USA > Maine > Androscoggin County > Livermore > Notes, historical, descriptive, and personal, of Livermore, in Androscoggin (formerly in Oxford) county, Maine > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
71
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
Class in town was formed, Dea. Livermore and wife, and, at least, one of his daughters, joined it as members, and from that time until his death, in 1808, he was one of the most influential supporters of the church which it represented.
A church was organized in 1803, through the instrumentality, in large part, of the Rev. Joshua Soule, then a resident of Livermore, and subsequently a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and widely known, especially at the South, where he lived for many years. Mr. Soule was a presiding elder and presided at the first quarterly conference meeting held in the town, which was in 1803.
The meeting-house at the center of the town was built in 1803. It is still standing, but is no longer occupied by the Methodists. For many years before the division it was used by the town for its municipal meetings and for elections. Owing to changes, which had been going on for a long time in the membership of the church, it was no longer a central or convenient point for their meetings, and so in the year 1871 the parish bought the spacious house at the Cor- ner, formerly owned by Col. Stone, and by suitable alterations made an exceedingly neat, convenient, and pleasant house of worship. This old parish, in its new church, is now enjoying, as its honorable history and its devotedness, not only to its religious faith, but to every good work and movement for the benefit of the community in which it is placed, deserves, a goodly degree of prosperity. Meet- ings are held in the church at the Corner and at the village on alternate Sundays. This church has now one hundred and twen- ty members, while the two churches of which it was the parent, one at the Falls and the other at East Livermore, have each a member- ship nearly or quite as large.
So far as is remembered, or as can be traced from any records re- maining, the clergymen of this denomination who have statedly preached in town are as follows: Revs. Joshua Soule, John T. Adams, Dr. - Adams, Samuel Hillman, Samuel Thompson, John Wilkinson, David Stimpson, Aaron Humphrey, Eli Howe, Allen H. Cobb, Joshua Randall, Charles Virgin, Philip Munger, George Web- ber, D. D., David Copeland, Abel Alton, Benjamin Burnham, Asa Greene, S. P. Blake, Benjamin Foster, Alvah Hatch, John True, Joseph Gerry, James Farrington, Daniel Dyer, E. II. Gammon, Sam- uel Ambrose, Daniel Waterhouse, Caleb Mugford, Joseph Hawkes, W. C. Stevens, S. W. Pierce, S. B. Bailey, S. S. Gray, Isaac Lord, Francis Grosvenor, Nathan Andrews, M. B. Cummings, Joseph Fair-
72
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
banks, and the present pastor (who has kindly communicated most of the materials from which this notice has been made), the Rev. Thomas Hillman.
Of those who in the early time labored faithfully for the upbuild- ing of this church may be mentioned the names-in addition to that of Dea. Livermore-of Samuel Livermore, Capt. Charles J. Baker, Simeon Howard, Samuel Hillman, Robert Hayes, John Hayes, Na- than Soule, brother of Bishop Joshua Soule and father of Rev. Asbury Soule, Col. Thomas Chase, jr., Aaron Barton, John Monroe, and Abel Monroe.
UNIVERSALISTS.
Between the years 1795 and 1807 there was occasional preaching in school-houses and dwelling-houses by itinerating ministers of this persuasion, principally by the Rev. Isaac Root and the Rev. Thomas Barnes, whose labors were not unfruitful in the harvest of proselytes. In the latter year a society was formed at a meeting held on the twenty-fourth of November, at which Capt. Samuel Atwood was elected moderator, and Dr. Cornelius Holland, clerk, treasurer, and collector .* A vote was passed to raise money by subscription for the support of preaching. A subscription paper was drawn up and put in circulation, the names to which, and the amounts subscribed by each, will appear in the appendix. From receipts in the possession of the parish it would appear that Mr. Root preached to this society a part of the time, at stated periods, in the years 1808, 1809, 1810, and 1811. It is probable that Mr. Barnes preached occasionally dur- ing this period. At a parish meeting on the 4th of March, 1809, Capt. Simeon Waters was chosen moderator, and Dr. Holland, clerk and treasurer, and it was voted to pay Mr. Root four dollars a Sun- day for preaching. In 1814, at a parish meeting, it was voted to employ a minister, and Abijah Monroe and David Morse were chosen a committee to engage one. It was also voted to hold the meetings at the school-house near Dr. Bradford's.
