Maine; a history, Volume IV, Part 9

Author: Hatch, Louis Clinton, 1872-1931, ed; Maine Historical Society. cn; American Historical Society. cn
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: New York, The American historical society
Number of Pages: 756


USA > Maine > Maine; a history, Volume IV > Part 9


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sheriff and was the only man elected on the Re- publican ticket in 1916. He ran again and carried every town in the county and is still sheriff on a platform of the strict enforcement of the law. He is a man whose sense of justice lies very near his feeling for business efficiency and rooted still deeper in his nature is the kindly sympathy for those who have not been so successful in their journey through life.


He finds time in a busy life for a keen interest in fraternal orders, and is active in Masonic cir- cles. He is a member of Solar Lodge, No. 14, An- cient Free and Accepted Masons; Montgomery and St. Bernard Royal Arch Chapter, No. 2; Dun- lap Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 5, of Bath; Maine Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret, of Portland; Mystic Shrine and Kora Temple, of Lewiston. He is also a mem- ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, No. 934, of Bath; the Improved Order of Red Men, Sagamore Tribe, No. 64; Arcadia Lodge, Knights of Pythias, No. 12, of Bath.


Mr. Oliver married, November 9, 1881, Esther, daughter of Arthur Gibbs, of New Brunswick. They had two children: I. Ralph, deceased. 2. Arthur Gibbs, a sketch of whom follows:


ARTHUR GIBBS OLIVER-There is no name better known or more respected among the younger business men of Bath, Maine, than that of Arthur Gibbs Oliver, who has been associated for a number of years with one of the greatest industries of the region and is now in complete charge of the business. The Bath Galvanizing Works are well known, not merely in the com- munity where they are situated, but, as one of the largest of their kind in the country, enjoy a na- tional and even international reputation. Mr. Oliver comes of an old and distinguished New England family, which was founded in this coun- try in 1632, when one Thomas Oliver of the great Sussex family of that name, came from Lewes in that county of England and, with his wife and children sailed for the New England colonies. They landed at Boston and settled there, being the only immigrants to bear the name of Oliver until a considerably later period. There is a tradition among the Olivers of Maine that their ancestors were originally Scottish, and a certain color is given thereto by the fact that there were several of the name who came to this country later in the Colonial period. notably the Rev. Andrew Oliver. who settled for a time in New Hampshire in the Eighteenth Century, but afterwards went to New York State.


Arthur Gilbs Oliver is a son of Wilbur Carter


John Carter


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BIOGRAPHICAL


and Esther (Gibbs) Oliver (a sketch of the former preceding this, in this work), and in- herits the sturdy character and practical mind of his ancestors. The elder Mr. Oliver is one of the principle figures in the industrial affairs of the State and was the founder of the great Bath Ga !- vanizing Works of which the younger man is now in charge. The latter was born at Bath, May 2, 1883, and as a lad attended the public schools of this city. He proved himself an apt student and won the approval of his teachers as well as the friendship of his fellows. Upon completing his studies at these institutions the young man, who. had a strong taste for writing and journalism, secured a position with the Bath Times as a re- porter and thus began his active career. It was not long before his superiors upon the paper dis- covered that he was possessed of more than ordi- nary talent and, indeed, from the outset up to the time that he gave up newspaper work, his success was assured. After being connected with the Bath Times for a while, he went to Worcester and joined the staff of the Worcester Telegram, where he met with similar success. He was eventually promoted to the editorial room and by his work in both reportorial and editorial capacities made an enviable reputation for himself. Without doubt, a brilliant future awaited him in this line of work had he cared to continue in it, but there were many considerations urging him in another direction. His father was in need of a capable assistant in the great industrial enterprise that he had founded, and, accordingly, the young man left the Telegram and his work and returned to his native Bath. The Bath Galvanizing Works were founded in 1882, one year before his birth, and its first be- ginnings had been very modest. The small plant at the corner of Vine and Water streets had grown rapidly, however, under careful and yet progressive management and, at the time that Mr. Oliver was ready to enter the concern it had become one of the important industries of the city and of the country at large. In the year 1918 he became his father's assistant in the management of the works, and at the present time (1919) is in full charge thereof. His ability to thus take up the operation of so complex a task, and one of such magnitude is the greatest evidence possible of his organizing and executive genius. For as large as were the operations carried on by the company before the great European war, they have increased greatly since then, as the government at once contracted for thousands of tons of their metal products. One of the most important works done for the government by the Bath Galvanizing Works has


