USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume IV > Part 62
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Born September 24, 1847, at Portland, Maine, Sylvanus Bourne, son of Major M. B. and Dorcas (Rounds) Bourne, has made this city his home ever since. He secured his education at the local public schools and attended the Portland High School to complete his studies. He then en- tered his father's establishment, where he learned the trade of slater and became very proficient at it. He showed himself to be possessed of a quick and alert mind and easily gained a good grasp of business methods, so that it was only shortly after his beginning work for his father that the latter admitted him to partnership and the firm became M. B. Bourne & Son. After the death of the elder Mr. Bourne, Sylvanus Bourne, who had in the meantime been assuming a greater and greater proportion of the management of affairs, continued it, with the highest kind of suc- cess. It was not long before the great busi- ness talent possessed by Mr. Bourne began to make itself known in the further development of the already large business, which he extended much beyond its former dimensions, receiving
and accepting contracts for work outside the original territory of operations. Indeed, Mr. Bourne became one of the foremost men in the State of Maine in this line, and the work that he did, and the materials that he used in every job, whether small or large, were of the very best type, so he gained for himself that most valuable of all assets to the man of business, the reputa- tion of filling all one's obligations, and of liv- ing up to the spirit as well as to the letter of one's contracts.
Besides his large business activities, Mr. Bourne was a participant in the public affairs of Portland, and was a figure of prominence in local Republican party organization. He was a staunch supporter of the principles and policies for which the party stands, and was its candidate for public office on several different occasions, as well as being a prominent member of the Re- publican Club. Mr. Bourne was clected to the Portland City Council and served on that body with a zeal and disinterestedness that might well serve as a model to the average city government. Like his father, Mr. Bourne was a Baptist in belief and attended the church of that denomina- tion in Portland, and was active in the work of the congregation. He was a prominent Mason, having taken his thirty-second degree in the Ma- sonic order, being a life member of Ancient Landmark Lodge, No. 17, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Mount Nemon Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Portland Council, No. 4, Royal and Select Masters; Portland Commandery, Knights Templar; Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Or- der Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Boston; and Maine Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was also a member of the Portland Club, and a conspicuous figure in the social and club life of the city.
Sylvanus Bourne was united in marriage, No- vember 26, 1868, with Georgiana Stilson, a daugh- ter of Ira and Mary (Hay) Stilson, old and highly respected residents of Portland. Mrs. Bourne survives her husband, and still conducts the great business left by him, in conjunction with her son-in-law, Charles E. B. King. She is promi- nent in social and church circles here, and is a member of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Bourne became the parents of two children, as follows: Ella A., who became the wife of Charles E. B. King, now the active head of the firm of M. B. Bourne & Son, to whom she has borne a son, who died in 1907, at the age of seven years; and Gertrude.
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After the basic virtue of honesty, strong com- mon sense and a powerful will, the latter tem- pered by unusual tact and judgment, were the basis of Mr. Bourne's character and, incidental- ly, of his marked success in life. Men felt in- stinctively that he was a strong man, a man upon whom they could lean in times of difficulty, and therefore, the more readily followed his lead in whatever they might be associated with him in. They felt also the charm of a warm heart and charitable nature, with the result that few men in the community could boast of so large a following of devoted personal friends, or exer- cise a greater influence in that most direct of ways, the effect of character upon character, of personality on personality, in the common rela- tions of daily life. Of most versatile talents and broad tastes, he was, nevertheless, able to con- centrate with the most complete single-minded- ness on whatever objective he set before him. Another virtue was his strong love of home, a domestic instinct that found its expression in his desire to spend his leisure time by his own hearthstone and amongst the members of his immediate family. A devoted and affectionate husband and father, Mr. Bourne's conduct in these relations was not less exemplary than in his public and business life.
ARTHUR LINWOOD THAYER, of Bangor, Maine, was born at Sheldonville, Massachusetts, December 6, 1875, the son of Frederick Alphonso and Mary (Wilder) Thayer. Until 1878 his father was a jeweler, but after that time he re- tired to a farm and engaged in agricultural pur- snits. He had held several town offices in Charleston, Maine, where he still resides (1918). During the Civil War lie served as a private in the United States Signal Corps from May 12, 1864, to December 9, 1865.
