USA > Maine > Androscoggin County > Livermore > Notes, historical, descriptive, and personal, of Livermore, in Androscoggin (formerly in Oxford) county, Maine > Part 9
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
Compare these returns with the best the farmer knew when Enoch Lincoln was governor, or with the best the farmer in Wisconsin, Iowa, or Minnesota realizes to-day, and it will be seen how little
93
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
real occasion our industrious farmers have for complaining of their lot. Forty years ago the majority of the farmers were in debt and in frequent correspondence with attorneys and deputy-sheriffs. Now, a farmer in debt is the exception. The rule is that he has government bonds, a deposit in a savings bank, or a permanent in- vestment in Northern Pacific, or some other western, railroad obli- gation.
It is, unfortunately, true that in too many instances he has failed to invest his surplus funds, " where they would do most good"-in his farm, fences, and buildings. But he may comfort himself, if he has sufficient philosophy or patriotism, with the reflection that what he has robbed his farm of has gone to build railroads and cities in distant States and that, though the sight of his money shall never again gladden his eyes, it has not been wholly lost to the country.
But, notwithstanding these mistakes, this farmer is better off than his father or grandfather was, and would not wisely exchange places with any other in the cast or in the west. Thirty millions of dollars in the savings banks of the State, and a sum still larger in other sound investments, by those whom he, and men of toil in other lines, represent, is not a showing that implies pauperism in our rural dis- tricts, or postulates their early and complete desertion.
But with these gains of the modern farmer he must submit to one loss, serious and irremediable-the old-time marketings, so packed with fun, frolic, and keen enjoyment, when a dozen neighbors would set out in company with their train of pungs for the market town. The cold might be piercing, the winds boisterous, and the roads filled with drifts, but sooner or later the wayside inn, with its glow- ing hearthstone and its ruby landlord, was reached; the horses were carefully blanketed and fed; their drivers, who were their owners, were seated around the blazing fire, raiding with unaffected sharp- ness upon the doughnuts and other contents of their "mitchin" boxes, while the genial warmth of the chimney, assisted, perhaps, by something comfortable from the "bar," would elicit from Capt. Leavitt the admission that it was "moderating; " to which the bluff and hearty host would respond : "Hang it, Leavitt, were you ever here when it didn't moderate?" and the echoing laugh, the joke- the story, whose humor was keen and true-went round, until the time for departure was at hand when the frugal bills were paid, coats were buttoned, comforters adjusted, and hearty "good-byes" said by guests and host.
94
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
The variety store, at the Mills, the Corner, or the Hillside, is no longer the attraction-at once shop, exchange, and loafer's retreat- that it was formerly ; the lawyer has ceased to be counsellor, men- tor, oracle; and the doctor, who was so wise as to be looked up to with admiration bordering upon awe, walks with his neighbors, side by side, in the light of common day. There shines no more, at night, the cheerful taper in the tiny window of the shoemaker's tiny shop, and the fires of the blacksmith, in more than half the forges where years ago they were wont to burn, have been extinguished, never to be rekindled. The unity and solidarity of the town-its independence, its sufficiency within itself for almost every occasion and every need, and the society which these conditions produced- are things that were. Men grieve that they can be no more; and then, in healthier mood, they ask themselves whether, if they could, they would bring them back at the expense of the things by which they have been supplanted or succeeded.
No longer isolated and self-dependent, the people reach to and feel the world without, and the world without touches and visits them. Commodities, manners, and modes of thought are ex- changed, and the free circulation improves and benefits both parties-twice blessed, like the quality of mercy. The hats, boots, and coats of men, the dresses and bonnets of women, are at once better, cheaper, and more comely and tasteful than they were when they were fashioned and wrought at home. The taste is educated; the thrifty farmer is no mere boor, and if he wants something of the ease of the city, he makes it up by superior intelligence. The way is opened for every man to do the best the thing he can the best do. And woman, too, is no longer shut out from the occupations and competitions of the world. Her right to labor and grow strong, wise, useful, and beautiful finds room to express itself under these new conditions as it could never find be- fore. And thus, under the combined influence of the division of occupations and the commingling of individuals, of the separation of industries and the intertwining of interests, the world's work of material development, of social gain, of culture and civilization goes on, and the town's work, too.
