USA > Maine > Waldo County > Brooks > Sketches of Brooks history > Part 9
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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 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
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MEDICAL HISTORY
Brooks, since 1810, has enjoyed the services of eminent physicians who, as the emergency required, also became surgeons. With the phy- sicians and surgeons of today who are specialists, the physicians of the past, because of the broad territory which their practice covered, were also specialists not in one line, but in all. Many were the suc- cessful treatments, and surgical works performed under conditions which physicians and surgeons of today would hesitate to attempt.
DR. JACOB ROBERTS, 1810-1850, was the first physician to locate in Brooks. Dr. Jacob Roberts, son of Joseph Roberts, Jr., born in Buck- field, May 10, 1784, died at North Vassalboro, Me., March 15, 1856. He was a self-made man. He acquired his education and fitted him- self for a physician by working on the farm and teaching. In 1810 he married Miss Huldah M. Myrick of Hebron, Me., born in North Yarmouth in 1703, and settled in Brooks where he practiced his pro- fession for nearly 40 years with great success. For many years he was the most eminent physician in all that section of the state and became noted for his skill in the treatment of serious cases. He be- came a convert to the Quaker faith in religion and the homeopathic system of medicine. In politics he was a Whig and his influence among his patients was so great that he carried his town which was Democratic by a large majority, for Gen. Harrison for President in 1840 by over 100 majority. Dr. Roberts was noted for his benevo- lence and public spirit and had great tenacity of faith and purpose which characterizes the family. His wife died April 6, 1845. They left several sons who rose to eminence in professional and political life. Children, all but first born in Brooks, Me .;
HAMLIN M., b. Buckfield, 1811; m. MARY A. RICH; s. in Brooks, Me. JACOB W., Esq., b. Nov. 29, 1813; m. 1st, PHEBE S. ABBOT; 2nd, JANE LIP- PINCOTT.
AMORENA DEBORAH THERESA, b. Sept. 2, 1815; m. DR. EZRA MANTER.
HON. BARNABAS M., b. Oct. 17, 1818; m. EMELINE RICH.
CHARLES L., Esq .. b. Apr. 14, 1821; m. CAROLINE P. METCALF; s. in Ill. PROF. PORTEUS B., b. July 27. 1823; m. MARY A. PRECKETT.
EMILY E., b. in 1825; d. 1834.
PHEBE Y .. b. April 5, 1828; m. WILLIAM P. MILLER.
HULDAH JANE. b. Dec. 19, 1830; m. DR. J. H. BARROWS; s. in Gardiner. ELLEN C., b. May 27. 1833; m. DR. EZRA MANTER.
DR. WILLIAM P. ROBERTS, b. Jan. 25, 1836; m. 1st, SUSAN D. WEEKS; 2nd, CORA B. FERRIS; $. in Wisconsin.
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MEDICAL HISTORY
Jacob married Abby Jenkins of Vassalboro, Maine, for his second wife, March, 1852. She died in August, 1852.
A good anecdote is told at Doctor Roberts' expense as follows: Being called one night to an adjoining town to attend a patient in a family not noted for neatness or choice of food, his visit was pro- longed to meal time; with many misgivings he accepted at last the host's pressing invitation to dine. The savory smell of fresh meat cooking had somewhat sharpened the doctor's appetite, and he sat down and made a fine meal on what he supposed was lamb and its. accompaniments. After the table was cleared his host informed him that what he supposed was a fine roast of lamb was in reality nothing but plain skunk browned to a turn! The doctor had no need to com- pound an emetic for himself.
Another anecdote of him illustrates that he, in common with many other physicians, believed in and practiced the "Bread pill" cure in certain emergencies. It also illustrates the power of imagination. A certain patient of his was sure she had swallowed an eel while drink- ing water some months before. She was sure she could feel the slimy thing grow as time passed on and could even "feel the critter squirm." No amount of reason or ridicule could remove the idea from her mind. At last the doctor seemingly agreed and "thought it possible that she might have done so." Telling her husband his little joke and directing him to procure an eel and place it as directed, he com- pounded a harmless potion for her to take. It worked to a charm. The intruder, as she believed, was removed, and a perfect cure was a result in a very short time.