been the manufacture of torpedoes and this, among other things, was the cause of an enormous out- lay on the part of the company for the installing of more equipment and of a larger type so that the larger structural parts of vessels could be prop- erly subjected to the galvanizing process. This out- lay proved a good investment and enormous quanti- ties of work has been turned out, especially in con- nection with the development of the navy. The work carried on in a plant, such as the one under Mr. Oliver's charge, is striking and interesting in the extreme, and some idea of the scale of op- erations may be gathered from the fact there are employed there kettles measuring three fect by twenty and which contain at one time a mass of moulton metal valued at twenty-thousand dollars.


In spite of the great demands made upon his time and energies by the great business which he manages, Mr. Oliver is active in the general life of the community and enjoys a wide popularity among a great host of friends. He is a Republi- can in politics and strongly supports the principles and policies of that party. He is regarded as one of the real leaders of the party and has served for two years as clerk of the City Council. He is a conspicuous figure in the social and fraternal circles of the city and especially so in the Ma- sonic order. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity-lodge, chapter and council, and a Knight Templar. He is also affiliated with local lodge of Modern Woodmen of the World and is one of the six original members of the Colonial Club of Bath.


Arthur Gibbs Oliver was united in marriage on the twenty-fifth day of November, 1904, with Eleanor Dain of Bath, a daughter of Charles J. Dain of this city. Mr. Dain is a prominent figure in the life of the community and is now living in retirement. He was at one time a candidate for the State Legislature on the Republican ticket. To Mr. and Mrs. Oliver three children have been born as follows: Evelyn, Warren and Wilbur.


HON. JOHN HARPER, the son of William and Lovina (Handy) Harper, was born at St. Andrews, New Brunswick, May 23, 1844. Wil- liam Harper was born at Liverpool, England, in 1812, and when he was grown he left home and settled in the Province of New Brunswick, mak- ing his home in St. Andrews, in which port he followed the occupation of seaman, and he worked his way up until he commanded a large ship trading with Australia, in which country he accumulated a considerable estate. He married Lovina, daugliter of Levi and Mary (Eastman)


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HISTORY OF MAINE


Handy, of St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Chil- dren: William, born at New Brunswick, lost at sea; Isabella; John, of present mention; Mary; Nathan, died in 1907. William Harper, the father, died in Australia about 1862. His estate in Australia did not come into the possesion of his children.


John Harper's mother died when he was five years old and his father shortly after went to Australia, where he died as has been just men- tioned, and John Harper went at the time of his father's departure to live with an aunt at Calais, Maine, and resided there until the breaking out of the Civil War. September 4, 1861, when seven- teen years of age, he enlisted in Company A, Ninth Maine Regiment, and served until the close of the war. He was with his regiment in every engagement in which it took part; and when mus- tered out of service had attained the rank of sergeant. After the close of the war he moved to Lewiston, Maine, and engaged in the manu- facture of short lumber. He carried on this business until 1880, when he engaged in the coal and wood business, with Mr. M. J. Googin, of Lewiston, under the firm name of Harper & Googin, with offices on Bates street, and coal and wood yards on Bates and Whipple streets.


Mr. Harper is a staunch Republican in politics. He was a member of the Maine House of Rep- resentatives from Lewiston in 1887-89, and State Senator from Androscoggin county in 1891-93, and his popularity with the voters of his city is shown by the fact that he has run ahead of his ticket every time he has been a candidate for elective office. As a Representative and Senator he made an enviable record. He made no pre- tensions to cloquence or skill in debate, but his tact and shrewdness in approaching and handling men, his incxhanstible fertility in expedients, his capacity for organization and combination, make him a remarkably effective worker in legislative contests. Few men could win more votes for any measure than he. In 1887 and 1889 Mr. Harper was chairman of the Pension Commit- tee on the part of the House and served on the Military and Labor Committees. In 1891 he was in the State Senate and was again a member of the Committee on Pensions. He was again elected to the Senate of 1893 at which time he was chairman of both the Pension and Military Affairs committees. He was instrumental in se- curing the passage of Chapter 102 of the laws of that year, repealing the provision that a de- ceased soldier must have died "from wounds or injury sustained in the service while in the line


