Genealogical Notes Of Durham, Maine.
By Everett S. Stackpole.
Published By Vote Of Town.
Lewiston: Press Of Lewiston Journal Company. 1899.

Biographies

[Transcribed by Dave Swerdfeger]

A FEW OUT OF MANY REV. ALLEN H. COBB was born in Barnstable, Mass., 21 Nov. 1780. He was admitted to N. E. Conf. of the M. E. Church in 1802, and settled in Durham in 1818, where he remained till his death, 15 Sept. 1856. He was a member of the Convention that formed the Constitution of Maine in 1820. He represented Durham in the Legislature nine years. Was Senator from Cumberland Co. two years and two years a member of the Executive Council. He once said "If life could be lived over again, I would continue in the itinerancy, rather than enjoy civil honors." He preached here and there, as opportunity was afforded throughout his life. In 1848 he was readmitted to the Maine Conf. as a mark of respect for his valuable services and placed on the superannuated list. "He was faithful in all that was committed to him, ever ready with his counsel to serve any, and emphatically a friend of the poor, the widow and the orphan. As a preacherhe retained his popularity to the last. He was clear, methodical and instructive in his discourses. A great crowd attended his funeral, and the falling tear and subdued feeling showed how much he was loved. He married (1) 14 April 1807, Jane Ferguson of Durham who died 13 Feb. 1815; (2) 16 April 1816 Nancy, sister to his first wife. She died 21 Feb. 1871, aged 80 yrs. He lived on the "Hallowell Road" between S. W. Bend and Methodist Corner. The Records of Durham show 276 marriages solemnized by him. By his first marriage the children were JOHN, born in Bethel, 1 April 1808, who was for many years a useful and beloved member of the Maine Conf., as is still his son, Rev. Gershom F. Cobb; MARIA, who m. Elbridge Osgood; HANNAH; and SUSAN, d. 21 Nov. 1837, aged 23 yrs. By second marriage there were GEORGE F.; CHARLES CORYDON, born in Durham 17 Sept. 1818, m. 5 June 1842 Esther Sydleman, d. at Colorado Springs 18 July 1889; their children born in Durham were Allen Corydon, b. 13 Jan. 1853, and Frank Woodbury, b. 20 Nov. 1851; EDWARD, b. 25 Sept. 1820, lives at 179 Brookline St., Boston, Mass.; ALLEN, b. 7 Oct. 1824, d. 22 Dec. 1834. HON. NELSON DINGLEY, Jr., son of Nelson and Jane (Lambert) Dingley, was born Feb. 15, 1832, on lot 90 in Durham, in the house now occupied by Herbert Wagg. So many extended biographical sketches of him have been published that it is here needful to state only the salient points of his career. When he was very young, his parents removed to Parkman, thence to Unity, Me. He entered Waterville College in 1851 and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1855, having meanwhile gainedmuch experience as a teacher, writer and debater. He studied law with Fessenden & Morrill of Auburn and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He purchased the LEWISTON JOURNAL in 1856, added a daily edition in 1861 (when his brother Frank L. Dingley became connected with him in business) and soon gained for it a reputation as an advocate of Republican principles, anti-slavery, temperance and good morals. He was chosen Representative from Auburn to the State Legislature, 1861-2, and from Lewiston 1863-4, 1867 and 1872. Was twice elected Speaker of the House. In 1867-8 he was at the head of the State Lodge of Good Templars. In 1873 he was elected Governor of Maine and re-elected the following year. During all this time he was conspicuous as a political writer and speaker. In 1881 he was elected a member of the National House of Representatives, and has been a member of every Congress since that date. His speeches on American Shipping and National Finance have caused him to be recognized as a leader. He has served as Chairman of several very important committees. In 1894 he was made Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and became, leader of the Republican majority of the House. He was tendered by President McKinley the position of Secretary of the Treasury, but preferred to remain in the House. He was in 1898 a member of the International Commission to adjust differences with Canada. The success of the Dingley Tariff Bill has confirmed his reputation as a financier and statesman. Mr. Dingley is a member of the Congregational Church and was Moderator of the National Congregational Council in 1894, at Syracuse, N.Y. He was honored with the degree of LL.D. by Bates College in 1874 and by Dartmouth College in 1894. Durham is proud of him, and he has no reason to be ashamed of Durham. He showed his loyalty to his native town by delivering the principal address at her Centennial in 1889. Since the above was written Mr. Dingley has died at Washington, D.C., 13 Jan. 1899, of pneumonia, lamented by the entire nation. The loss of his public services is deeply felt. All parties unite to do honor to the memory of a noble and eminently useful life. THOMAS ESTES was the son of Caleb and Lydia (Bishop) Estes, and was of the fourth generation from Richard Estes, the Quaker immigrant, who came from Dover, England, to Boston, in 1684 and afterwards settled in Lynn, Mass. Thomas Estes was born in Durham, Maine, August 20, 1784, and died there October 16, 1870, on the farm which he purchased in the southern part of the town. He married Betsey Hayford Alden of Greene, Maine. He was a man of sound judgment and a prosperous farmer. Though