DR. JOSEPH HENRY BARROWS 1850-1855
DR. JOSEPH HENRY BARROWS was born in Oxford, Maine, April 26, 1828, and died June 22. 1870 in Gardiner, Maine, March 25th, 1852, he married Huldab Jane Roberts, who was born December 19, 1830. in Brooks, Me. She was the ninth child of Dr. Jacob Roberts. Dr. Barrows took over the practice of his father-in-law, Dr. Roberts, and lived in Brooks until about 1855. Then he removed to North Vassal- boro taking up the practice again of his father-in-law. Dr. Roberts, and continued an active practice at that place until 1864. Then he moved to Gardiner and lived there until his death. Dr. Barrows was a skillful Homeopathie Physician and a man of skilled ability.
His wife was left with three small children. This responsibility re- sulted in her developing a very successful business career. She suc-
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cessfully managed a Boarding House in Boston for a time and later established a successful business as a caterer in Boston during the winter months and at summer resorts during the summer season.
The children of Huldah Jane and Joseph Henry Barrows were:
1. ELIZABETH MARION, born May 17, 1853, in Brooks, Me .; died in Boston, July 31, 1880. In July, 1878, she married JOSEPH UPHAM, of Weston, Mass., and had one son, Harold Barrows Upham, born in Boston, March 5, 1879.
2. WILFRED HENRY BARROWS, born May 5. 1856, in North Vassalboro, Me. While studying for the medical profession he was taken with con- sumption and died December 12, 1879.
3. JOSEPH WILLIAM BARROWS, born June 6, 1862, in Vassalboro, Me., went to Boston in 1874. He married, May 26. 1887, ELIZABETH C. BEATTY of West Chester, Penn. They have two children: 1. Wilfred Warren Barrows, born in Boston, March 25, 1891. 2. Howard Fulton Barrows, born in Arlington, Mass., November 1, 1892.
DR. NOAH GILMAN, SR.
DR. NOAH GILMAN located in Brooks about 1823, served as surgeon in 3rd Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division of the Brooks militia from July 11, 1831 to April 23, 1839.
For a time he lived in a house formerly known as the Rose house occupied by Loren Rose and at the present time by Hale Rose, grandson of Loren Rose. Dr. Gilman owned the lot of land where the Congregational Church was first built. He conveyed a lot of land to the church parish for such a time as it would be used for church purposes. With the construction of the railroad the company wanted the land. Dr. Gilman's heirs were located and as the only surviving heir at that time was about eighty-six years of age and had a very substantial estate he was pleased to help the church parish, so gave a deed of the property to the church, which the church sold to the railroad company for $700.00. After several years practice in Brooks, Dr. Gilman moved to Belfast and later went west.
JAMES COCHRANE, JR. M. D.
DR. JAMES COCHRANE, JR., who settled in the practice of medicine at Brooks in 1824, was the son of Dr. James Cochrane, Sr., a prac- ticing physician of Monmouth. He was of pure Scotch extraction, his ancestors being members of the colony which migrated from Argyleshire, Scotland, and settled in Londonderry, Ireland, in the Province of Ulster, about 1612. This colony consisted entirely of Protestants who were subsequently driven to this country through re- ligious persecutions.
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MEDICAL HISTORY
Dr. Jacob Roberts
Dr. James M. Mussey
Dr. Joseph H. Barrows
Dr. Alfred W. Rich
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SKETCHES OF BROOKS HISTORY
Dr. Cochrane was one of a family of fourteen children. One of his sisters, Margaret, married Emery Sawyer of Brooks and was the mother of Rev. J. E. C. Sawyer, D. D., of New York, during many years the editor of the Advocate, a Methodist journal published at Syracuse, N. Y.