Arthur L. Thayer was educated at the Higgins Classical Institute, Charleston, Maine, which he left in 1900, going from there to Harvard Uni- versity, from which he received his baccalaureate degree in 1904. Between 1904 and 1905, and be- tween 1908 and 1910, he worked as a special stu- dent at the Harvard Law School. He was al- ways deeply interested in work with young men, a field of activity for which he had early evinced a special talent, and during the years 1905-07 he filled the post of secretary of the Cornell Uni- versity Christian Association. The next year he served as the secretary of the Phillip Brooks House Association, at Harvard University. From July, 1910, to October, 1911, he was the athletic
director of the Guild Hall Association, of Mar- quette, Michigan. From August, 1917, he has been the secretary-treasurer of the Penobscot National Farm Loan Association. In his polit- ical views Mr. Thayer is a Republican and a Pro- gressive, but he has never held political office. He enlisted January 13, 1916, in the Maine Na- tional Guard, as a member of the Bangor Machine Gun Company, Second Maine Infantry, and was mustered into Federal service June 28, 1916, as a private and received honorable discharge from the service August 25, 1916, with the rank of sergeant. October 9, 1917, he received the ap- pointment as judge advocate of the Judge Advo- cate General's Department of the Maine National Guard, with the rank of major.
Mr. Thayer is a member of Olive Branch Lodge, No. 124, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Charleston, Maine; of the Conduskeag Lodge, No. 53, of the Knights of Pythias, Ban- gor, Maine, and is a trustee. He is also a mem- ber of the Harvard Chapter of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, of the Harvard Chapter of the Acacia fraternity, and .of the Reed Chapter of the Phi Delta Phi, Bangor, Maine. He belongs to the Bangor Masonic Club, and to the Hannibal Ham- lin Club. He is a member of the Unitarian church, of Bangor, Maine.
He married, November 9, 1910, at Plymouth, Pennsylvania, Maud Louise Kuschke, daughter of Christian B. and Margaret L. Kuschke. They have two children: Arthur Linwood, Jr., born June 15, 1915; and Margaret Llewellyn, born August 15, 1916.
ALPHEUS SHAW BEAN, who was a sub- stantial, successful business man of West Bethel, Maine, was a man of high character, just and upright in his business dealings, and well liked by all who knew him. He was a son of Daniel Freeman Bean, born in Bethel, Maine, a large stock dealer for many years. He married Polly P. White, born in Gilead, Maine. They were the parents of six children.
Alpheus Shaw Bean was born in Bethel, Maine, January 18, 1846, died September 20, 1899, at West Bethel, and was buried there. He was educated in public schools and at Gould's Academy, Bethel, and began business life as a commis- sion merchant, dealing in farm products, poultry and eggs. He continued in that business for about six years, during which time he managed to save a thousand dollars before he reached the age of twenty-one, then going to California, where he remained for a short period. He continued very
alphous & Bear
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successful in all his undertakings, and acquired large business interests and an extensive landed estate. He was a man of exceptional business ability, and his advice was songht on important matters, particularly where land values were in- volved. He was very fond of out-of-door life and loved the woods. He possessed a host of friends, and was the soul of hospitality, never happier than when entertaining his friends in his own home. He was very domestic in his tastes, and loved his home, there finding his greatest joy. He was a Republican in politics, and for twenty-five years was postmaster of West Bethel. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias, and an attendant of the Universalist church.
Mr. Bean married, November 14, 1871, Lucinda Mason, born in Gilead, Maine, danghter of Moses and Martha (Walker) Mason, the Masons, like the Beans, tracing descent from English forebears. Moses Mason was born in Gilead, Maine, and there engaged in both farming and lumbering until his death in 1896. He held many town offices, and was a man of influence in his community. Martha Walker was born in Emden, Maine, and there married Moses Mason. They were the parents of seven children.
JOHN YEATON SCRUTON - Lewiston, Maine, and that section of the "Pine Tree State" surrounding this progressive city, is noted for the numbers of her successful business men, and among these none is more prominent than John Yeaton Scruton. He is a son of Edwin F. Scruton, and a member of an old and distin- guished family.