In 1816, the Rev. Mr. Sargeant-his christian name does not ap- pear-was employed for a short time at five dollars a Sunday. In this year a convention was held in the Baptist meeting-house, and
*There probably had been some kind of an organization before this time, although no record of it remains; for at this meeting Thomas Bryant was appointed to collect subscription in the hands of Artemas Leonard, a former collector, and reference is made to the " Universal Soci- ety " in the record of a town-meeting held the October previous.
THE NORLANDS .- UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
73
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
Col. Stone was engaged to provide entertainment for the ministers and singers in attendance, at the expense of the society. The next year Dr. Benjamin Bradford, Israel Washburn, and Samuel Beals were appointed a committee to procure a preacher, and it was voted to raise the money for his support by subscription. There is no rec- ord for 1818, but in May, 1819, Benjamin Bradford, Israel Wash- burn, and Capt. John Leavitt were chosen a standing committee, and Israel Washburn, Jesse Stone, Reuel Washburn, Ebenezer Hinds, Jr., and Ephraim Pray were a committee to make arrange- ments for the association which was to be held the next month. It was also voted "that the standing committee be empowered to find a home for our minister." Who the minister contemplated in this vote was does not appear. Among the ministers who preached be- tween 1811 and 1819 were the Rev. Thomas Barnes, Rev. Mr. But- terfield, and probably Rev. B. Streeter. Rev. William Farwell, of Vermont, also visited and preached in the town during this period.
Between 1819 and 1827 there was preaching every year for a part -generally half-of the time by Mr. Streeter, and the Revs. Wm. A. Drew, Jabez Woodman, George Bates, Sylvanus Cobb, and per- haps by others. In the latter year steps were taken for the building of a church, and on the eighth of September a parish meeting was held at which William H. Brettun was elected moderator, and Dr. Bradford, clerk. A committee, consisting of Otis Pray, Jesse Stone, William H. Brettun, Isaac Strickland, Ebenezer Hinds, jr., Daniel Coolidge, and Daniel Briggs, were appointed to fix on a suitable site for a meeting-house, estimate the expense thereof, and ascertain, as near as might be, the number that would assist in defraying it; and two weeks were allowed them to make their report. At the ad- journment it was voted "that the most suitable site for the meeting- house is between the dwelling-houses of Israel Washburn and Otis Pray." The meeting was further adjourned to the sixth of October, at which time it would seem a plan of the house was presented, for it appears that Ebenezer Hinds, jr., Abner Holman, Reuel Wash- burn, Henry Aldrich, and Simeon Waters were made a committee to appraise the pews. The meeting was then adjourned to the twentieth of October, when a building committee, of which Henry Aldrich, Benjamin Bradford, and Otis Pray were the members, was appointed. It was voted at this meeting-for the parish took the precaution to sell the pews before a blow was struck on the work- "that one-third of the sum for which each pew shall sell shall be
74
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
paid the first of May next and the residue the first of January, 1829." The sale of pews was then commenced and was continued from time to time until fifty-four out of the sixty-one pews which the house would contain, and enough to warrant the making of con- tracts for the building of it, were sold. Contracts for materials, stone work, wood work, etc., were entered into. John Griffith, Jr., did the stone work, and the general contractor was Ezra Cary, of Greene. The house was completed by the spring of 1829, and in June of that year was dedicated, the Rev. William A. Drew preach- ing the sermon .* Great preparation was made for the music on the occasion. Apollos Osgood, of Buckfield, and Horace Gould, both of whom enjoyed great local celebrity as singers, Capt. John Simmons, of Canton, with his bass viol, and Moses Sears, of Winthrop, with his violin, assisted upon the occasion. The house had a capacity for seating four hundred persons, was of fine proportions, and was sur- mounted by a graceful spire. From its elevated situation it is a conspicuous object in the landscape from many miles around. Upon the final settlement of the accounts for its construction, it was found that the receipts from the sale of pews were seventy-two cents in excess of the cost of the church, and the auditors of accounts recommended, and the proprietors unanimously voted, "that the building committee be discharged from that sum." Repairs upon the church were made in 1839, under the direction of Ebenezer Hinds, Jr., Otis Pray, and Samuel P. Holman, committee. Further repairs were made in 1850, for which Otis Pray, Daniel Briggs, and M. M. Stone were the committee.