If three or four farms, each unprofitable when managed and worked for the usual variety of crops, being adapted to only one or two kinds, are united to make one large sheep or dairy farm, and are worked with profit, the town surely loses nothing by the change, un-
95
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
less the decrease of its pauper list be deemed a loss. The self-sus- taining, profitable farm requires in the end more hands, affords better wages, and educates to higher skill than the half dozen starveling homes could do. This process of sorting and sifting; this policy of giving farms over to the crops or uses for which they are best adapted, of finding out what they were made for and respecting the answer, of treating nature as an ally rather than as an enemy, are going on and will go on despite all the efforts that may be made to arrest or defeat them. Enough is known of this town to make it plain to intelligent husbandmen that it affords opportunities for the successful prosecution of their work. Its sky and soil, ordained, as it should seem, for producing an apple as closely fibred and as richly flavored, as juicy and long-keeping as is raised in any part of Amer- ica; by whose chemistry the grasses of these hills are constrained to furnish material for cheese such as, when made by skilful hands, leads in all the markets.where it has been introduced; which give to In- dian corn a peculiar and unequalled fitness and value for purposes of canning and preservation ; and to the potato a brittle jacket and a liberal harvest-home, are their backers and guarantors; and better ones, more reliable, more certain to respond upon demand and notice, will scarcely be found anywhere.
96
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
CHAPTER IX.
CONTRIBUTIONS AND REMINISCENCES.
MY ALMA MATER-Her Students, Professors, and Patrons, by " UNCLE JOHN."-The first school-house in the Doctor Bradford district was built about the beginning of the century. It was an old-fashioned square building, with a hipped roof, and was never painted ; it stood on the same spot where the present school-house stands. The master's desk was on the east side of the room be- tween two enormous fire-places, where wood was burned daily by the cord. Wood then cost nothing but hauling, and great havoc was made in its consumption. The scholars took turns in building the fires; there was some emulation as to who could keep the best fires. It might have been in the summer of 1820 or 1821 that a violent tornado took the school-house in its track and blew off a part of the roof into the field near by, and levelled all the fences on both sides of the road. I remember to have rather enjoyed it, es- pecially in going home through the puddles, where a score of urchins had great fun, wading to their knees. The old school-house finally came to the humiliation of being converted into a wood- house, and afterwards it was very near being destroyed by fire.
Jane Monroe was the first school-ma'am, within my remembrance, who pointed out to the very smallest scholars the A, B, C, with a white-handled penknife. She was not a relative of the two or three families of that name living in the district. Her father was a Scotchman, who came to this country with Hugh Orr, a man of con- siderable prominence in Bridgewater, in the old colony. She kept the school four summers, to the great satisfaction of the elders and benefit of the children. Unfortunately, for the neighborhood, she ventured one day to go to Connecticut on a visit, and happily, for herself, made the acquaintance of a very estimable gentleman by the name of Boyd, to whom she was soon married. She never taught the A, B, C, with the " white-handled penknife," to any children but her own any more. Her regard for the people did not cease with
97
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
her removal. She continued to make periodical visits to the old school district, and took a deep interest in her young pupils, and I believe I am safe in saying that they were influenced for good by her kind and judicious instruction. She was a person of intelligence and culture, and of great sweetness of temper and manners, and is remembered and spoken of to-day, by the few now living about the old school-house, with peculiar interest and affection.
After Miss Monroe came Abigail Talbot, from Turner. She was an excellent teacher, and kept two or three summers. She was suc- ceeded by Cordelia Allen, of Hartford, a well-educated and accepta- ble teacher, who incurred the displeasure of "Uncle" Zach Chickering for receiving the addresses of his brother, who he seems to have destined to be his companion in bachelorhood. Miss Allen married George W. Jones, a respectable man, and moved to Penob- scot County.
Afterwards, Susan Chandler, of Wayne, an excellent instructress, and a very pleasant and popular young lady, kept the school. Miss Lucy Howe, daughter of Doctor Howe, and sister to Hon. Timothy O. Howe, U. S. senator from Wisconsin-who kept the school one or two winters, perhaps about the time his sister was keeping in the summer-followed Miss Chandler.