The first ancestor was Thomas Scruton, who sailed from Ireland to the United States at an early date, and on his arrival in this country came to New Hampshire. Some time later, however, the family removed to Maine, and it was in this State that the birth of Edwin F. Scruton, the father of the Mr. Scruton of this article, was born in 1859. Edwin F. Scruton was a native of Lewiston, Maine, and it was in this city that he resided during his entire life, and here that he was engaged in a successful clothing business for a period of abont thirty years. He took a prominent part in public affairs and at one time served as alderman and overseer of the poor. He was identified with the Republican party, and was active in the political affairs of the region, being one of the leaders of this party. Despite the fact that he adhered to the principles of this party so ardently, he ended this association at
the time of the formation of the Progressive party, with which organization he became iden- tified and continued a supporter until his death, which occurred, October 19, 1913, at the age of fifty-four years. Edwin F. Scruton married Eldora M. Niles, who survives him and makes her home in Lewiston. Three children were born of this union, as follows: Sarah, who died when still a child; John Y .; and Arthur E., who married Theresa C. Costello, a native of Bidde- ford, Maine, and who is identified with his brother, John Y., in the printing business.
John Yeaton Scruton was born at Lewiston, Maine, February 9, 1890. He attended the Lewis- ton public schools, and finally the High School of this city, from which he graduated in 1909, and then matriculated at Bates College, where he remained for two years. He spent a year in the engraving department of the Lewiston Journal, and at the end of this period engaged in business with his brother, Arthur E., the two men estab- lishing the business of Scruton Brothers, printers, in March, 1914. This place is located at No. 223 Lisbon street, and was successful from the out- set. The two young men now carry on a suc- cessful printing establishment, and cater to some of the best trade in the region. Their plant is equipped with the most modern machinery, and they have the reputation of doing only high class work at reasonable figures. Mr. Scruton is also affiliated with a number of other organizations, among which should be mentioned the First Na- tional Bank of Lewiston, of which he is a stock- holder, and of which his father, Edwin F. Scruton, was a director for many years during his life, and of which his grandfather, also a John Y. Scruton, was the president. Mr. Scruton is a member of the Masonic order, the Blue Lodge, and the Sons of Veterans. In his religious be- lief, he is identified with the Free Baptists, and attends the church of that denomination at Lewiston.
THOMAS CAMPBELL KENNEDY-The Kennedys of this branch are of Scotch ancestry, Samuel Kennedy coming from Ireland to Sheepscot, Maine, in 1731. He was the father of Robert Kennedy, born October 6, 1763, a farmer and a lumberman of New Castle, Maine, a deacon of the Congregational church, and a man of high standing in his community. He married Sarah Campbell, of New Castle, Maine, and they were the parents of Thomas Campbell Kennedy, to whose memory this review is dedicated. Eighty-four were the years of his life, and many
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of those of his later life were spent in the con- tented retirement of his New England home. He was a man of great energy and force of character, devoted to his home and family and very friendly.
Thomas Campbell Kennedy was born in New Castle, Maine, December 5, 1825, and died there, in 1909. He was educated in the district schools and completed his studies at Lincoln Academy, an institution in which he took a deep interest even to his latest days. He grew to youthful manhood at the home farm, continuing his father's assistant until 1843, then at the age of eighteen started out to make his own way in the world. He was a strong, healthy young man, well posted in all that pertained to farm labor, consequently he was led to seek that form of earning a livelihood. He finally made his way to the State of Michigan, thencc to Minnesota, finally to Iowa. In all of these States he farmed, bought and sold land, dealing quite heavily in real estate at times, and prospering abundantly. Finally, after many years in the West, he closed out his interests and returned to his old Maine home in New Castle, and there resided until his death. Mr. Kennedy was president of the New Castle Bank, a Republican in politics, and a member of the Congregational church. He was a keen, able, business man, relying strongly upon his own judgment, and in all his long busi- ness career never had a partner. He had no taste for public office, but was deeply interested in educational affairs, being particularly friendly to- ward Lincoln Academy, serving that institution as treasurer for many years, as he did the Con- gregational church.
Mr. Kennedy married (first) December 25, 1857, Mary Jane Woodbridge, who bore him two children, both of whom died in infancy. He married (second) January 10, 1870, Laura A. Weeks, daughter of Thaddeus and Esther (Hus- toro) Weeks, who were married in Damariscotta. Maine, but later moved to New Castle, Maine. Thaddeus Weeks, born in Jefferson, Maine, was engaged in the lumber business; was a bank cashier, State Senator, a Whig in politics, but later a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy were the parents of two daughters: Esther H., who, with her mother, is residing in New Castle; Laura W., married G. H. G. Wing, of Bar Har- bor, Maine, and they are the parents of a son, Reginald Kennedy Wing, an ensign in the United States navy.
