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 65
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752
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
NATIVES.
*Samuel Freeman, Charles S. Davies, John Neal, N. P. Willis,
Henry W. Longfellow,
Nathaniel Deering, Bishop Horatio Southgate, William Cutter,
D. Humphreys Storer, James Brooks, (Editor N. Y. Exp.,) Prof. Henry B. Smith, * Louisa Payson, (now Hopkins) George Payson, Samuel Longfellow,
Mrs. Samuel Coleman, Isaac Mclellan,
Law, Miscellany. Essayist, etc. Poetry, Romance. Poetry, Romance.
Poetry, Romance. Drama, etc. Travels, etc.
Poetry, etc.
Natural History. Essayist, etc. Theology, etc. Miscellany.
Romance. Poetry, Theology.
Fiction. Poetry.
RESIDENTS.
*Rev. Samuel Deane, *Thomas B. Wait, *Edward Payson, *Daniel George,
*Simon Greenleaf,
*Daniel Davis,
Ashur Ware, William B. Sewall, *Dr. J. W. Mighells, *Asa Cummings, William Willis, Seba Smith,
Natural History. Biography, etc. History, etc.
Poetry. Miscellany.
Mrs. E. Oakes Smith,
Rev. Cyrus Bartol,
Poetry, Romance. Theology.
To this list made ten years ago we can add new names.
NATIVES.
Mrs. Elizabeth (Payson) Prentiss, Geo. T. Prentiss,
Fiction.
S. B. Beckett,
D. C. Colesworthy,
C. P. Ilsley,
* Wm. Law Symonds,
Rev. J. K. Ingraham, Mrs. L. D. M. Sweat, Those marked (*) are dead.
Agriculture. Politics.
Theology. Almanacs, etc. Law, etc.
Law. Law, Miscellany. Scientific,
Theology, Biography. Poetry. History, etc. Poetry, Romance. General literature. Theology, Romance. Travels, Romance.
AUTHORS AND WRITERS-CHARITABLE SOCIETIES.
RESIDENTS NOT NATIVES.
*Grenville Mellen, *Rev. J. Nichols,
Poetry.
Rev. W. T. Dwight,
Theology. Theology.
*Henry A. S. Dearborn,
History, etc.
Rev. J. W. Chickering,
*Rev. Jason Whitman,
Theology. Education, Theology.
Charles Holden,
Miscellany.
*Nathaniel Carter,
Miscellany, Poetry.
*Madame Wood, Walter S. Wells,
Fiction. Miscellany, Education.
Edward P. Weston,
Miscellany, Education.
Mrs. Paul Akers,
Poetry, etc.
Those marked (*) are dead.
Portland may also claim a high reputation for its artists; in sculpture, Akers and Simmons have striking excellencies ; in painting, Codman, Tilton, Pratt, Brown, the two Coles, Fred- erick Mellen, Coleman, Kimball, Beckett, and Hudson, have produced works which are highly creditable, and some of them exhibiting eminence in their profession.
There are numerous other institutions, particularly of a charitable kind which adorn our town, and which have for many years poured upon the sufferings and sorrows of the poor, the relief and consolations of benevolence. A few of them only can be briefly noticed here.
The Marine Society is the most ancient, established in 1795 for the education and relief of seamen and their families.
The Benevolent Society was instituted in 1803, to encourage and assist those meritorious persons who have been reduced to poverty, but have not become objects of public support. Both of these societies have funds.
The Female Charitable Society, incorporated in 1812 and conducted by ladies, is one of the most efficient and useful of the sisters of charity in our town ; it visits with noiseless step the cheerless house of want, and kindly smooths the pillow of sickness and sorrow.