The writer had graduated, with all the schooling it was ever his good or evil fortune to receive, previous to Tim's experience in the district, but he well remembers seeing him during his school-master experience, tall and angular in person, with an amiable and benig- nant expression, and strongly resembling his father, the doctor, who was a popular and genial gentleman.
I do not remember much of Perkins, the first master in the new school-house. Nathaniel Haynes, son of Elder John Haynes, might have followed Perkins. He became a lawyer and politician, and set- tled in Bangor.
E. F. Deane came on about this time. Deane was afterwards a lawyer, and settled in Gardiner. He kept three or four winters. He was a hard disciplinarian, and was charged with inflicting capital punishment upon the younger boys as a sort of terror to the big boys on the "back seats." He had an enormous ferrule, made of bird's-eye maple, and I remember his cruelly ferruling Jacob Childs, a weak and inoffensive person, incapable of a misdemeanor, because he did not dare to thrash the guilty parties. I never entirely forgave him for this cowardly performance, and I think he lost favor with the
98
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
handsome girls in the school, who detect a cowardly man with un- erring instinct, and no doubt he was punished by an upbraiding con- science for many a long day .*
Oakes Thompson succeeded Mr. Deane and was an acceptable master. He gave a good deal of attention to declamation, and his recitation from Pope's Homer, commencing
" Aurora, now fair daughter of the dawn,"
was the special admiration of the boys; yet it never received the favor that was afterwards accorded to John Monroe's "Hohenlin- den," " Again to battle, Achians," and " The Highlander." Among the incidents of Mr. Thompson's school I remember the follow- ing: A class, consisting of a young man and a small boy, was called out for recitation in geography. The answers, as laid down in the book, were given, the last of which (referring to the position of the Island of St. Helena) having been correctly made by the boy, the master inquired of the elder scholar, " What great man was imprisoned there ?" "I have not got so far as that" was the response. Not far from this time the same boy and a girl of about his age were reciting a lesson from one of the grammars of the period, in which, in opposite columns, names were set down, repre- senting the masculine and feminine genders, as
Man
Woman
Boy
Girl
Husband
Wife
Uncle Aunt
the boy giving the first and the girl the second column. The re- sponses proceeded till the last, when the boy having said " uncle," the girl promptly answered "pismire," bringing a suffusion to the master's cheeks and an audible " snicker," such as only the old-time country school could give, from the boys and girls.
, Lyman Rawson, afterwards judge of probate for Oxford County, Hiram Bradbury, John Monroe, Jr., and Samuel Dinsmore, now or formerly an M. D. in Piscataquis County, were among the subsequent masters of this school during the winters that covered my curricu-
*Our contributor is rather severe on Mr. Deane, who was one of the best masters the school ever had, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of the parents in an eminent degree. He was a member of Bowdoin College at the time of his school-keeping in Livermore. After his graduation he studied law, in Gardiner, with Hon. George Evans, and when admitted to the bar became a partner of that gentleman.
99
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
lum, though I think my attendance during the term of the last- named was rather as a resident graduate.
The winter schools were very full, sometimes numbering eighty scholars or more, and among them were a good many big fellows who occupied the seats of honor, called the "back seats." They were not so perfect in their lessons as in feats of wrestling, snow- balling, and "washing the faces " of the boys in the snow. I forget under what reign five of these big fellows had built a desk before the fire, and had taken possession one morning before the arrival of the master, where they could kiek the shins of the small fry as they were warming themselves at the fire. They had, however, but a single field day, enjoying themselves hugely under the delusion that possession was the "nine points" in their case. The high court of " committee men" got wind of the proceeding and met in Star- chamber conclave in the evening and adopted decided measures for the utter discomfiture of the confederates. When the valiant builders of desks and benches came to school next morning their demoralization was complete, finding all their carpenter work, ex- cepting what had been used to kindle the morning fire, broken to flinders and pitched into the middle of a four-acre lot. The heroes took to the back seats with mortification and kept hid behind their books. "Twas a perfect Waterloo. They could not endure the roguish winks of the boys and girls, and some of them were so dis- gusted with the hard road to knowledge that they left the track " where fame's proud temple shines afar," and have never been heard of since.