MERRITT AUGUSTUS KENNARD-A brave soldier of the Union and for nearly a quarter of
a century a police officer of the city of Portland, Maine, Mr. Kennard, although incapacitated from an active out-of-doors life, maintained his position to the last and as the driver of the police patrol, was known in every quarter of his city. The accident which caused the amputation of a leg, occurred while on a shooting trip in the White Mountains, when a young boy. Thus handicapped, he entered upon the business of life, never faltering or complaining but, with a stout heart and true courage he shouldered his bur- dens, won his fight and with it gained the re- spect of every man with whom he came in con- tact.
Merritt Augustus Kennard was born in the city of Portland, April 11, 1842, and died there May 17, 1915, son of Richard and Adaline (Jor- dan) Kennard. Richard Kennard spent most of his life in Portland and is there buried in Ever- green Cemetery. His wife, Adaline Kennard, was born in South Paris, Maine, died in Portland, and was laid at rest by his side. They were the par- ents of four children : Frank S., a Civil War veteran ; Merrit A., of further mention; Eugene, resides in Portland. Merritt A. Kennard attended the public schools and began his active career as a driver in the employ of the Prince Express Co., continuing until the call of President Lincoln for men to put down armed rebellion, awakened his patriotic na- ture, and he offered his services as a volunteer. He enlisted in 1861 in Colonel Vaill's regiment, served ninety days, the period for which the first troops were enlisted; he was honorably discharged and mustered out of the service. He then re- turned to Portland and resumed his old position with the Prince Express Company. The follow- ing winter while hunting in the White Mountains, he fell,, causing his gun to go off and the shot entering his left leg, which later had to be ampu- tated. After recovering from the severe accident, a long time afterward, he accepted a position with the City Government as a member of the police force and driver of the patrol wagon, this posi- tion Mr. Kennard held for twenty-three years, when he retired from the department but con- tinued to make Portland his home until death. His record was without blemish and he was highly commended for his services on several special occasions. Mr. Kennard was a member of Bosworth Post, Grand Army of the Republic, from its formation, was a Republican in politics, a man of quiet life and disposition, domestic in his tastes and devoted to his family.
He married, June 5, 1862, Maria Royal, of Au- burn, Maine, daughter of George and Lucinda (Bennet) Royal. After a devoted married life of
Charles. R. Coombre.
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fifty-three years, the association was broken, Mrs. Kennard still continuing her residence in Forest Avenue, Portland, while the husband rests in For- est City cemetery. She is a member of Bosworth Circle Woman's State Relief Corps, and at- tends the Baptist church, and is a woman of ac- tive and useful life. Children: Charles A. Hig- gins, of Portland; Ella Imogene, residing with her mother; Georgia E., married Everett Wilson, of Portland.
CHARLES ROBERT COOMBS, one of the most successful and prominent business men of Belfast, Maine, where he has been engaged in the undertaking business for a number of years, is a native of this place, his birth having occurred here March 20, 1862. Mr. Coombs comes of an old Maine family, and is the grandson of Robert Coombs, Jr., a native of Islesboro, Maine, where he was born January 25, 1799. Robert Coombs, Jr., was a sea captain, going to sea as a boy, but he later retired from that life and in 1830 removed to Belfast, where he purchased a farm and settled down for the remainder of his life. His death occurred July 9, 1862. He was married, on Christ- mas Day, 1823, to Jane Gilkey, also a native of Islesboro, where she was born April 9, 1807, and her death occurred at Belfast, August I, 1884. Captain Robert Coombs and his wife were the parents of fourteen children, among whoni was Captain Robert Coombs, the father of the Mr. Coombs of this sketch.
