USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Portland > The history of Portland, from 1632 to 1864: with a notice of previous settlements, colonial grants, and changes of government in Maine > Part 64
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741
LITERATURE-THE ACADEMY.
the first eighteen days over twenty thousand passengers. The road has been extended to Evergreen Cemetery, two and a half miles, by the way of Preble and Portland streets and Deering's bridge ; and up Congress to Vaughan street, and down that street to the top of Munjoy's hill. The success of this experiment has been so marked and decided, that it is pro- posed to increase the capital stock to three hundred thousand dollars and run the cars in other streets and to other points. The officers of the company are Dr. Eliphalet Clark, president, and M. G. Palmer, secretary and treasurer; by their energy and judgment the enterprise has been essentially promoted ; their exertions in its cause have been unwearied and skillful.
In the general spirit of improvement which was prevailing, the cause of literature was not overlooked. As the means of the people advanced, it became an important consideration with them to raise the standard of education in town, which had always been much depressed. With this view, some of our influential men, among whom the late Judge Freeman was particularly active, took measures for the purpose of establish- ing a higher school than had before existed here. In February, 1794, they procured an act to incorporate an academy, which was placed under the visitorial care of fifteen trustees, and measures were actively taken to raise a fund for its support.1 The trustees were not to exceed fifteen, nor be less than eight. In 1797 the General Court granted to the trustees a half town- ship of land, provided a fund of three thousand dollars should be formed. This amount after considerable effort, in which Judge Freeman made unwearied exertions, was at length raised, and the half township was laid out.2
1 This was the fourth academy incorporated in Maine; those preceding it were Hallowell and Berwick in 1791, and Fryeburg in 1792.
2 This half township was located on the eastern boundary line of the State, about twenty miles north of the monument. It was sold by the trustees to Jo- seph E. Foxcroft of New Gloucester for four thousand dollars, and by him to Samuel Parkman of Boston.
742
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
The academy was first opened under the instruction of Ed- ward Payson in 1803, in the two story wooden building oppo- site the meeting-house of the third parish in Congress street. This was occupied until 1808, when the new brick academy in the same street was finished and improved.1 This school was well conducted and supplied a deficiency in the means of ob- taining an education, which had long been seriously felt, until about 1850, when the public schools of the city, especially the high and grammar schools, had become so well conducted and taught, that pupils were withdrawn from the academy, and placed in them, or sent to institutions abroad as Exeter or An- dover, and the academy was closed. The fund is now accu- mulating, and it is contemplated when it shall have reached a sufficient amount, to establish a seminary, which will be an hon- or to the town, and give such courses of instruction as will meet the advanced demands of the age. The successors of Dr. Payson were Ebenezer Adams, a graduate of Dartmouth in 1791, and who after two years, was transferred to Exeter Academy, and thence to the professorship of languages in Dartmouth College. His successors were Rev. William Gregg, Nathaniel H. Carter, Nathaniel Wright, and Bezeleel Cushman, all graduates of Dartmouth College, the last three in 1811. Mr. Cushman was the faithful preceptor twenty-six years. From a list of the forty-four pupils of Mr. Payson's in 1805, now in my posses- sion, fourteen survive after a lapse of fifty-nine years. Of these eight now reside in Portland, of which the author of this work is one. Others residing abroad are Judge Bellamy Storer and Charles Vaughan in Ohio, Rev. John A. Douglass in Water- ford, Robert B. Storer and Edward Parker in Boston, and Wm. Gibbs in Conway. But three town-born young men, previous to 1800 had graduated at any college ; these were the sons of the Rev. Mr. Smith and George Bradbury. To obtain an edu- cation was then a much more expensive and difficult undertaking