The spelling schools, speaking schools, and debating clubs were sources of a good deal of pleasure and perhaps some profit at the time. There was considerable dramatic talent among the scholars, and the exhibitions in that line were frequent. John Monroe was enthusiastic and indefatigable in preparing for the performances and arranging the properties and scenery of the stage. Many of the old mothers, whose lives were a constant sacrifice for their children, were teased to death for carpets, blankets, curtains, and clothes lines to furnish the theatre. John, who was a good reader and prided himself on his elocution, and was the great representative of trage- dy, appeared in more than one of Shakspeare's plays. His greatest achievement in this line was in the character of Marc Antony in 'Julius Caesar." At this time the Scotch Tartan plaids were in great vogue. John had a gay cloak (the envy of all the scholars)
100
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
with big arm-holes. The, great point he made on the stage was in exhibiting one of these openings in the cloak to the audience, with the exclamation, "Look you here, see where ran Cassius' dagger through ; see what a rent the envious Casca made!" etc. Snelling Monroe always " giggled" at this point.
The reading books of the period-the "Columbian Orator," " American Preceptor," "Scott's Lessons," and "Murray's English Reader"-were full of extracts from the old English comedies. These sterling old plays were well studied, and the acting of them would not suffer in comparison with that of the more pretentious academy boys of the present day. Sir Charles and Lady Rackett in "Three Weeks after Marriage," Lovegold aud Lappett in the " Miser," Boniface and Aimwell in the "Beaux Stratagem," Lady Townly and Lady Grace in the "Provoked Husband," Belcour and Stockwell in the "West Indian," were among the favorite pieces. Abijah Monroe, son of Uncle John, was very felicitous in reciting "Pity the Sorrows of a Poor Old Man," and always brought down the house.
Our entertainments were sometimes aided by Mr. Thomas Hanna, a native of Lisburn, in the north of Ireland, of good family and ed- ucation, who by some curious fortune dropped right down here in the wilderness. He was known as "The Colonel," and had some talent as a ventriloquist. He resided in the bailiwick for several years. If the colonel had a weakness it was for an occasional glass of toddy, and it was a dodge of his to decline his role of "Killing the Calf" until the consideration of a glass of old Jamaica was pro- duced, which never failed to inspire him to his best efforts in his peculiar line. But sometimes he could be persuaded to "Kill the Calf" for the delectation of the boys and girls who attended these exhibitions, although he knew that on such occasions he could have no dram.
John Humphrey, who was the only son of his mother, and she a widow, was among the more promising young men of the district. His accidental and early death caused universal sorrow. He was a nephew of " Aunt Kidder," now living at the advanced age of one hundred and two, and was a great reader of books, especially of the old English authors, and had devoured every book in the town library. He took an active part in all our dramatic entertainments, and was an enthusiastic declaimer. He drew largely from the Ro- man history and orators for his themes. I can see him, as if it were
101
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
but yesterday, in the speech of Adherbal to the Roman senate, im- ploring their assistance against Jugurtha. The Revolutionary ora- tors, also, such as Dr. Warren, John Adams, and Patrick Henry, held a place of honor in his repertoire. He had a high-toned and laudable ambition, and a chivalrous spirit, with the utmost simplici- ty of character, and had he lived could scarcely have failed to achieve a useful and honorable career in life. The snows of more than forty winters must have lain on his breast, and 'tis a grateful pleasure to-day to place this slight offering of remembrance on his almost forgotten grave.
These exhibitions were not postponed on account of the weather; blow high, blow low, come rain, or come snow, the attendance was prompt and full. Abijah, John, and Snelling Monroe, and all from the extreme outlying homes came a mile and a half through the drifts, and perhaps after chopping in the woods all day. Nothing but a tremendous storm kept the girls.at home; the hope of their ap- proval and appreciation might have had some influence in bringing the young Rosciuses of the period to their very best efforts.