his own early education was somewhat limited, he was a great reader and strove to give his children all the advantages possible in acquiring an education beyond the common school. He was a Justice of the Peace, performed the marriage ceremony, did conveyancing for his neighbors and townspeople, and held office on the board of selectmen. He represented Durham two years in the legislature. Attaining his majority during the administration of President Jefferson, he early became imbued with the principles of the Democratic party and adhered to that faith through all the mutations of politics until he died. He was a great admirer of Andrew Jackson who was his beau ideal statesman. He was born and reared a Quaker, but choosing to marry out of the society and thus incur its penalty he was "disowned," as was the custom in those days for such "worldly behavior." His religious sympathies, however, remained with the society of his Quaker ancestors, and long years before his death he again united with it. A Quaker from principle and love of peace--one of the cardinal tenets of that denomination --while discountenancing disloyalty and rebellion, he did not look with favor upon Friends taking up arms and joining in the fratricidal strife between the States during the Civil war, believing such action on the part of Friends inconsistent with the fundamental teachings of the Quaker discipline. But he was a lover of the whole Union and did not countenance in any sense the secession. A man of sterling integrity, positive and honest in his convictions, and well informed on all public questions, he never shrank from political discussion. As a neighbor he was obliging and tolerant to those disagreeing with him. He was a temperance man from principle and habit. As a father of a large family --twelve children whom he lived to see grown men and women --he was one of the kindest of men and indulgent in all that conduced to their temporal welfare and happiness. Somewhat stern in his manner, never playful nor frivolous, only a word or a look from him was required to command silence and obedience, whenever the boisterous children had their "little differences" as he termed it His death occurred before that of any of his children, and he lived to see his youngest child nearly forty years and his oldest nearly sixty years of age. Being of a vigorous constitution like his ancestors, he transmitted the priceless inheritance to his children. Retaining his mental faculties in a remarkable degree to the last, he passed away in peace, with an unfaltering trust and childlike faith in the love and mercy of his God. He attained the ripe old age of eighty-six years, and was buried near where repose the ashes of his ancestors in the old cemetery near the Friends' meeting house at South Durham. COL. WM. R. G. ESTES. The subject of this sketch was the son of Thomas and Betsey Hayford (Alden) Estes, and was born in Durham November 22, 1830. He was the eleventh of twelve children --six sons and six daughters. His grandfather, Caleb Estes, was one of the early settlers of Durham, settling there in 1769. On his mother's side he traces his ancestry to John Alden of the Mayflower, and is the eighth in lineal descent from him made famous in history and song. He is of Revolutionary stock, his grandfather, Benjamin Alden, and his great-grandfather, William Hayford, having been soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Born and reared on a rugged New England farm, inured to its toil, he early learned to be self-reliant. He was educated in the schools of his native town, and the academies at Litchfield and North Yarmouth. It was his intention to pursue a college course at Bowdoin, but trivial events often change the current of one's life, and so it was in his case, when he abandoned the idea of a literary life and chose a more active vocation, that of shipbuilding which he followed summers, teaching school winters. On the decline of shipbuilding, in the spring of 1855, he went to Dubuque, Iowa, where, with an older brother, he began the foundation of a mercantile life. Remaining in the West three years, he returned to Maine, and in 1861 located in Skowhegan, where he built up a successful business which he continued some thirty-six years, and where he now resides in the enjoyment of a pleasant home. He has been twice married. First to Maria E. Osgood of his native town, who died in 1864, leaving a daughter. His second wife was Caroline Walker of Skowhegan, who has been his companion since 1865. His political affiliations have been with the Democratic party, but he has never sought office nor aspired to political honors. But believing in party organization, he has been active on town, county and state committees, and has always taken a deep interest in national politics. By the choice of his political townsmen he was appointed Postmaster for Skowhegan by President Cleveland, and held that office under two administrations over a full term, raising the postal service to a high standard. He obtained his military title by serving on the staff of Gov. Alonzo Garcelon. Though by education and parental training a Quaker, his independence of character and habits of thinking for himself led him to embrace a broader and more liberal theology. Firmly anchored to the hope of an immortal life beyond the grave, his belief is that, in the Fatherhood of God, all will ultimately be brought to holiness and