1 This building cost seven thousand three hundred dollars.
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
than it now is, and but few persons of that day in comparison - with the present were liberally educated.1
The immense improvements which have been made in the means of common education in this country within a few years, have not been lost sight of here; the number and character of the schools have been brought up to the spirit of the age. From the solitary little school on the Neck, which at the close of the revolutionary war sent out its half taught urchins, the num- ber has increased to twenty-four free public schools, beside as many more of a private character. In 1831 there were fourteen free schools containing one thousand five hundred and forty- five scholars, two of which are on the islands in the harbor. In 1864 there were three high schools, of which one was for boys, containing one hundred and thirty-five, and two for girls containing two hundred and forty-eight ; five grammar schools for boys, having eight hundred and thirty-four pupils, and
1 The following are the native inhabitants who have received a liberal educa- tion in the order of time, viz., John Smith, H. C. 1745 ; Peter T. Smith, H. C. 1753; George Bradbury, H. C., 1789; S. D. Freeman, H. C., 1800; William Freeman, H. C., 1804 ; Isaac Foster Coffin, Bowdoin College, 1806; Charles S. Daveis, B. C .. 1807 ; John Mussey, B. C., 1809; Nathaniel Deering, H. C., 1810; John P. Boyd, John P. B. Storer, Charles Freeman, and George Freeman, at B. C., 1812 ; John A. Douglass, B. C., 1814; George Jewett, H. C., 1816 ; George Chase, H. C., 1818; Edward T. Ingraham, B. C., 1819; William Boyd, James F. Deering, Frederick A. Cobb, H. C., 1820 ; David H. Storer, B. C., 1822; Wm Cutter, B. C., 1824 ; John D. Kinsman, Stephen Longfellow, Henry W. Longfel- low, and Elward D. Preble, at B. C., 1825; ' William Paine, B. C., 1826; Wm. H. Codman, William P. Mclellan, and John Owen, B. C., 1827; Edward F. Cutter, B. C., 1828 ; John Q. Day, B. C., 1829; Francis Barbour, B. C., 1830 ; Edward H. Thomas, B. C., 1831. The following are the sons of emigrants edu- cated after their settlement here, viz., John Wadsworth, and James C. Jewett , H. C., 1800; Richard Cobb, B. C., 1806; Edward H. Cobb, B. C., 1810; Will- iam Willis, H. C., 1813 ; Rufus K. Porter, B. C., 1813; Nathan Cummings and John Widgery, B. C., 1817 ; Grenville Mellen, H. C., 1818; Winthrop G. Mars- ton. B. C., 1821, Wm. P. Fessenden, B. C., 1824; Frederick Mellen and P. H. Greenleaf, B. C., 1825; John Rand, B. C., 1831. Since that time, the number of each description has so much increased that we cannot spare room for the record, but must refer to the catalogues of Harvard, Bowdoin, and Dartmouth.
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744
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
three for girls with five hundred and forty-four pupils. There were also fourteen primary schools and two upon the islands, three thousand six hundred and sixty-six pupils, making the aggregate number five thousand four hundred and twenty- seven scholars, under charge of eighty-six teachers. The sala- ries of these teachers for the year ending in April, 1864, was twenty-five thousand one hundred and ninety-five dollars, and other expenses connected with the school, was ten thousand six hundred and eight dollars. The school-houses furnish ample accommodations for the large number of scholars, some of which are of superior construction and beauty. The appropriation for schools in 1786, the year the town was divided, was thirty pounds; in 1827 it was five thousand dollars; in 1830, six thou- sand dollars ; in 1863, thirty-five thousand eight hundred and four dollars. There were in 1832 eleven school-houses in town, four of which were of brick, and seven of wood. We may safely affirm that in no town of its size, is a more liberal re- gard bestowed upon free education, that vital element in our republican system, than in this town. Some of our private schools are of a superior order, and draw to their lectures and instructions pupils from different parts of the State. We may justly boast that the means of a high grade of moral and intel- lectual cultivation are brought home to our own doors, that we have wisely profited by the enlightened spirit which is going abroad, and seized upon the numerous facilities and advantages for obtaining and diffusing education.
In connection with this subject we may advert again to the library, whose history we have in a former chapter traced to the destruction of the town in 1775, an event which scattered its volumes like the leaves of the sibyl and entirely suspended its operations. An attempt was made in 1780 to collect the fragments and revive the society, but it was not until 1784 that any spirit was infused into its torpid frame. In May of that year, twenty-six members were admitted, who were required to pay two dollars each in money or books ; several others
745
LIBRARIES.
were subsequently received on the same condition. But the number of books did not keep pace with the increased number of members, for in 1787 a committee chosen to appraise the books belonging to the library previous to April 3, 1786, re- ported that they were worth but twenty-five pounds. 1
It could not be expected that the library would advance much with the very limited appropriations which were made for that purpose ; books were vastly dearer then than they are now, and most works of value were to be procured only by importa- tion ; very few were reprinted in this country. In January, 1789, it was voted that each member pay six pence at every meeting for defraying the. necessary expenses of the society, and if there were any surplus it should be applied to the pur- chase of books. The meetings were held quarterly, and Sam- uel Freeman, the librarian, was allowed six shillings for the expense of each quarterly meeting.