The Maine Charitable Mechanic Association is an institu-
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
tion of a high and praiseworthy character, embracing in its design that more elevated order of benevolence which extends its care to informing and cultivating the mind, and training up a race of mechanics of sound moral principle and intel- lectual power. The society was incorporated in 1815, and has since established a fine library for apprentices of about three thousand volumes, and has frequent lectures upon sub- jects of the highest interest. In 1857 they commenced the construction of their elegant hall on the corner of Casco and Congress streets, the corner stone of which was laid October 22, with imposing ceremonies, in presence of tlie mayor and city government, and an appropriate address was delivered on the occasion by Charles Holden, who has long been a con- spicuous member of the Association, providing it with many an intellectual banquet. The front of the building, which was finished in 1859, is of sculptured granite, the sides and end of pressed brick, the interior is finished in excellent style with halls, a library room, and other convenient apartments, suited to the uses of the society, and is both honorable to them and an ornament to the city. Its cost was forty-five thousand dollars, including the lot on which it stands. Of the fifty-seven founders of the society in 1815, ten are living in 1864, whose names are Seth Clark, Charles Farley, Lemuel Gooding, Edward Howe, Thomas Hammond, Joseph Noble, Henry S. Pearson, Nathaniel Shaw, Jonathan Tuksbury, and Christopher Wright. These now old men, the eldest, Christopher Wright, being eighty-three, were then active mechanics in the prime and vigor of life. The first officers were Deacon John Phillips, president, Phinehas Varnum, vice-president, John Leavitt, treasurer, and Benjamin T. Chase, secretary.
The Portland Provident Association was established in 1853, to relieve the destitute, to prevent vagrancy and street begging, and promote the moral elevation of the poor. It is catholic in its operations, and thorough and discriminating in its admin- istration. It has male and female committees, and agents in
755
CHARITABLE SOCIETIES.
every ward of the city to look after the needy and make such provision as their condition requires. It is doing a vast amount of good.
The Widow's Wood Society is another of these general and catholic institutions, which pervades with its speciality all parts of the city. It furnishes to the poor widow a regular supply of fuel during winter and distributes an untold degree of com- fort through that unfortunate and destitute portion of our community. Its administrators are taken from every religious denomination in the city.
The Samaritan Association was founded in 1828, and dis- penses its charitable donations of clothing, food, and money, to the poor of all denominations, and has efficiently served the cause of benevolence steadily by its annual contributions.
The Female Orphan Asylum. This excellent institution was established in 1828, by the benevolent contributions of our citizens. It owns its asylum, which is a two-story brick build- ing on the corner of Oxford and Myrtle streets, and has a fund of about fifteen thousand dollars. It supports about twenty- five orphans, and desires and needs more spacious accommo- dations to meet the increasing demands upon its benevolent care. It is well conducted by a board of managers, consisting of fifteen ladies, whose constant attention deserves unqualified . praise. The largest donation was a bequest of eight thousand dollars from the late Asa Clapp, the income of which is applied toward the support of the institution.
Kindred to the above judicious provision for orphans, is the "Association for the relief of Aged Indigent Women," which was successfully commenced under an act of incorporation in 1855. It has been able by the subscription of liberal indi- viduals to purchase a fine lot of land on the corner of Elm and Oxford streets, with a brick house upon it, and by the interest of a fund of about two thousand dollars and annual contribu- tions to keep up a respectable establishment, and give a com- fortable support to eight aged women. It needs more room
756
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
and more funds to meet pressing calls upon its charity by that most worthy class of persons for whose relief it is designed.
The First Parish has a fund for the relief of the poor of the parish founded by the gift of over eight hundred dollars by Madam Deering, widow of Nathaniel Deering, which was largely increased by subscriptions from other members of the society. In 1818 a charter was granted to "Trustees of the Charity Fund of the First Parish in Portland," who have ever since managed the fund, making annual distribution of the income, which amounts to four or five hundred dollars a year, to such of the parish as need assistance. In 1847, Miss Martha Hale bequeathed her property about six thousand dollars to the parish, the income of which was to be applied by the trus- tees of the charity fund to general objects of benevolence. The fund, as since increased, has been carefully managed and the income faithfully applied by the trustees to its sacred uses.
There are numerous other charitable and benevolent asso- ciations in town to administer to the comfort and the wants of the various classes of dependent persons. We have space only to enumerate a few. Among them is the "Martha Washington Society," to relieve the families of inebriate persons, and is do- ing a great deal of good. "Needle Woman's Friend Society," to furnish work for unemployed women. "Bethel Flag Society," to furnish relief to families of destitute seamen. The Masonic, Odd Fellows, and Temperance Societies are numerous; all aiming to aid the needy, comfort and alleviate the distress of the suffering and disconsolate, and pour the balm of sympathy into wounded hearts. These noble companies, organized and administered in a spirit of christian philanthropy, shed upon our community an aggregate of blessedness which can never be known this side of heaven.