of duty" to entitle his widow or orphan children or dependent parent or sister to a State pension. In 1889 he introduced a bill giving a State pen- sion to the dependent children of a deceased sol- dier, and providing for the payment by the State of the burial expenses of ex-soldiers and sailors of the rebellion who died in destitute circum- stances, and forbidding the selectmen of any town from removing to the poor honse any old sol- diers who might become a public charge.


That all the measures became laws was largely due to his untiring efforts in their behalf, and the same might be said of the large pension appro- priations made by the Legislature for the years 1887 to 1893 inclusive. Mr. Harper took a promi- nent part in the fight over the "Ten Hour Bill"' in 1887. Mr. W. H. Looney, of Portland, the author of the measure, acknowledged his obliga- tion to Mr. Harper for his valuable and effective support in an open letter to the Lewiston Journal, and his constituents have also to thank him for his persistent and successful work in favor of the appropriation of 1891 for the Central Maine General Hospital of Lewiston, which enabled that institution to enter at once upon its beneficient work, and the appropriations of 1893 in favor of the same hospital, the Sisters of Charity and the Orphans' Home.


In 1889 Mr. Harper was appointed inspector general upon the staff of Governor Burleigh with the rank of brigadier-general. This position he held with credit to himself and the service until 1893, when his successor was appointed by Gov- ernor Cleaves. In August, 1893, he was one of the five members of the Governor's Staff se- lected to receive President Harrison upon his visit to Maine.


In 1913 General Harper was appointed State Pension Agent by Governor William T. Haines and served until January, 1915. He was again appointed State Pension Agent by Governor Carl E. Milliken in 1917 and is serving in that capacity at the present time (1919).


In Grand Army circles and in the Ninth Maine Regiment Association, of which he has been a president. General Harper is prominent and popular, while in private life his well known in- tegrity, his disposition to stand by those who have helped him, his cordial manner, his kindly temper and unostentatious charity have won a host of friends. He is a member of Raboni Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and Lewiston Commandery, Knights Templar.


General Harper married, November 22, 1869, Estelle, daughter of Robert and Grace (Phil-


Edward E. Philbrook


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BIOGRAPHICAL


brook) Knowles. Their first child died in in- fancy, and their second child, Grace M., born October 1, 1874, died in 1890, at the age of six- teen.


EDWARD EVERETT PHILBROOK, who has for over thirteen years been in the service of the State of Maine in the Department of Agri- culture, was born February 5, 1863, in Haver- hill, Massachusetts. His parents were David F. and Martha D. (Scott) Philbrook, his father hav- ing been killed in the Civil War seven weeks before his son was born. David F. Philbrook was a carpenter by trade and had volunteered in the army at the first call to arms. His wife, Maria D. Scott, was a niece of General Win- field Scott, whose services to his country in the War of 1812, and in that with Mexico, are a part of the history of the country.


Edward Everett Philbrook was brought up by his bereaved mother and when old enough was sent to Hampton Academy, and later to Phillips Exter Academy. He also attended for a time the public schools of Portland. After leaving school he learned the tailoring business and worked at it until 1898. That date marks the breaking out of the war between this country and Spain, and public feeling ran high with indigna- tion at the mysterious sinking of the Maine. Mr. Philbrook applied for a commission and was ap- pointed first lieutenant, and was soon promoted to captain. He was stationed for a time at Chickamauga Park, Georgia, and saw action in many places. His record gives him as having been present in six battles, twenty-two engage- ments and nineteen skirmishes, according to his discharge papers. He saw service also in China and the Philippines, and was aide-de-camp to the Governor of Maine in 1912-13. In 1904 he was secretary of the Maine Commisison at the St. Louis Exposition. In 1905 he was appointed to the post in the Department of Agriculture, which he has held since that time, performing his duties with exemplary fidelity and high efficiency.