After the erection of the church its pulpit was supplied by Messrs. Bates and Drew and the Rev. Seth Stetson until 1832. The Rev. Jeremiah Stoddard was the minister in 1832 and 1833, the Rev. Ja- bez Woodman in 1834 and 1836, Rev. George Bates in 1835. Rev. George W. Quimby, now editor of the Gospel Banner, was settled as pastor in 1837 and remained four years. In 1839, Rev. Mr. Quimby, Israel Washburn, and Clarendon Waters were a com- mittee to report a constitution and by-laws for the parish. Rev.
*The venerable William A, Drew, of Augusta, for so many years proprietor and editor of the Gospel Banner, writes under date Jan. 16, 1874: " The church at the Norlands was dedi- cated June 18, 1829. It was calculated that there were over one thousand people present, within and around the house. The ministers present were Bros. Bates, of Livermore, Thomp- son, of Farmington, Murray, of Norway, Merrill, of New Gloucester, and Drew, of Augusta, who preached the dedicatory sermon from John ii. 16. I believe I have that sermon yet on hand. It was voted to have it published, but this I declined."
75
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
Ezekiel Vose succeeded Mr. Quimby in 1840 and was pastor until 1843, when he left, and Rev. Robert Blacker, of Norridgewock, was called to the pastorate, in which he continued until 1850. Rev. Frederic Foster was his successor until 1855. Since 1855, the preachers-with the exception of occasional supplies-have been Revs. W. R. French, D. T. Stevens, and O. H. Johnson. During the year 1873 extensive repairs and improvements upon the church were made. Changes, since the erection of this church, in the line of travel, in business, in the residence of the members of the parish, and the inconvenience of reaching the old church in the winter season, when the roads over the hills are filled with snow-banks, sug- gested, many years ago, the building of a church at the village for the accommodation of a large portion of the society. So, without any division of the parish or secession of members, but in order that better accommodations might be secured to many, and strength gained for the common parochial expenses, it was at length deter- mined that a new church should be built. Accordingly, in 1869, a handsome church with a vestry in the basement was erected. It was dedicated in November of that year, the Rev. Amory Battles, of Bangor, preaching the sermon. A fine-toned bell was hung in the tower in 1870, and a good organ of sufficient power has been supplied by the active exertions of the ladies of the parish.
Maj. Isaac Strickland, Col. Lee Strickland, Col. Silas Morse, Ori- son Rollins, Esq., Messrs. Hiram Briggs, Charles Springer, William Pollard, William H. Bennett, Sumner and Richard Morse, Palmer Elliot, Sumner Soule, N. Turner, and S. and S. Phillips were among the members who took an active interest in the erection of this church.
Before the division of the town, a union meeting-house, in the building of which the Universalists and Methodists co-operated, was erected in East Livermore, near Haines' Corner. It was dedicated Sept. 8, 1825.
76
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
CHAPTER VII.
CONCERNING LAWYERS AND DOCTORS.
NOTICES having been made of clergymen who have had pas- torates, residences, and temporary or occasional engagements to preach in the town, it remains to give some facts and references in respect to the lawyers and physicians who have been residents of the town and engaged in the practice of their respective professions therein.