Dr. Cochrane was born at Limerick, Me., Dec. 1, 1801. From the day of his birth his father designed him to be his successor in med- ical practice, and very early in life he was driven to books, for which he developed a remarkable fondness. At the age of seven he began the study of Latin. His father removed from Limerick to Mon- mouth when the subject of this sketch was a small boy, and, in the latter town the boy found superior educational advantages, Mon- mouth Academy at that time being a fitting school for Harvard Col- lege and one of the leading educational institutions of the state. Af- ter completing his education, he studied medicine with his father and was graduated from the medical department of Bowdoin College about the time he reached his majority. He immediately entered on the practice of his profession at Brooks, and a few months later was married to his second cousin, Mrs. Eliza Cochrane McClure, the widow of Thomas McClure and daughter of Capt. James McClure, an officer of the Continental army. His union with this lady was the most fortunate circumstance of his life. She was descended from the same colony of Argyleshire emigrants to which the Doctor traced his lineage, was well educated and possessed in large measure the talent and versatility which have coursed in the veins of her children. By her first husband. Thomas McClure of Waldo, she had one son, Rev. Thomas C. McClure who settled in Pennsylvania. One of his sons. Hon. William McClure was for many years prior to his recent de- rease. Chief Engineer of Public Works of the State of California, and one of his grandsons, Col. Virginius Clark was the first aviator to cross the Alps, being received by the King of Italy, and is the inventor of the wing used by Lindberg on the "Spirit of St. Louis."
Just as Dr. Cochrane was getting comfortably settled in practice and was beginning to overcome that lack of confidence with which a young physician is usually greeted. he heard of a good opening in the town of Lisbon. He removed to that village, but remained there only a few months, when, at the solicitation of his father, who wished to place his practice in his son's hands while he was superintending the construction of the Kennebec county court-house, he returned to Monmouth. About two years later the old physician of Brooks died. and. in response to a call from the people of that village, he returned
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MEDICAL HISTORY
Dr. James Cochrane
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SKETCHES OF BROOKS HISTORY
and remained there eight years. In 1849 he again removed to Mon- mouth where he remained until his decease, which occurred in 1874.
Dr. Cochrane was unusually successful as a physician. He was always a profound student of history and was a writer of more than ordinary ability. A few existing specimens of his carefully prepared compositions are remarkable for their clear, strong and incisive dic- · tion. He was the father of eight children, at least four of whom were born in Brooks. Two of them died in infancy. His oldest son, James Henry, a native of Brooks, inherited his mother's artistic talent. At an early age established himself as a portrait painter in Boston. He married Ellen Maria Berry, daughter of Col. Watson Berry of Belfast returned to Maine and served many years as en- grossing clerk and Deputy Secretary of State. Later he was employed by the United States government as architect and Supervisor of Government Buildings. He was the father of six children, of whom three died at a comparatively early age. Herbert L., the youngest son, was during several years, New England manager of the Crane Co., wholesale dealers in plumbers supplies at Boston. Flora G. is a teacher of music and composer in New York City and Harry H. is mural artist and decorator of churches with a studio at Monmouth, Me. He is author of " History of Monmouth", and member of Leg- islature. John Edward, Dr. Cochrane's second son, born in Brooks, ' settled in the eastern part of the state. Three of his sons have served as missionaries in Burmah. The oldest of them, Rev. James Edward Cochrane served twenty years as chaplain of the 2nd Maine Regi- ment of Volunteers and, later, in a similar capacity at the National Home at Togus. Rev. Henry Park Cochrane and Rev. Wilbur W. Cochrane, younger sons of John Edward, have published important volumes on Burmah life. for which the British government conferred upon the latter signal honors. Silas D. Cochrane the third son of Dr. James Cochrane served as Secretary of the Territory of Idaho and acting Governor at the close of the Civil War. Charles Albert Cochrane, another son, studied medicine with his father and estab- lished himself in the practice of medicine at Winthrop, Me., where his only daughter Emma L .. still resides. Granville Park, the youngest son of Dr. James Cochrane, was a senior at Colby College at the opening of the Civil War. He enlisted in Co. K. of the 7th Me. Reg. of Volunteers, rose to the rank of Captain, was breveted Major for courageous conduct, was severely wounded at Antietam and, at the close of the war. served as City Clerk at Augusta, Me. Mary Eliza. the youngest child of Dr. James Cochrane, married Alonzo A. Luce of
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MEDICAL HISTORY
Monmouth, where their two daughters, Mrs. Lena C. Prescott and Mrs. Albertina Slauenwhite now reside.