Captain Robert (3) Coombs was born at Isles- boro, July 3, 1828, and like his father went to sea at an early age. Indeed, he began when but nine years old as cook, and at the age of six- teen, held the position of master of the schooner Jane, of Belfast. He afterwards commanded a number of vessels, among which were the schoon- ers, Dime, Eri, the Royal Welcome, Tippecanoe, the Pensacola, the Fred Dyer, the Lydia Brooks; the brig, Russian; the barks, P. R. Haseltine and Diana; and the ships, Live-Oak and Cora, the lat- ter being named for his daughter. During the Civil War, Captain Coombs sailed on the Diana, under the Hanoverian flag, from America to India, and to the United Kingdom; in 1865 he sold this vessel in Copenhagen. On the Cora he sailed around the world, most of his voyages being made in Pacific waters. For twenty years his ship was away from American waters, and the log book which he kept at that time recounts many thrill- ing adventures. Captain Coombs married, June II, 1850, Harriett E. Pendleton, of Belfast, a daughter of Jared Pendleton of that place, where
her birth occurred April 13, 1831. Mrs. Coombs died June 7, 1894. She and her husband were the parents of four children, as follows: 1. Walter H., who is now in the antique furniture business at Belfast, where he married. 2. Charles Robert, of further mention. 3. Cora J., after whom the ship Cora was named, born September 18, 1852, and became the wife of Alexander Leith, a banker of Scottish birth, since deceased. Mr. Leith was engaged in banking transactions in Foo-Chow and Tien-Tsin, China, and Bombay and Calcutta, In- dia, for a number of years, and during the latter part of his life, lived retired in England. 4. A child who died in infancy.
The first nine years of Charles Robert Coombs' life were passed at his native place, and he there secured his education, attending the local public schools. During the years between the ages of nine and eleven, however, his father was at sea, and his mother took him to England, where he attended school in that country for a time. Upon returning to the United States, he once more studied at Belfast, and at the age of nineteen, en- tered the well known Bryant & Stratton's Busi- ness College at Boston. In February, 1882, liis father having purchased the furniture and under- taking business at Belfast, this the young man took entire charge of. After the death of his father, November 7, 1897, he closed out the furni- ture part of the business, and has since devoted his entire time to the undertaking business, which grew to great proportions and is practically the only large concern of its kind in this region, and in the thirty-six years he has furnished burials for almost five thousand people.
In politics Mr. Coombs is a Republican, and while not taking any active part in politics, he has always taken an active part in the affairs of the city. For several years he was president of the Belfast Board of Trade, and always identified himself with any and all movements for the bet- terment and prosperity of his home city. Be- sides several minor positions, he has served as mayor of Belfast for one term and his administra- tion won the approval of both friend and foe, politically, on account of its disinterested charac- ter. Mr. Coombs is an expert taxidermist and for many years did a great deal of this work, al- though he has now given it up. He is a prominent figure in the social and fraternal life of Belfast, and is affiliated with a number of organizations here. He is particularly prominent in the Masonic order, and is a member of Phoenix Lodge, No. 24, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master; a member and past high priest of
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Corinthian Chapter, No. 7, Royal Arch Masons; a member of King Solomons Council, No. I, Royal and Select Masters; and Palestine Commandery, No. 14, Knights Templar, of which he is a past commander. He is also a charter member of Prim- rose Chapter, Eastern Star, of this place, a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has held all the local chairs in the latter organization. In his religious belief Mr. Coombs is a Unitarian and attends the church of that denomination at Belfast.
Charles Robert Coombs was united in marriage, September 3, 1902, at Belfast, with Helena C. Mat- thews, of that place. She was born in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, January II, 1872, a dauglı- ter of J. M. and Carrie M. (Couillard) Matthews, highly respected residents of Belfast, Maine. J. M. Matthews was born at Warren, Maine, and was a soldier in the Civil War. He was engaged in the printing business, but died at an early age. His wife was a well known school teacher at Belfast, and followed that profession for many years, even after the death of her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Coombs have two children: Horace M., born August 20, 1910, and Alice, born January 6, 1912.
JAMES WILLIAM MURRAY, a public- spirited citizen, who identifies himself most closely with the life and affairs of Auburn, Maine, is a son of Dennis Murray, a native of County Cork, Ireland, where the elder man was born in the year 1827, and came to the United States with his parents when but seven years of age. The family settled in Portland, where the lad grew to manhood and in a course of time entered the em- ploy of the railroad. Here he was promoted to the position of foreman of a crew of men and continued to hold this position during the greater portion of his life. Dennis Murray married Mary Crooke, like himself a native of Ireland, born in Kilkenny, and came to the United States as a girl of nine years of age with her parents. They settled at Gothanı, Maine, where she grew up to young womanhood and eventually met Mr. Mur- ray. They made Portland their home and there their deaths occurred in 1898 and 1914, respect- ively, Mr. Murray being seventy-two years of age and his wife seventy-seven at the time of their de- cease. They were the parents of seven children, of whom five are living at the present time (1917). Mr. Murray's grandfather was Nial Murray, who lived and died at Cork, Ireland, where he was engaged in farming.
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