LAWYERS.
The first lawyer who settled in town was probably a man by the name of STRONG, whose christian name is not remembered. His of- fice was at the inn of Abijah Monroe; but he did not remain long in town. He was from Vermont.
JONATHAN G. HUNTON had an office at Monroe's, and was for a year or two in practice of the law there, dividing his time, it is be- lieved, between this town and Readfield, where his residence proba- bly was. Mr. Hunton was born in Unity, N. H., in 1781. He opened an office in Readfield, Kennebec County, about the year 1807, and resided in that town until 1837, when he moved to Dix- mont, in the County of Penobscot. He died at Fairfield, in the County of Somerset. He was a member of the executive council in 1829, and governor of the State in 1830.
The next lawyer was EZRA KINGMAN. His office was at Mon- roe's. Mr. Kingman was born in East Bridgewater July 20, 1789; commenced the study of law with Hon. William Baylies, in West Bridgewater, in 1806; was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Livermore. He returned to East Bridgewater and went into trade with his father; was a member of the legislature for six years and taught school six years. He was chosen town clerk and treasurer when the town was incorporated, in 1823, continuing to hold the same office at intervals until his death, Feb. 13, 1852. He
77
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
was much esteemed and respected by his townspeople. His sister, Hannah, married the Hon. Simon Greenleaf, LL. D., long a distin- guished lawyer in Portland, and afterwards a professor in the law school at Cambridge.
ASA KING, a native of Vermont, wandered here from New Hamp- shire soon after the departure of Mr. Kingman and opened an office at Monroe's. King was a man of respectable talents and attain- ments, but of intemperate habits. Owing to this infirmity he found but little encouragement in Livermore, and in a year or two moved to Hebron, to which goodly town his bad habits accompanied him.
HARRY WOOD, of Grafton, Mass., was King's successor. He came in 1814, and remained here in the practice of his profession about three years. He married a daughter of Gardner Brown, then of Dixfield, but afterwards of Bath. He returned to Grafton at the urgent request of his aged parents and was made the principal heir to their estate. He was a well-educated man, pleasant, social, com- panionable, but not a great student or much distinguished at the bar. His office was at the Corner.
RICHARD BELCHER followed Wood and was here in 1817. He re- mained about two years, when he removed to Winthrop. He after- wards resided in Freeport and Waldoboro. His place of business was at North Livermore, or the Corner, as it was called.
REUEL WASHBURN (a younger brother of Israel Washburn), who was born in Raynham, Mass., May 21, 1793, and grad- uated at Brown University in the class of 1814, read law with the late Hon. Albion K. Parris, at Paris, and was admitted to the bar in 1818. He opened an office soon afterwards at the Corner in Livermore, and has resided there ever since, with the ex- ception of a residence for about a year-in 1851 and 1852-in Osh- kosh, Wisconsin. He did a good business in his profession for many years, especially in conveyancing, drawing wills, and making collec- tions. His great carefulness and integrity, as well as his accurate legal knowledge, secured to him the confidence of the community in an especial manner. In contested questions, also, he was much trusted, for few men prepared their cases more thorougly or tried them more wisely than he. He was register of probate from 1821 to 1823, senator from Oxford County in 1828 and 1829, and execu- tive councillor in 1830. He was elected to congress in 1829, but was deprived of his seat by the counting against him of five votes, which had been given to other persons for other offices, but which,
78
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
under the system of voting at that time in force, of placing the votes in separate boxes, were, by mistake, deposited in the box used for receiving votes for representative to congress instead of that used for receiving votes for senator, as was intended. As illustrating the recklessness of party spirit at that day, and indicating the low tone of political morals at that time, the facts in this case will be given in detail :
According to the official count of the votes as returned to the governor and council, Mr. Washburn lacked five votes of a major- ity. In those days it was not necessary to express upon the ballot the office for which the candidate was voted for; but the se- lectmen held separate boxes for as many officers as were voted for. For example, a box for governor, another for senators, and still an- other for town representative, etc. In the town of Canton, Otis Hay- ford, Esq., made a mistake by casting a senatorial ballot, with the names of George French and Nathaniel Howe upon it, into the box for representative to congress. He discovered his mistake the very mo- ment the ballot dropped from his hand and asked permission of the selectmen to correct it, but was refused. This senatorial ballot should have been rejected as illegal and void, as all blank ballots are rejected, because it is impossible to tell who was intended to be voted for, and no voter has a right to cast more than one ballot for the same officer. But this illegal senatorial ballot was counted and returned as two separate votes. Thus, Mr. Hayford was compelled to carry two votes against the candidate he intended to vote for.