It may not be improper in this connection to say that no town sustains a higher reputation than this, for readiness at all times, and on all suitable occasions, to contribute to the cause of humanity, whether it lie in giving succor to the poor
757
EPIDEMIC DISEASES.
and distressed or in the higher walks of benevolence, elevating the moral tone of society and lending its aid to promote its good institutions. During the present unhappy and terrible civil war, it has been forward in every good work, furnishing men and money, contributing liberally for the comfort and relief of the sick, wounded, and disabled, and upholding the arms of government to bring the fearful conflict to a speedy and favor- able conclusion. And as no period of history can furnish a parallel to this war, so none can approach to the sanitary ef- forts made to relieve its sufferings and distresses.
The town has occasionally been visited with epidemic dis- eases of a fatal character. In 1736 the throat distemper, which had been raging for more than a year in the country, com- inenced its ravages here. It broke out in Kingston, N. H., in 1735, and spread with fearful and fatal rapidity throughout the colonies ; its ravages were generally among the young ; in New Hampshire where it first appeared, a thousand persons died of it, and in Boston not less than four thousand persons were attacked. It was equally fatal here, forty-nine persons died of the disorder upon the Neck, and twenty-six in Purpoo- duck, out of a population of six or seven hundred in each place. The Rev. Mr. Smith, in conformity to a usage of that day, united to his clerical duties the practice of medicine, and was at that time, if not the only, almost the only physician in the place ; it continued to prevail here and in the neighboring towns through the year 1737 ; in North Yarmouth seventy-five died of it.
In 1786 the complaint appeared here again and attacked adults as well as children ; and in 1832 it made a third periodi- cal visit, sweeping numerous victims, among the young and beautiful of the land to an untimely grave.
The small pox also frequently prevailed here before the in- troduction of its antidote, the kine pock inoculation; but it never has been very destructive among our people. During the revolutionary war there were some cases among the sol-
758
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
diery, which terminated fatally. In 1792 there was an unusual excitement on the subject ; a hospital was then built on the back side of Munjoy's hill by the town, and another was pro- cured at the expense of individuals on Bangs' island, where between forty and fifty persons of both sexes repaired for in- oculation ; the charge of them both was given to Doctors Coffin, Thomas, and Erving. Not one of the persons who re- ceived inoculation at that time died. We know little of the terror which that epidemic was wont to produce before its infectious nature was disarmed of its poison by the introduc- tion of kine pock inoculation. Those who have witnessed the dismay with which the cholera has been accompanied within a few years, will not have an inadequate idea of the alarm which went before that former enemy of our race.
CEMETERIES. For two hundred years the only common burial place in the territory now included in the limits of Port- land, was a portion of the present eastern cemetery. Here the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. Here repose the remains of the eminent men who have adorned our town during two centuries, including probably Cleeves our first settler, and in later times the Cobbs, Ingersolls, Moodys, Freemans, Joneses, Titcombs, Foxes, Deerings, Coffins, the venerable pastors, Smith and Deane, Col. Tyng ; here also lie the valiant warriors, Gen. Preble, his gallant son the Commodore, Burrows and Blythe, the renowned commanders of the Enterprise and Boxer, beside the humble villager, the noble-company of christian men and women, who having passed through the vicissitudes of our many-sided life, rest in peace within the bosom of the silent grave. Within the old cemetery, forty years ago, stood a large and venerable pine tree, the last relic of his race, which was a landmark sea-ward for the weather-tossed mariner, and had watched over all the generations who had been buried under its shadow. The original cemetery was quite small, but it has been several times enlarged, until it contains now about six acres, and is quite crowded with its thickly gathered dwellers.
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759
CEMETERIES.
Among the conspicuous monuments in the Eastern Ceme- tery I may call attention to a few erected to prominent citizens. The one to the distinguished Commodore Preble, who died in 1807, is especially noticeable, it is of white marble, erected by his widow a short time previous to her own death ; another to Lieut. Henry Wadsworth in commemoration of his own death and those of his gallant companions before Tripoli in 1804. An ornamented shaft of white marble was erected to the mem- ory of the Rev. Mr. Reese, a Universalist minister, from the proceeds of a fund given by Francis O. J. Smith. There stands too, a dilapidated monument erected to the memory of the venerable Smith, first pastor of the First Parish. There are three monuments erected to the memory of William Burrows, Samuel Blythe, and Kervin Waters ; the first two were the opposing commanders in the signal naval engagement between the brigs Enterprise and Boxer on this coast, September 5, 1813, and were killed gallantly fighting for their country; the latter, a lieutenant in the Enterprise was mortally wounded. Silas E. Burrows, a relative of the brave captain of the En- terprise, erected the monument to his memory ; the surviving officers and crew of the Boxer commemorated their noble chief, and the young men of Portland who had assiduously watched over young Waters during his painful illness, dedicated a monument to his worth and meritorious service.
