a typesetter at the Mes- sager, a newspaper then belonging by partnership to his father. His fathers' business had pros- pered, and accordingly the youth was enabled to attend the College of St. Hyacinthe, in Canada. He remained for three years at that institution (1882-1885). When he returned to Lewiston, the young man, then eighteen, became at once a partner of his father and brothers in the grocery business. The firm was then known as Provost & Gingras. In 1888 Mr. Provost and his two brothers, Regis and Louis, mentioned above, purchased the interest of Mr. Gingras, and the
firm changed its name to that of E. Provost & Sons. This was the oldest establishment of its kind in Lewiston and Auburn, and met with a high degree of success, being continued until the death of Alderman Provost. In the meantime, however, the Provosts had gradually extended their business into many other lines, and in all of these were equally successful. They were partners in the newspaper plant of the Messager, the best French publication of Androscoggin county; they were dealers in pianos, organs, sew- ing machines, household furnishing specialties, etc. The firm of Provost & Bernatchz were en- gaged in the shoe business, that of Provost & Beauregard became large dealers in coal and wood. These were divided up when the elder Mr. Provost left the concern. Lonis then man- aged the coal and wood yard, Regis and Pierre E. continned at the head of the grocery store, Pierre E. managed alone the furniture department. The three brothers also founded the Lewiston-Auburn Bottling Company, with Sabin Vincent as a partner, to whom some years later they sold out their share.
After the death of his two brothers Pierre E. Provost took over their interest, and besides managed a large real estate business, consisting of tenement houses in the two cities and of sev- eral farms in the vicinity. In 1901 he removed to Auburn, from Lewiston, where he built a hand- some residence at the corner of Dunn and Fourth streets, and from that time until his death was closely identified with the public affairs of this city. In the year 1907 he ran as Democratic candidate for alderman, and was elected by one of the largest majorities ever given by the Fifth Ward. It is proper to say that he was the first French Canadian gentleman clothed with that honor at Auburn. He served in this office for two terms and distinguished himself by his bril- liant career and as a disinterested and capable official. He was also Democratic nominee for the State Legislature in September, 1908. Alder- man Provost stood a prominent figure in the social and club life of this community. He was a charter member of St. Dominique's Association, a member of the Institute Jacques Cartier, the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Catholic Order of Foresters. In his religious belief he was a Roman Catholic.
Pierre Eusebe Provost was united in marriage (first), June 30, 1891, with Lucia Brunelle, daugh- ter of Narcisse and Adélaide (Tontain) Brunelle. Mrs. Provost died January 3, 1903, leaving four children, as follows: Lucius, Justina, Sylva and
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Adolphe. He married (second) June 12, 1904, Virginia M. Gagne, of Providence, Rhode Island. Three children were born of this union: Nor- man T., Cecile Bertha, and Pierre Eusebe, Jr.
In commenting upon Mr. Provost at the time of his death, the Lewiston Evening Journal had this to say concerning him:
His judgment in business matters was sound and much sought after. When any important question came up in the management of city affairs the mayor, aldermen and councilmen always had great respect for Alderman Provost's opinion. He was always honoraole, fair, agreeable; everybody liked him, and no one was ever heard to speak of him except in the most com- mendable way. His deatlı heing announced at the city government meeting, Monday night, cast a pro- found sorrow over the meeting. Rugged and healthy, he was the last member expected to die. He never pushed himself forward, but was always a leader, and would have been more prominent in public life if he had consented to the use of his name by his friends.
From the Messager, January 6, 1909:
Pierre E. Provost is dead! That was the sad greet- ing of the people in our two cities Monday evening, on January fourth. The departed gentleman was the last of the three brothers who for many years endeared themselves to their fellow citizens. Respect, esteem, prestige, what social advantage or honor may he de- sired was his. For his lofty ideals, kindly and joyful disposition, his keen sense of practical affairs, spiced with fits of a courteous humor, for his efficiency in business, his staunch heart steeled with the firmest principles, Pierre E. Provost was looked upon as the "pillar" of the "Sister Cities." Tradesmen, politiclans, rich and poor, knew his splendid qualities of soul and found no difficulty whatever to win him over to their interests, well established rights or needs, no matter what their nationality or creed. He proved to be a man in the highest meaning of the word. After the death of his two brothers, hoth carried away at an early hour of human life, it was on his shoulders that the whole management of the many branches of the establishment Provost & Sons weighed. But he was endowed with unusual grit, conrage and doggedness, with a perfect knowledge of the necessity of the hour. So his heart never failed; his activity, however much called upon and tantalized, never wavered or slackened. Despite his splendid appearance his everlasting smile and his overbearing physical structure, his strength was worn out. He hetook himsell to a sanitorium in New Jersey to restore his falling health, but he came back hopelessly stricken.
THOMAS JAMES LAPPIN, the successful business man and wholesale merchant of Port- land, Maine, although by birth an Englishman, is a member of a family originally Irish, his father having been born in that country in County Mon- ahan, in the early part of the century just passed. County Monahan is in the north of Ireland and here Hugh Lappin (Mr. Lappin, Sr.) was for many years a millwright. Later in life, however, he came to the United States, having resided for a short time at Manchester, England, and it was in Portland, Maine, that he eventually died in the year 1906, when seventy-nine years of age. In
Portland he had been engaged in business suc- cessfully as a miller. Mr. Lappin, Sr., married Mary Hargraves, like himself a native of Ireland, whose death occurred in 1865 at Cairo, Egypt, where Mr. Lappin was staying for a time in the capacity of engineer. To them six children were born, as follows: John J .; Thomas James, men- tioned below; Maria, deceased; Sarah, deceased; Kate, who now makes her home in Portland; Rose, who resides at Laconia, New Hampshire; and Hugh, deceased. Hugh Lappin was before his death treasurer of John J. Lappin & Company, but was killed in an automobile accident in 1914.
Thomas James Lappin was born November 25, 1853, at Manchester, England, and in 1868 came with his parents to Portland, Maine, where the family settled. Shortly afterwards he removed to New York City, where he lived for some four years, and then returned to Portland which he has made his home ever since. Mr. Lappin, upon reaching this country, first secured employment in a machine shop, where he learned the machin- ist's trade, and continued in this line until the year 1876. At that time, however, his attention was turned to the wholesale grain business and he became interested with his brother, John J. Lappin. Shortly afterwards, the present company of John J. Lappin & Company was founded, in which these two brothers and the youngest, Hugh, were associated, the latter as treasurer, as has already been stated, until his death in 1914. Mr. Lappin gives his entire time and attention to the development of what is rapidly becoming one of the largest businesses of its kind in the region, and has for many years held a prominent position in the mercantile world there. Mr. Lappin, be- sides his large business interests, is a prominent figure in the religious and social circles. Like all the members of his family for generations, he is a Roman Catholic and attends the Church of the Sacred Heart in Portland. He is a member of several important social organizations, among which should be mentioned the Portland Club, the local lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus.
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