Bridgton, in the County of Cumberland, belonged to this con- gressional district. In this town a senatorial ballot, with three names upon it, by mistake in the same way, was put into the box for representative to congress, and was counted and returned as three separate votes. If these two illegal senatorial ballots had been rejected, then there would have been a choice. These facts were proved before the committee on elections and were not disputed, but a partisan house of representatives denied Mr. Washburn his seat, deciding that no election had been made. It seems incredible at this time that party spirit could go so far as to defeat an election on such grounds as these, and it is to the honor of the age, and a wit- ness to its vast improvement over the last generation, that such an act of palpable injustice would not now be attempted or tolerated by any political party-or defended by any partisan, however bitter or unscrupulous he might be.
79
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
Mr. Washburn was a representative from Livermore in the legisla- ture for the years 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, and 1841. He has held, also, many municipal offices and was judge of probate for Andro- scoggin County from 1857 to 1859, when he resigned the office. He has continued in the practice of the law for fifty-six years and is still consulted and employed in his profession. His children are Ganem W., who was graduated at Bowdoin College, in 1845, and educated to the bar; he was a lawyer in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and for several years was judge of the circuit court of that State; Alonzo, who has resided many years in the west; SETH D., a lawyer in Livermore; he married in March, 1870, Julia, daughter of Job Chase, Esq; Harriet, unmarried, and Ellen, the wife of Dr. Roscoe Smith, of Turner.
BARZILLAI STREETER had an office at the village for a short time prior to 1840; but his character and habits were not such as to se- cure the confidence or respect of the people.
WILLIAM A. EVANS, a brother of Hon. George Evans, was in the practice of the law at the Falls for several years before the division of the town. He is now at Fort Fairfield, Aroostook County.
GROVE CATLIN was at the Falls after Mr. Evans left, before the organization of the new town, as well as afterwards.
PHYSICIANS.
Until the year 1795 the people had been dependent upon physi- cians in the towns of Winthrop and Turner; but the population had increased and become so large that they felt that it was unnec- essary longer to submit to this inconvenience, and efforts were made to find a man of good character and ability in his profession, and in- duce him to make his home in the new town. Among the candi- dates who presented themselves were DR. CYRUS HAMLIN, of Harvard, Mass., a young man, then but recently admitted to the profession, and another, whose name is not recalled, but who was said to have received the preference of Deacon Livermore, at a citi- zens' meeting called to decide the question, " Who shall be our doc- tor ?" But the voice of the majority was in favor of Dr. Hamlin, and he paid off the deacon for his error of judgment by, a year or two afterwards, marrying his daughter. The action of this meeting was followed up by the preparation of a paper by the Rev. Sylvanus
80
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
Boardman, the Baptist minister, which was signed by some of the principal inhabitants, and of which a copy is given below :
" Whereas the town of Livermore is destitute of a physician, and as the inhabitants are subject to great inconveniences on account of the distance they have to travel in order to procure one, and being informed by Dr. Hamlin that he contemplates settling in said town, and wishes to know the minds of the people in this respect, we, the subscribers, hereby testify that it is agreeable to our wishes that he should settle with us, and that we will contribute all that we can, consistently, to his encouragement so far as his prudent conduct and skill in his profession shall commend him to our esteem.