The two commanders were buried September 8, 1813, the shattered vessels having arrived in this port.' The bodies were brought from their respective vessels, in boats rowed by mas- ters and mates, their oars striking minute strokes, while the rival vessels alternately fired minute guns. On landing at Union wharf, the bodies were taken up by a long procession composed of the town authorities, military companies, civil and military officers, members of Congress and the Legislature, and citizens generally. The chief mourners in the procession were Commodore Hull, the officers of the Enterprise and Boxer, the crew of the Enterprise, naval and military officers, etc.
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760
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
The procession moved through several streets to the meeting- house of the Second Parish, where the funeral service was performed, and thence to the place of sepulture, accompanied in the procession and the church by strains of solemn and im- pressive music, and by minute guns from the two artillery companies, the two war vessels, and Forts Preble and Scam- mell. Business was suspended, flags floated at half mast, and a general sadness prevailed. It was one of the most imposing and impressive scenes ever witnessed in Portland. .
The great event, a naval victory over the mistress of the seas, by an equal ship, deepened the interest which the occa- sion excited.
These three monuments, which had become dilapidated, were restored in 1864 by the city, and a portion of the pierced and torn flag, which had waved in triumph over the Enterprise during the battle, was deposited under the monument to Bur- rows with a statement of the funeral ceremony.
Western Cemetery. The old burying-ground had become so much filled that it became necessary to seek a new place of interment, and the town purchased in 1829, about fifteen acres of land on the southern side of Bramhall's hill, which soon became the popular place of interment, and is already well filled with spacious tombs and handsome monuments. But as the tide of population moved westward there was a prevalent feeling to bury the dead beyond the city limits, and the taste of the community becoming educated by the splendid examples of Laurel Hill, Mount Auburn, Greenwood, and various other cemeteries of elaborate ornament, beauty, and refinement, our city could not and would not resist the pressure for this mod- ern improvement. In 1852 they purchased a tract of fifty- five acres on the plains in Westbrook, two and a half miles from Portland, covered with a growth of various kinds of forest trees, and immediately commenced the work of civilization and re-creation, by blending the harmonies of art with the wild- ness of nature. Since that day improvements have been con-
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761
CEMETERIES.
tinually made by the city and individuals to whom lots have been conveyed, and the "Evergreen Cemetery" is now a thing of beauty, shedding the radiance of a heavenly light upon the gloom of death. It is a place of great resort for quiet repose , amidst the blended beauties of nature and art, to which facili- ties have been recently increased by the horse railroad opened to that favorite retreat.
In the Western Cemetery, the most conspicuous monuments are those to Chief Justice Prentiss Mellen, erected in 1850 by the Bar of the State, and to Master Jackson a time honored school teacher of the town, erected by his pupils. Mr. Mellen's is a solid marble die resting on a broad plinth and surmounted by a finished entablature. On the die are suitable inscriptions. Master Jackson's is a tall granite obelisk with appropriate in- scriptions.
In 1858, further and cheaper accommodations were required, and the city purchased at the expense of five thousand dollars, about sixty acres on the Cape Elizabeth shore opposite Portland, near Vaughan's bridge, about a mile and a half from the center of the city, which has been conveniently and handsomely laid out for the use of the city, and in which interments are con- stantly made. It is named "Forest City Cemetery."
Mount Calvary Cemetery. Soon after Bishop Bacon came to his diocese in Portland, he perceived the need of a burial place, which should be especially consecrated to persons be- longing to his communion. The Catholics had previously been buried in a portion of the Western Cemetery, set apart for their exclusive use, and which was already much crowded. The bishop with his usual good taste, selected a retired spot in Cape Elizabeth, about two miles from the center of the city, containing about six acres, and purchased it for the last resting- place of the Catholics. He erected a neat chapel upon the lot and consecrated it and the sacred enclosure under the name of "Mount Calvary Cemetery" to its future uses, according to
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
the practice of his church. It has since become the common burial place for the dead of his denomination.