DR. EZRA MANTER
DR. EZRA MANTER was born in Wayne, Me., May 14, 1811, and died in Winterport, December 22, 1881. He practiced in Brooks for many years, and lived in a house located on the corner lot now occu- pied by the residence of the late Marcellus J. Dow. After several years of practice in Brooks he removed to Winterport, where he lived until his death.
In 1836 he married Amorena Deborah Theresa Roberts, third child of Jacob and Huldah Myrick Roberts, born September 2, 1815. She died June 20, 1852. There were no children. On December 1852 he married Ellen Cecelia Roberts, the tenth child of Jacob and Huldah Myrick Roberts, born May 27, 1833, in Brooks, Maine. Dr. Manter was later divorced by his second wife and she resumed her maiden name. His second wife died in Augusta, Maine, August 10th, 1901.
DR. JAMES D. WATSON
DR. JAMES D. WATSON was born in Thorndike. He located in Brooks about the time of the Civil War. He entered the service De- cember 22, 1862 as Assistant Surgeon. He was discharged June 28, 1864. He returned to Brooks and resumed his practice for a time. About 1870 he removed to Wisconsin.
DR. JOHN MILTON MUSSEY
DR. JOHN MILTON MUSSEY, 1854-1868. Dr. John Milton Mussey, born at Unity, Maine, April 7, 1833. Married 1st, Hepzibar B. Bart- lett, Oct. 1, 1855. Unity. Maine. She died at San Francisco in 1858 leaving no issue. Married 2nd, Lois Davis of Belfast, January, 1867. Children, Charles, Alice and Charlotte. All died in childhood. Dr. Mussey was educated in common schools of Unity, Colby College, studied in New York City one year, later received diploma from the medical college in Vermont. Licensed to practice about 1853. Prac- ticed at Unity, Maine, Brooks. Maine, Laporte. California. A Mason, a Republican. Died at Oakland, California, September 7, 1920. Dr. Mussey removed from Unity to Brooks about the time he was licensed to practice. He lived in a residence located on the lot at Brooks Cor- ner now occupied by the residence of Dr. Albert E. Kilgore. Dr. Mus- sey's second wife was a Brooks girl, a daughter of the late Marshall Davis. Mrs. Mussey was in Brooks on Thursday, August 17, 1916, at
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the time that Brooks was observing its centennial and was the guest of Dr. Albert E. Kilgore for the day. She was then 84 years of age.
HERBERT C. AREY
HERBERT C. AREY, 1865-1873. Dr. Arey was an allopathic doctor. Came to Brooks from Hampden, Maine, located in Monroe in 1873.
DR. JOEL TRUE COLLIER
DR. JOEL TRUE COLLIER 1867-1897. Born at Northport, Maine Oc- tober 24, 1819 and died at Brooks, October 17, 1897. He was the son of Roland Collier who was born in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, April 16. 1784 and died July 3. 1851, and the son of Louisa Newhall Collier, born in Union, Maine February 2, 1793 and died February 21, 1854. Dr. Collier located in Brooks about 1867. He was first en- gaged in practice as a veterinarian and later specialized as a Botanical and Electric doctor. He married Mary Amanda Page, only daughter of Deacon Ebenezer Page. They had one daughter, Mary Amanda, born October 22, 1852 and died April 26, 1927. She first married John T. Libby. After his death she married Charles E. Peabody of Lynn, Massachusetts.
Dr. Collier for many years lived on the hill in a house formerly occupied by Phineas Ashman. Later by a family by the name of Ashmond and more recently by Albert Ames.
DR. ALFRED W. RICH
DR. ALFRED W. RICH. 1871-1905. His life was a prominent exam- ple of the typcial successful American, the class of men who, born and nurtured in adverse circumstances, by the inherent force of their own sturdy character, rise to positions of honor and influence in the world. The strength of his manhood was devoted to his special work as a physician, and for many years he was a familiar figure on the rough and hilly roads of Waldo County.