In 1794 the books were appraised at sixty-four pounds three shillings and eight pence, and the price of admission was raised to forty-two shillings. This year the committee were instructed to purchase Sullivan's History of Maine, Hutchinson's Massa- chusetts, Belknap's Biography, Ramsay's American Revolution, The Life of Dr. Franklin, the History of the County of Worces- ter, and Ramsay's Carolina. These instructions indicate a design in the society to form a collection of American works. Samuel Freeman, who had warmly promoted the objects of the institution, and had hitherto discharged the duties of librarian for the compensation above noticed, now declined the office, and Daniel Epes was appointed with a salary of six dollars a year. He held the place until 1799, when Edward Oxnard
1 These books were a broken set of Ancient and Modern Universal History containing forty-one volumes, the second vol. of the Czar of Muscovy, volumes i and iii of Leland's Deistical writers, the second vol. of Rapin's History of England, and the London Magazine.
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746
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
was chosen and allowed ten dollars a year. In 1799 the society was incorporated under a statute passed in 1798.1
1 We cannot omit this opportunity of paying a passing tribute to the memory of the late Judge Freeman, whose numerous and valuable services to our com- munity entitle him to high commendation. He was born in this town June 15, 1742, and was the eldest son of Enoch Freeman, who was the son of Samuel, and born in Eastham on Cape Cod, in 1706. Enoch graduated at Harvard Col- lege in 1729. The family originally settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, but this branch moved to the Old Colony. Judge Freeman traded and kept school previous to the revolution. He first came into notice as a public man in 1774, when he warnily advocated the rights of the colonies. In 1775, having just at- tained the age of thirty-three, he was chosen sole delegate to the provincial Con- gress from Falmouth, and was re-elected in 1776 and 1778; he was appointed secretary of Congress in 1775, the duties of which office he ably and satisfac- torily discharged for three years. In 1775 he was appointed clerk of the courts in this county, and held the office with the exception of one year in the admin- istration of Mr. Gerry, until 1820, a period of forty-six years. The same year he received the appointment of Register of Probate, which he held until he was commissioned Judge of Probate in 1804, the duties of which office he faithfully discharged until 1820. He was also postmaster from 1775 to 1804. The con- fidence reposed in him by his fellow-citizens was no less conspicuous than that of government : in 1788 he was elected one of the selectmen of the town, and with the exception of one year was annually re-elected twenty-five years. In 1781 he was chosen deacon of the first parish, and held the office about forty- five years. In 1802 he was appointed president of the Maine Bank in this town, which he held for several successive years, and was also a number of years president of the overseers of Bowdoin College .* These numerous and varied offices he filled with singular industry, fidelity, and accuracy, and by a judicious arrangement of his employments, still had time to spare for the charities of life. His active and benevolent mind sought relief from the toils of official duty in the humble walks of beneficence; and we find him originating and aiding by his money, his example, and his personal efforts, all the institutions whose tendency was to elevate the tone of society and to improve the manners and morals of the people. Notwithstanding his numerous avocations, he turned to account his peculiar talent as draftsinan, and published the Town Officer, Clerk's Mag- azine, and Probate Directory, which in an age when there were few lawyers and no books of practical forms in common use, had a very rapid and extensive cir- culation, and passed through several editions. In the latter part of his life, when
* He held at one time the several offices of delegate to the General Court, its secretary, clerk of the courts, postmaster, and register of Probate. At another period, he was at the same time judge of Probate, clerk of the courts, postmaster, selectman, president of the Maine Bank, president of the board of overseers of Bowdoin College, deacon of the first church, and an active member of several societies.
747
LIBRARY.