SYLVANUS BOARDMAN. RANSOM NORTON. WILLIAM HURD. ISAAC LIVERMORE."
Livermore, Sept. 1, 1795.
The original paper (with the exception of some of the names which have been torn off) is in the possession of Dr. Hamlin's daughter, Vesta, the widow of the late Dr. Job Holmes, of Calais.
It may be added, that the people of the town of sufficient abil- ity agreed to board the doctor and his horse for one year gratuitous- ly. Dr. Hamlin resided in Livermore till 1805, having a large practice as a physician and enjoying the confidence of the people. He bought a farm of Gen. Learned, near to that occupied by the latter, in what was then, practically, the center of the town, and upon its principal thoroughfare, and erected thereon a large and convenient two-storied house. It was a spot of exceedingly great natural beauty which the doctor selected for his home, and it was made more pleasant by the good taste which prompted him and Gen. Learned to plant a long row of elm trees upon the line of the road between their residences, which grew amain and long ago became stately and beautiful. So long as these grand old trees shall stand and flourish they should keep the names of those who planted them in fresh and grateful remembrance.
When the County of Oxford was incorporated, it found Gen. Learned and Dr. Hamlin among its most prominent and able men, and they were naturally selected for its principal officers. The former was made sheriff and the latter clerk of the courts for the new county. But while Gen. Learned's office permitted him to con- tinue his residence in Livermore, Dr. Hamlin's required his removal
81
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
to the shire town. And so, in this year, he sold his property in Livermore and removed to Paris. He was afterwards sheriff of the county. He died Feb. 2, 1829. Dr. Hamlin married on the fourth of December, 1797, Anna, daughter of Dea. Elijah Livermore. She survived him many years, dying Ang. 25, 1852. Their children were Elijah Livermore (a son of the same name had died in infancy the year before), Cyrus, Eliza, Anna, Vesta, Hannibal, and Hannah. Elijah was born in Livermore March 29, 1800, graduated at Brown University 1819, and practiced law for several years at Columbia, in the County of Washington. During his residence in this county he was a representative in the legislature from his town, and also a State senator. He moved to Bangor in the year 1835, and resided there until his death, July 16, 1872. While a resident of Bangor he was a member of both branches of the legislature of Maine, and land agent for the State for the years 1838 and 1841. He was also a member of the executive council of the State, and mayor of the city of Bangor. In 1848 and 1849 he was the whig candidate for governor, and was commissioner under the treaty with Great Britain of 1854 to define the fishing limits between the two countries. The Maine Historical Society lost in his demise one of its most valuable and esteemed members. The remark made by Dr. Bond, in his " Genealogies," in reference to his grandfather (and who he is said to have resembled, especially in the fine vein of humor which made his society so delightful) is applicable to Mr. Hamlin, viz .: "He was a man of great worth." Cyrus, born in Livermore July 16, 1802, was educated for the medical profession, and received his degree of M. D. at Bowdoin in 1828. He settled in Calais, and died at. Gal- veston, Texas, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health, May, 1839. Eliza, born April 4, 1804, was unmarried. Anna, born July 14, 1805, married Hon. Daniel Brown, of Waterford, whom she survives. She now resides in Paris. Vesta, who was born June 6, 1808, married Dr. Job Holmes, of Calais, M. D. Bowdoin College, 1826. Dr. Holmes settled in Calais and died there a few years since. Hannibal (LL. D.), was born in Paris Ang. 27, 1809, settled in Hampden, Penobscot County, as a lawyer, but resides now in Bangor. He was a member of the legislature of Maine in 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840, and 1847, presiding as speaker of the house of representatives in 1837, 1839, 1840; a representative from Maine in the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth congresses ; governor of Maine in 1857; vice-president of the United States from 1861 to
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.