In politics Mr. Philbrook is a Republican, and was the chairman of the Republican County Committee of Cumberland county, and in 1916 managed successfully the campaign for Senator Hale. He is a member of the Society of the Foreign Wars of the United States, of the Vet- erans of the Spanish War, and of the Sons of Veterans. He holds membership also in the Portland and Lincoln clubs, of Portland, and in the Mountjoy and the Sixth Ward Republican clubs. He is a member of the Congregational


church. Mr. Philbrook married, in Portland, September 23, 1883, Annie E. Fay.


GEORGE EDWIN FOGG-The Fogg family, of which George Edwin Fogg, the eminent attor ney of Portland, Maine, is at present one of the most noteworthy representatives, has been identi- fied with the affairs of that city for many years, his grandfather, - Fogg, having been born here in the early part of the last century. This gentle- man was engaged as a blacksmith in Portland and passed his entire life there. He was the father of three children, one of whom is George Llewel- lyn Fogg, the father of George E. Fogg, and a daughter who married a Belgium gentleman and is at the present time a refugee from that tragic land, living in England.


George Llewellyn Fogg was born in Portland, and is now the general manager of the John W. Perkins Company. wholesale druggists of that city, where he has spent his entire life up to the present. He married Octavia Roche, a native of Bath, Mainc, and they are the parents of three children, as follows: George Edwin, with whose career this sketch is especially concerned; Dr. Charles E. Fogg, of Portland, a practicing physician there ; and Sumner S., also of Portland, who is employed as a traveling salesman.


Born January 21, 1878, at Portland, Maine, George Edwin Fogg has consistently made that city his home to the present time, as well as the scene of his active professional career. For the perliminary portion of his education he attended the local public school, graduating from the Port land High School in 1898, and receiving in the same year the first medal scholarship for Bowdoin University. He there upon entered Bowdoin, where he left an unusually fine record for scholarship behind him, which secured him a membership in the Phi Beta Kappa body, and he graduated with the class of 1902. He had decided upon the law as a profession and accordingly entered the office of Judge James Simonds, where he read law to such good purpose that he was admitted to the bar of Cumberland county in 1906. Since that time Mr. Fogg has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Portland with a very high degree of success, and is now recognized as one of the leaders of the bar in his native city.


Mr. Fogg has by no means confined his activi- ties to his professional interests, however, but has taken part in well nigh every important aspect of the life of Portland and has particularly interested himself in the question of penology and the prac- tical application of its theories to criminal con-


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HISTORY OF MAINE


ditions in his State and country-at-large. He has for a number of years been treasurer of the Maine Prison Association, and was sent to represent his State on the National Committee on Jaiis. In 1913 and 1914 he was president of the Maine Con- ference on Charities and Corrections, and is a very conspicuous figure among those who are in- teresting themselves both officially and as private individuals in this matter so essential to the high- est development of the community. Mr. Fogg is a Republican in politics and is a staunch supporter of the principles and policies of that party. He is very active in fraternal and social circles, and par- ticularly in connection with the Psi Upsilon Col- lege fraternity, which he joined while a student at Bowdoin. Since his graduation from that in- stitution, he has been associated with the P'si Upsi- lon Graduation Club, serving as its secretary from 1902 until 1906, when he was elected its vice-presi- dent. He has served as treasurer of the Psi Upsi- lon Chapter House from 1905 to the present time. Mr. Fogg has been actively interested in military and National Guard matters for a number of years, and was first lieutenant of the Fifth Company of Coast Artillery from 1911 to 1914, and became in the latter year captain of the First Company in this same important body. In February, 1917, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the governor, a position which he holds at the present time. In the year 1915 he took a course in gunnery at the Coast Artillery School at Fortress Monroe, having been sent there by the government for this pur- pose. Mr. Fogg is a prominent Free Mason, and is affiliated with the Portland Athletic Club, the Maine Historical Society, the Portland Society of Art, and the Portland Camera Club, and is at the present time president of the latter organization. Mr. Fogg is also very prominent in the religious life of the community, a member of the Univer- salist church, and has been presdent since 1908 of the Maine Universalist Convention.


At Boothbay, Maine, August 20, 1909, Mr. Fogg was united in marriage with Blanche Sterling Mac- Dougall, a native of that place, a daughter of John R. MacDougall, an old and highly honored resi- dent there. Mr. MacDougall still makes Booth- bay his home and it was there that his wife died.