At the commencement of a new century, the society par- taking of the customs of that period, assumed more of a social character, and part of the funds were diverted from the higher objects of the institution to the temporary and bodily gratifi- cation of the members. In 1800 we find it voted, "that a supper be prepared at the next annual meeting and a cold col- lation at the quarterly meetings, at the expense of the society." This no doubt promoted good fellowship among the members and drew a prompt attendance upon their meetings, but it may well be doubted whether the literary character of the institu- tion did not suffer in proportion as its attention and funds were turned from its legitimate objects to ministering to the pleasures of the body. This was not a solitary instance, for in 1802 and 1804, "a hot supper" was ordered to be furnished at the annual meeting in those years. This part of the history of the society does not promise much for the increase of the library nor give a very high idea of the intellectual character of the day ; but it must be admitted that it was in conformity to the custom of the country, which was one of corporation dinners, club suppers, and physical action, rather than of intel- lectual energy.
In 1801 the price of admission to the library was put at fif-
he had thrown off the cares of office, Mr Freeman found employment in digest- ing the manuscript journal of the Rev. Mr. Smith, and collecting information relative to the town and county. This he published in 1821, and thus preserved from destruction many valuable materials for history. In reading the extracts from Mr. Smith's Journal, we cannot but deeply regret that the editor should have been placed under an injunction to destroy what he did not use, and that thus by far the larger portion of the journal is lost forever, Such are some of the particulars in the useful and protracted life of this venerable man. In his domestic and private character, he may be traced by the same lines of kind - ness, benevolence, and integrity which marked his public course. He was twice married, his first wife, Miss Fowle of Watertown, Massachusetts, died in 1785, at the early age of thirty ; he married in 1786 the widow of Pearson Jones and daughter of Enoch Ilsley, the excellent woman with whom he lived forty-four years, and whom he survived about a year. He died in June, 1831, aged eighty- nine, leaving children by both of his wives.
748
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
teen dollars, and continued so until 1811, when it was reduced to eleven dollars. It advanced again to fifteen dollars in 1819, and to twenty dollars in 1825, and a tax varying from two to three dollars was annually levied. The library had revived in 1809, a committee was that year chosen to provide accommoda- tions for persons who wished to visit the library to read; its prospects continued to brighten, and it went on steadily increas- ing until 1825, when it contained a good selection of books, and more free from ephemeral and trashy reading, than many larger libraries which have had a more rapid growth. The number of proprietors at that time was eighty-two, and the number of volumes one thousand six hundred and forty.1 The library was kept in an office, inconvenient as a place of resort for consulting the books, but yet corresponding with the in- come and means of the society.
At this period a number of members conceived the design of enlarging the institution, and bringing it up to the standard of the age and the literary wants of the town. They proposed to establish an atheneum on the basis of the old library, ex- tending its means, advantages, and accommodations, and add- ing to it commercial and literary reading-rooms. In pursuance of this plan, an act was procured in March, 1826, to incorporate the "Portland Atheneum." Nearly all the proprietors of the library became associates in the Atheneum, and their whole property was purchased in August, 1826, for one thousand six hundred and forty dollars, when the old society was dissolved. The proprietors of the Atheneum also purchased the property of another association which was established in 1819 under the name of Atheneum and Reading-Room, without reference to the formation of a library, which was also merged in the new institution.
1 In 1821 the library contained one thousand two hundred volumes; in 1825 one hundred and forty volumes were added to the library, and the whole ex- pense for that year, including fifty dollars for the librarian, was three hundred and thirty-one dollars.
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ATHENEUM.
The plan of the Atheneum was favorably received by our inhabitants ; one hundred and thirty-three persons became proprietors, at one hundred dollars a share, and the first year of its operations there were, in addition to the proprietors, ninety-four subscribers to the reading-rooms at five dollars a year.' Under these auspicious circumstances, large commer- cial and literary reading-rooms were opened on the first of January, 1827, supplied with the principal commercial news- papers of the country and periodical publications at home and from abroad. The library also received a very valuable addi- tion by the importation from England and France of rare and standard works at an expense of about one thousand five hund- red dollars. Additions have since been annually made to the library, which, in proportion to its size, is one of the most val- uable in the country, containing a large number of the best works in literature and science, and the periodical literature of the last half century ; the institution is an honor and an orna- ment to the town, and well entitled to the encouragement and support of its intelligent citizens. The number of bound vol- umes it contained in October, 1864, was ten thousand six hundred and forty-seven, beside pamphlets.