happiness. He joined the Masonic fraternity on reaching the required age, in 1853, in Freeport Lodge, where he now holds an honorary membership, and has since been an active and prominent Free Mason, serving as master of Somerset Lodge at Skowhegan three years in succession, and holding in the Grand Lodge of Maine many important offices, from District Deputy Grand Master to Grand Master. He has been active, also, in some of the so-called higher Masonic bodies, notably in the Grand council of Royal and Select Masters, where he held the office of Grand Master, and also in the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar, where he served two years as Grand Generalissimo --then declining promotion. Though not active in Scottish Rite Masonry, he is a member of Portland Consistory and a thirty-second degree Mason. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. LEWIS ALDEN ESTES, son of Thomas Estes, was born in Durham 11 Dec. 1815. He graduated at Bowdoin College in the class of 1844. In 1847 he took charge of a Friends' Boarding School in Richmond, Ind. From 1870 to 1875 he was President of Wilmington College, Ohio. He then resigned and became President of the bank of Westfield, Ind., and also engaged in farming. He married (1) 24 Feb. 1848 Huldah C., dau. of Nathan C. and Abigail (Robinson) Hoag of Monkton, Vt. She was associated with him as a teacher for many years, b. 17 Sept. 1817, d. 6 Aug. 1875. He married (2) 12 Dec. 1879 Esther Owen Brown of Westfield, Mass. His two sons, Ludovic and Thomas Rowley, were graduates of Haverford College, both teachers, and both have died within the past year. JULIUS EDWIN EVELETH, b. July 2, 1841, at Durham, attended the public schools of his native town and later the Lewiston Falls Academy; after which he taught in Brunswick and New Gloucester. At the age of twenty-one years he enlisted in the 25th Me. Reg. for the term of nine months and at the expiration was mustered out of the service. He again taught school at Brunswick and then went to Boston and secured a position with R. H. Stearns & Co. where he remained for ten years. In Jan. 1873 he, with four other salesmen, left the employ of Messrs. Stearns & Co. and formed the house of Russ, Cobb & Co., Importers and Jobbers. In 1890 Mr. Cobb retired and the firm name changed to Russ, Eveleth & Ingalls, the present style. As a buyer of foreign goods Mr. Eveleth's duties have required visits to Europe twice a year for the past ten years. Mr. Eveleth's home is in Lincoln, seventeen miles out from Boston, where he has for several years been a member of the School Board and Trustee of town funds. He is also a member of the Boston Art Club and of the Pine Tree State Club of Boston. He mar. Aug. 22, 1868, Mary Adeline, dau. of Harvey Reed of Livermore, Me., by whom he has had five children, Mabel (deceased), Charles Frederick (Mass. Inst. Tech. 1895), May Pauline, Edwin Harlan, and Julius Malcolm. JOSEPH MARRINER GERRISH. He was the son of Capt. Nathaniel and Sarah (Marriner) Gerrish and was born in Royalsborough 24 Mch. 1783 and died in Portland 30 April 1853. For record of his family see Genealogy of the Gerrish family in this book. It is related of him that when he was a youth and drove ox-teams with masts to Freeport he sometimes halted at the school house on lower County Road, where Sarah, daughter of Parson Herrick, was teaching school. He took his place in the spelling class and "spelled down" all the pupils, he being a famous speller. The journals of Portland at the time of his death speak in very high terms of the character and public services of Mr. Gerrish. Especially the Hon. William Willis, author of a History of Portland, pays a tribute to his memory. Mr. Gerrish went to Portland as a poor boy and at first found employment in the office of Samuel Freeman who was then Clerk of Courts. In 1807 he was made Deputy Sheriff, in which office he continued many years. He was Treasurer of Portland 1823-5, and in 1831 was chosen Representative to the Legislature. Afterward he became proprietor of the Portland Advertiser. After his retirement from business his services were often sought as referee and in the administration of estates. He was Treasurer of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Portland from its organization until 1837. The Records of the Lodge show that the salary voted him was given yearly into the Charity Fund. He was Past Commander of Maine Encampment and a member of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1818-19 he was Master of Ancient Land Mark Lodge, having served as Senior Warden in 1817. In every relation of life Mr. Gerrish was a kind, faithful and true man, upright and conscientious in the discharge of duty, and benevolent and amiable in social intercourse. "The peculiar excellencies of his character were honesty of purpose, fidelity and generosity to friends, attachment to domestic enjoyments and relations, consistency and steadiness of action, a courteous deportment and polished manners, and the prompt and intelligent discharge of all his engagements, directed by a sincere desire to promote individual and public good." The Argus said, "He was a useful man, ever ready to serve his fellow-citizens. How numerous the pages that must be written to tell of all his half century of good service He was a humane man. If he had an enemy we do not know it. He was benevolent. The cause that with beseeching eye or pathetic