He was born of good old New England stock and first saw light in the town of Jackson, August 22, 1825. His father, Thomas Rich, was born in Yarmouth. Maine, and his grandfather, Joseph Rich, came from Cape Cod. Mass. His mother, Susan Cook Rich, was born in Newmarket. N. H. Both grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolution. His father died when Alfred was about one year old. He was the youngest of three children and the widow was left in straightened circumstances. He was educated in the common schools, and at Worcester Medical College. He began practice of medicine at.
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MEDICAL HISTORY
Dr. Alfred E. Kilgore
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the age of twenty-three in North Dixmont, Maine, remaining there two years. He then returned to Jackson where he continued in prac- tice until he removed to Brooks in 1871. With the exception of two years spent in Maryland, his whole life was passed within a few miles of his birthplace.
He was married in 1850 to Louisa M. White of Jackson, who died twelve years later, leaving one daughter, who is now Mrs. Clara E. Huxford, widow of the late Thaddeus Irish Huxford.
He later married Myra E. Gross of Thorndike. In the winter of 1852-53 he was a clerk in the Secretary of State's office at Augusta. He was census enumerator for the towns of Thorndike and Jackson for 1870, and assisted by Marcellus J. Dow as clerk finished up the business for Brooks and Swanville. He was State Senator in 1887-88. He held several town offices. During the Civil War he was Assistant Provost Marshall under Capt. A. D. Bean for four years. He joined Marsh River Lodge of Masons in 1866 and was Secretary and Trea- surer of the Lodge for several years. He was an enthusiastic mem- ber of Harvest Home Grange.
He added not a little to the value of Brooks, erecting no less than six sets of buildings in the place.
He died in August. 1905.
GEORGE ALBERT LIBBY
GEORGE ALBERT LIBBY, 1876-1888, born Jackson, Maine, married Abbie Page, daughter of Eben T. Page of Brooks, son of Deacon Ebenezer Page. One child, Earle Libby, born in Jackson, living, mother living. Dr. Libby moved to Tacoma, Washington about 1888 and resided there until his death about 1925.
DR. A. E. KILGORE
DR. A. E. KILGORE, 1887-, the son of Llewellyn W. Kilgore and Vesta Rose Kilgore. Born at Augusta, Maine, but has lived in Brooks since five years of age. Graduated from University of Ver- mont in 1886, an honor member of his class. Following his gradu- ation he located in Brooks and has enjoyed an extensive practice since that time. He has been active in all educational and civic matters, serving several terms as a member of the school board. Was a member of the building committee of the new high school building 1914-15; postmaster for four years, was director of the Waldo Trust Company, conducted a drug store for several years. Was especially active as one of the committee that obtained subscriptions for the
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MEDICAL HISTORY
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Residence of Dr. Alfred E. Kilgore
Central Maine Power Company to extend its lines to Brooks. He has always been identified with every interest. for the betterment and improvement of Brooks.
He married Ellen Patterson of Belfast. One daughter, Dorothy H. who married Raymond Merritt of Brooks, who have one child, a daughter, Barbara Kay Merritt born Aug. 12, 1924.
DR. NORMAN R. COOK
NORMAN R. COOK, M. D., born July 18, 1870 at Jackson, Maine; father's name Eli Cook, Jr., mother's name Sara Carleton; rural school, Jackson grammar and High. Preparatory Maine Central In- stitute, Pittsfield, Maine; M. D. degree University of Vermont, 1896; began practice 1896 in Brooks, Maine; was there until 1918 when he went in the World War as Captain of Medical Dept., and was dis- charged October 25, 1919; after being discharged from World War, November 10, 1919, he began the practice of medicine in the town of Newport, Maine. Was commissioned Major in Officers Reserved Corps of U. S. A. Belongs to Masons, Knights of Pythias, American Legion, Newport Rod and Gun Club, Maine Medical Association; Republican, Universalist. Married January 3, 1900 to Mabel L. Jud- kins of Newport, Maine; two children, Thomas R. Cook, graduate of Colby College, with Bulkeley School of New London. Daughter, Beulah Cook, graduate of Colby College and of Mass. General Hos- pital as a nurse.