In 1861 the corporation erected a neat brick building adapted to its uses, on a lot previously purchased in Plum street. The building measures on the ground sixty-six feet by thirty-six ; the principal or library room is forty feet long by thirty-four feet wide, and twenty feet high. There are two ante-rooms on the lower floor and two rooms above for the various uses of the society. The whole cost of the building exclusive of the land, was four thousand and eighty-one dollars. The property
I Only sixty dollars on a share of this subscription have been paid in, of which two thousand four hundred dollars were invested in Canal Bank stock, and the re- mainder has been appropriated for the purchase of books and other expenses.
The officers of the Atheneum first chosen were William P. Preble, president, William Willis, secretary and treasurer, Levi Cutter, Ichabod Nichols, Albion K. Parris, Henry Smith, and Ashur Ware, directors.
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
of the institution consists of bank stock and railroad bonds, and the lot of land on which the library building stands.
The Portland Society of Natural History, a valuable and useful institution, was established in 1843, and incorporated in 1850. They had made rapid progress in the accumulation of interesting objects of natural science, and had disseminated a taste for the pursuit in our community, when in 1854, their rich and valuable collection, which was handsomely arranged in the Exchange building, was wholly destroyed by fire which consumed that splendid structure on the 8th of January of that year. It was some time before they recovered from that disheartening blow. But by the persevering efforts of Dr. Wood, Henry Willis, James T. McCobb, and a few other indi- viduals, who took an active interest in the society, a new life was inspired ; individuals at home and abroad, made liberal con- tributions of money, and specimens to their cabinet, and the State granted them half a township of land. With these aids, they were encouraged to go forward ; they purchased the old academy building, entirely remodeled it, without and within, making not only most conveniently. arranged apartments adapted to the uses of such an association, but one of the most tasteful buildings in the city. They commenced their occupation of it in 1860, and have now a most interesting and valuable collection of objects in natural history, not only gratifying to the curiosity of the unscientific, but useful and pleasing to those who are advanced in the study. Their cabi- nets are scientifically arranged in various departments, liberally opened to the public, and are numerously visited. The insti- tution is an honor to the city. Dr. Wood is president, Henry Willis, vice- president, Lewis Pierce, secretary, and Edward Gould, treasurer.
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The Young Men's Mercantile Library Association was estab- lished in 1851. Its object was, and is, the mutual instruction and improvement of young merchants and merchants' clerks.
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751
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION -AUTHORS AND WRITERS.
They have a good library containing over three thousand volumes, a reading-room and apartments convenient for the assembling of the members, for reading and study, and the other objects of the society. For several years past they have furnished to our community interesting courses of lectures in the winter season, from the most able and popular lecturers in our country. These have been instructive, remarkably well attended, and productive of profit to the association, in enlarg- ing the library and sustaining the institution, which is in a most flourishing condition.
The Young Men's Christian Association was instituted in 1853. It is an association of young and middle-aged gentle- men of high character, for the promotion of religion and good morals among themselves and through the community. They have a library and reading-room, annual addresses, and occa- sional lectures. Since the war commenced they have labored efficiently and successfully in administering to the sick and wounded of our soldiers in field, camp, and hospital, as well as to the destitute at home, and have made themselves benefi- cially felt throughout our community.
In this summary of literary institutions and educated men, we ought not to omit a notice of authors and writers, who have given celebrity to the place of their birth, or of their subse- quent residence. And I cannot do better than borrow from a letter which was written from Connecticut, September 3, 1854, and published in a paper printed 'in Montgomery, Alabama.
After speaking of his tour in the State, describing its many beauties, and particularly noticing the eligible situation, com- mercial and statistical character, and the enterprise of the people and beauty of the women of Portland, the intelligent traveler thus speaks of its literary men. "Portland is noted as the birth-place of many of our distinguished writers. The following list furnished by a literary gentleman of that place will be found interesting and valuable for reference. Authors born or for a time resident in Portland."
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