Mr. Fogg, in spite of his comparative youth, has already established an unusually high reputa- tion as a capable attorney, whose practice measures well up to the best tradition of the bar. He has a wide knowledge of American common law and he is fully able to give to any case the research and professional care its importance demands, but his strongest professional success is as an advocate


before a jury. He is convincing in argument, quick to perceive the strong points of his own and the wcak department of an opponent's cause, is a good judge of human nature, and with unerring direct- ness seems divine a juryman's innermost thoughts. He is a member of various law associa- tions, and has ever maintained the closest relations with his professional brethern.


WALTER WOODRUFF PARMALEE, M.D.,


the able and popular physician of Auburn, Maine, and the surrounding region, is a member of an old and distinguished family whose progenitor came to Vermont from England, where the family had its seat. We know that his son resided in Michigan, and it was in this State that George Henry Parmalee was born, the father of Dr. Parmalee. His death oc- curred in Rockland, Michigan, at the age of forty- seven years, some time in the year 1886. This worthy gentleman was a sea captain. He married Adelia McCann, a native of England, who migrated to the United States at the age of eighteen, and came to New York City and subsequently to Rock- land. To Mr. and Mrs. Parmalee, Sr., five children were born, as follows: Elizabeth, who at present resides in Rockland with her mother; George Henry, who is employed as a stewart in one of the prominent clubs of Chicago, Illinois; Annie, whose death occurred in 1912; Walter W., with whose career we are here especially concerned ; Harriet, who lives with her mother at Rockland.


Born August 22, 1874, at Rockland, Maine, Wal- ter W. Parmalee, son of George Henry and Adelia (McCann) Parmalee, remained in his native town until he was nineteen years of age, in the mean- time having attended and graduated from the grant- mar and high schools there. He also attended a commercial school, and then entered the business world as a clerk in a drug store, where he remained for a period of about two years. The ambition of the young man, however, was to become the owner of a store of his own, and through thrift and economy, which caused him many hardships, he was able at the end of this period to engage upon a career of his own, which he did, and was successful from the outset. In the meantime he attended a school of pharmacy, from which he graduated, and this led the young man on to a taste for medicine which culminated in his matricu- lating at the University of Vermont, from which he graduated as M.D. in 1909. He had during this period sold his drug store to David McCarty. He served as interne at the Fannie Allen Hospital at Colchester, Vermont, and then practised for a year and a half at the Hebron Hospital. In the fall of


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BIOGRAPHICAL


1911 Dr. Parmalee came to Anburn, Maine, where he established an office and started upon his career as a doctor. He began his present specialty in the fall of 1914, and is now one of the recognized authorities on the eye, ear, nose and throat. Dr. Parmalee, however, does not confine all his atten- tion to his professional interests, but he is prominently identified with the club and fraternal orders of the region. He is a prominent Free Mason, having taken his thirty-second degree in this order, and is a member of the lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; the Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; the Council, Royal and Select Mas- ters; the Commandery, Knights Templar ; the Coun- cil, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and the Consistory, Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows, and of the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks, as well as being identified with the Grangers. In his religious belief, Dr. Par- malee is a Congregationalist, and. attends the church of that denomination at Auburn, Maine, and ardently adheres to the principles of this religious faith. Dr. Parmalee's relaxation is found in the delightful pastimes of hunting and fishing, which are both his hobby, and whenever his exacting duties will permit he indulges this taste to his heart's delight.


Walter Woodruff Parmalee was united in mar- riage at Lewiston, Maine, September 16, 1902, with Josephine E. Howe, a daughter of William S. and Grace E. (Emery) Howe, both natives of Canada. Mr. Howe was a second cousin of Joseph Howe, the provisional governor of Quebec at one time. To Dr. and Mrs. Parmalee eight children were born, as follows: William Howe, born December 5, 1904; Edward K., who died in infancy; Charles Emery, horn November 29, 1908; Jacob Brooks, born Angust 20, 1909; Walter W., Jr., born Novem- ber 15. 1912; Richard Hamilton, born December 15, 1913; Anna, born Angust 3, 1915: and Alfred Wal- lace, born in 1917.




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