'Twas no uncommon thing for the boys and girls to assemble at the school-house on moonlit nights for a bont at sliding down hill. There was no little rivalry about the speed of the sleds, and the ef- fort to get a good start was as exciting as we see nowadays at the trotting park. The truth of history requires me to say that among all the sled-owners Stedman Kendall came out the winner. Sted. built the best fires, cut the most wood, could skate the fastest, and catch the most pickerel of any boy in the neighborhood.
The Livermore Social Library was always kept at the doctor's; the cupboards in the kitchen an I parlor were the alcoves where the books were placed. The volumes were not extensive, but were select, embracing many of the standard English authors. "The Pilgrim's Progress," " Robinson Crusoe," and " The Vicar of Wake- field" were read over and over again, and the old ladies in the neighborhood never discovered to their dying day that they had been reading the best romances that were ever written, though they regarded novels as a delusion and a snare. "The Arabian Nights' Entertainments" were literally "used up." Sterne's works were read by the old folks. The doctor was fond of reading aloud from Sterne, and the story of Uncle Toby and Le Fever was a great favorite with him, closing with Uncle Toby's oath, "He shall not
8
102
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
die, by heaven," and the statement that the " accusing spirit, which flew up to heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as he gave it in ; and the recording angel, as he wrote it down, dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever." The scholars used to take the library books into school to read, which with the school books before spoken of gave them a healthy literary tone.
Capt. Pray kept the dancing school in the winter in the old Masonic hall over his shop. The young gentlemen were provided with sheepskin pumps from the midnight bench of John Sanders. There was rivalry in the dancing school as well as in the sliding school. It would be invidious to name the most elegant and grace- ful on the "light fantastic toe," but I remember very distinctly the " swing balance," which was executed with singular grace by one of the lads, who to this day prides himself on that special performance even more than he does upon his slight-of-foot exhibition at Mem- phis, when the rebels were upon his track, for it served him well, it is reported, on a recent occasion when, as chief magistrate of a western Commonwealth, he opened the ball given in honor of a Russian Prince. Columbus Horsley tipped the fiddle for twelve and a half cents per capita an evening, regular, with an extra charge for nights when the school was visited by scholars from the outlying districts. A man by the name of Ford sometimes kept a short school at Horsley's hall in summer, between the hay and grain har- vest. His style of dancing was more modern than Capt. Pray's method, and it was admitted that he took the fly off on "swinging."
The ball dresses of the period were not from the Lyons' looms but were woven by the fair hands of the fair wearers themselves, and after passing through the mill of Kimball, celebrated as the best clothier and dresser in half a dozen counties, came out smooth and shining, and were very attractive to look on. Kimball was something of a gallant, and was accused of partiality to his favorites among the damsels, which he indicated by giving to them a favorite tint of coloring, much to the disgust of the homely girls.
About this time, when Chase and Morrow were in full tide of suc- cessful experiment, and furnished all the country with better sleighs than the minds of men had ever conceived, Horace Gould kept the singing school. He had a magnificent voice and was a successful teacher. It has always been thought that some fine musical talent was lost to future years by his persistence in the opinion that cer-
103
HISTORY OF LIVERMORE.
tain youngsters had better " wait till another winter " before taking lessons.
Uncle John Monroe lived quietly under the hill. Uncle Abel lived ou the top of the hill, but not so quietly. He was of an in- quiring mind and slightly aggressive, and delighted in theological disputes and was always ready for a controversy. The itinerant Universalists were tolerably thick in those days, preaching round in the school-houses and barns, and wherever one put up his head Uncle Abel was ready to hit him. He afterwards, it is understood, became himself a Broad Churchman, trusting in a universal redemp- tion. His wife, a lady of culture and refinement, was connected with the family of the late Col. Israel Thorndike, of Boston. Uncle 'Bijah kept the wayside inn, one of the old-fashioned, comfortable taverns, with a great fireplace for wood, and the cleanest sanded floor in the world. It was a treat to sit there in your comfortable kitchen chair. The ministers, the young lawyers and doctors who were waiting for something to turn up, might be found at Uncle 'Bijah's, on the pleasant summer days under the portico, or in the chimney corner in the long winter evenings. It was there that the young professional aspirants, who, according to Dr. Holland, had spent the " principal," lived on the "interest of their money."
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.