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SKETCHES OF BROOKS HISTORY
Dr. Norman R. Cook
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MEDICAL HISTORY
DR. PRINCE E. LUCE 1907-1912-1914
DR. PRINCE E. LUCE was born in Waldo, Me., July 30, 1858, and died in Clinton, Me., December 13, 1908. He was the son of Miles E. Luce of Waldo and Martha, daughter of John Lane of Brooks. He was educated at Burlington, Vt., Baltimore, Md., Washington, D. C. For several years Dr. Luce was a successful teacher having served as Principal of Freedom Academy for several years and was . engaged in Educational Work in the Town of Brooks and other towns of Eastern Maine during the early period of his life. He practiced medicine in Belfast, Northport, Bayside, Rockland, Bangor and ad- joining towns. He was twice married.
Dr. Prince E. Luce
Dr. Edward J. Roberts
DR. CHARLES WILLARD JENNYS
DR. CHARLES WILLARD JENNYS. D. D. S., came to Brooks in 1890 where he remained for a year. He had previously practiced at Bel- fast from 1887. After leaving Brooks he went to Millbridge, Maine, returning to Belfast in 1908 where he is practicing at the present time.
FORBES HOSPITAL. In May, 1921, MRS. CHARLES FORBES, a nurse with years of experience, opened a private hospital at Brooks, pur- chasing the residence of Mrs. Kate A. Lane on West Main St., be- ing the building erected by Charles Bowen.
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SKETCHES OF BROOKS HISTORY
EDWARD JUNIUS ROBERTS
EDWARD JUNIUS ROBERTS, second son of Jacob Wellington, and Phoebe Abbott Roberts of Brooks. Born in Brooks, February 10, 1839. On the death of his father he went to live with his father's eldest sister Amorena Roberts Manter, the wife of Dr. Ezra Manter. His uncle took charge of him until he was eighteen. Soon after he began the study of Dentistry, and working his way upward he grad- uated from Philadelphia Dental College in 1856. He practiced in Vassalboro, Maine and surrounding towns and in 1870 opened an office in Augusta, Maine, and became the leading dentist in the State. He was one of the founders and an active worker in the Maine Dental Association, and at the passage of the Maine Dental Law he was ap- pointed by the Governor as one of the Five Dental Examiners and served as Chairman 1891-1908.
He joined the Methodist Church in 1862 and was always an ar- dent church worker. He was also interested in music, being a fine singer. He was a Mason and Knight Templar.
On November 15, 1865, he married Emma Evans of Dixmont, Me. Their first child Arthur Wellington was born in North Vassalboro, August 20, 1868, and now lives at Augusta, Maine. The next child Lottie Adelia was born September 11, 1873. She died October 14, 1873. The third child Orville Leslie was born in Augusta, Me., Oc- tober 21, 1874. For many years he assisted his father in his busi- ness at Augusta, Maine. Mrs. Roberts died February 1920, and Dr. Roberts died September, 1924.
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COLONIAL WARS
WILLIAM CILLEY, (SELLY), (SULLY), born-, in Salisbury or King- ston, N. H. He enlisted April 11, 1758, and was discharged Novem- ber 24, 1758. Served in Trueworthy Ladd's company (8th) of Exeter, in Col. John Hart's regiment, raised for the Crown Point expedition. A part joined the expedition against Louisburg, the remainder did : service under Lieut. Col. Goffe, in the western part of N. H. He removed to Gorham, Maine, and m., -, Anna Clark, b. Sept 1, 1733. Removed to Buckfield, and d. in Brooks, -, 1818. His name is men- tioned in a deed in Rock. Co. Rec., vol. 121, p. 274, as a son of the late Benj. Selly of Salisbury, and as residing in Gorhamtown, Mass., now Gorham, Maine. Children:
JOHN, b .-; m. Dec. 15, 1786, MOLLY MURCH.
WILLIAM, b .-; m., 1st, May 12, 1793, SARAH BONNEY of Turner, d. 1837; 2nd, -, MISS WATERHOUSE.
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