The city is thus amply provided for places of sepulture em- bracing an aggregate of one hundred and thirty-six acres, well situated and handsomely furnished, for the final repose of the bodies of the deceased inhabitants.
The town from its first organization to 1832, agreeably to New England usage, had been in its municipal capacity a perfect democracy. The whole body of the people had been the law-makers in their primary assemblies, and their decrees had been executed by persons selected by them. The meet- ings of the inhabitants were formerly held in the meeting- house, afterward in the court-house, and more recently until 1826, in a school-house on Congress street, the lower room of which was prepared for the use of the town, and all elections were held there. The population had increased so much about the year 1820, that more convenient accommodations were loudly demanded. The subject came before the inhabitants in 1823; and in 1824 a committee was chosen to consider the expediency of erecting a building which should contain a hall for the public meetings of the inhabitants and suitable apart- ments for public purposes, together with conveniences for a market. The object met with a favorable regard both from the committee and the town, and the result was the erection of the spacious building at the junction of Middle and Congress streets in 1825, at an expense, including the land, a little short of twenty thousand dollars.
The large hall which it contains afforded convenient room for the assemblies of the inhabitants, and there the two thou- sand legislators of the town formerly assembled to deliberate and act upon the important subjects relating to its government. The election of all executive and police officers, the location of streets, and the assessment and appropriation of money were all acted upon by masses of people, whose numbers varied, ac- cording to the interest taken in the subject, from fifty to two
763
TAXES.
thousand persons. The partiality and injustice, and the crude action on important questions which often resulted from the excited feelings and the superficial consideration of these as- semblies, produced a general inquiry among the citizens for some remedy for such evils. The population had now reaclied twelve thousand, producing a number of voters much too large to act upon public business with that deliberation which the extent of the town and the amount of money expended in its government required.1 Beside the frequent calling of the in-
1 In 1826 the amount appropriated for town charges was sixteen thousand four hundred and ninety-five dollars ; in 1827 it was twenty-five thousand six hund- red and eighty dollars, which included seven thousand dollars to pay a town loan ; in 1830 the amount assessed was thirty-five thousand eight hundred and fifty-two dollars and ninety-six cents ; in 1831, thirty-one thousand three hund- red and seventy dollars, and in 1832, thirty-five thousand three hundred and ninety-three dollars and twenty-eight cents, which included in 1831 the town's proportion of the State and county tax, nine thousand two hundred and thirty- two dollars, and in 1832, eight thousand five hundred and four dollars. The, whole expenses of the town in 1832, was twenty-seven thousand six hundred and fifty-seven dollars and fifty cents, including an extraordinary expenditure of two thousand two hundred and eighty-one dollars and sixty-five cents, in an- ticipation of the cholera.
A comparative statement of town and city taxes with the progressive debt and the rate of taxation upon each inhabitant will be seen in the following table.
Ynr.
Population.
Tax.
. S. and Co. in. Rate on $100
Debt.
Rate of tax to Pop.
*1800
7,000
$12,316
$3,189
.50
00
1.76
1827
11,000
25,680
2.33
1832
13,000
35,393
8,504
1.04
2.72
The above was under the town government.
1838
14,500
84,248
6,504
.88
93,200
5.15
1840
15,218
104,096
6,778
1.18
191,806
6.84
1850
20,879
91,741
23,211
1.30
265,632
4.40
1860
26,342
244,888
52,635
1.08
790,104
9.30
1861
28,500
573,085
199,004
2.08
903,646
20.10
The city debt in 1835, was thirty-seven thousand five hundred dollars. I can- not ascertain the amount of debt ini 1827 and 1832.
In the debt of 1840 is included ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and twen- ty-seven dollars for the Exchange building and land, which cost one hundred
* The highest tax paid in 1809 was by Mathew Cobb, two hundred and ninety-two dollars and twenty-seven cents. Asa Clapp's was two hundred and thirty-seven dollars and fifteen cents. Only nine persons were taxed over one hundred dollars.
764
HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
habitants together on every occasion, whether for the election of a police officer, the erection of a school-house, or the opening of a street, became expensive and burdensome.1
Many persons turned their attention to the representative system as a remedy for these evils, and in July, 1828, a peti- tion was addressed to the selectmen signed by ninety-one very
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