voice appealed to his heart never went unsatisfied away." The Eclectic said, "He was a man every way worthy of our high esteem. In every relation in life his character shone out in the most estimable light. There were no repelling points to it, but all was well rounded, --all conspired to draw us toward him, to attract our love and esteem." JOHN JORDAN GERRISH, son of James and Mary (Sylvester) Gerrish was born in Durham, near the old Gerrish homestead 21 Dec. 1821. The meager schooling of a rural district was supplemented by a term at the Bath High School and a winter of teaching in Webster in 1842. In 1846 he became an employe of the old Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, now the Grand Trunk, and continued in their service till Oct. 1863 and with other Railroads till 1871. Railroading was then in a primitive condition, and those engaged in it were expected to know all about it and be ready for any service, such as track-repairing, train-service and general jobbing. Mr. Gerrish acted ten years as conductor, yard-master and assistant to the "Chief." There were plenty of extra hours, extra labors, extra trains, but no extra pay. After 1871 he was for over twenty years in trade in Portland. He served two years in the lower branch of the City Government and was two terms an Alderman and Overseer of the poor. He served fourteen years as Trustee of Evergreen Cemetery. In all positions his capacity, intelligence, and integrity of character have been recognized. He married, 21 Dec. 1848 Susan R. Small of Lisbon, and has since resided in Portland. ZEBULON KING HARMON, the son of Daniel and Mary (True) Harmon, was born in Durham 11 Nov. 1816. At the age of eighteen he began to learn the printer's trade in Brunswick, where he remained three years. He was for two years clerk in St. Charles, Mo. Was several years in the County Clerk's office in Portland. For thirty years he was solicitor of claims. He completed for the State a muster-roll of the soldiers of Maine in the War of 1812. He filed over six hundred pension claims. He was an earnest promoter of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was a good citizen, honored and respected by all who knew him. He often visited his native town, and took an active part in its Centennial, reading a sketch of Isaac Royall's life. He died in Portland, 16 March, 1895. He married 29 Nov. 1846, Harriet A. dau. of Isaac and Mary (Little) Davis of Portland. Their son, Charles C., is a member of the firm of Loring, Short & Harmon. JACOB HERRICK, ESQ., son of Rev. Jacob and Sarah (Webster) Herrick, was born in Beverly, Mass., 29 March, 1791. When five years of age he rode on a pillion with his mother to Durham in five days. He entered Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1805, and was for a time a student in Bowdoin College, class of 1810. He married 13 Jan. 1813, Abigail, dau. of Capt. John Scott of Durham. "She was a slight, dark woman, of delicate physique, but of unbounded energy and vivacity, generous, amiable and notably unselfish." Their early married life was spent in Durham, where he was a farmer and Notary Public. In 1845 they moved to Auburn, where "Squire Herrick" was well known as a claim-agent and Justice of the Peace. He was a man of fair complexion and rather portly figure, of marked literary taste, and endowed with a keen sense of humor and a ready wit which made him an admirable raconteur. He died in Auburn 12 June 1864. His widow died in Portland in 1877. For some account of his family see chapter on Genealogy. WILLIAM HENRY LAMBERT, son of Isaac and Lucy (Dingley) Lambert, was born in Durham 8 Aug. 1843. He fitted for college at Lewiston Falls Academy and graduated at Waterville College, now Colby University, in 1865. He was admitted to the bar at Augusta in 1867 and to the Mass. bar in 1883, but never practiced law. He was successively principal of the high schools at Castine, Augusta, Lewiston and Fall River, Mass. He was Supt. of Schools in Malden, Mass., 1879-84. He returned to Fall River as principal of the high school and died there 4 Nov. 1890. Colby University honored him with the degree of Ph.D. in 1889. He served for a time as Editor of the Maine School Journal, and at the time of his death was President of the Mass. State Teachers' Association. He edited "Memory Gems" and "Robinson Crusoe" for use in schools, and contributed to the New England Journal of Education and other school journals. An editorial in a Fall River paper thus speaks of him: --" Dr. Lambert was held in universal esteem. He had impressed himself indelibly upon the city as a man of high character and conspicuous ability. His pupils had for him the highest respect and the warmest personal regard. It is hardly too much to say that he was facile princeps among the public school teachers of the State. Certainly high educational authority has so regarded him. The inducements which have been brought to bear to secure his services in other cities clearly indicate his professional eminence. He was a man of unfailing courtesy, of broad and generous culture, of noble impulses, and best of all, of established Christian character. His wide and thorough scholarship, his ready tact and deep and genuine sympathy gave him great power as an instructor. His hold on his pupils was remarkable. His quality as a disciplinarian was in keeping with his other qualities. The touch of the hand was velvet, but no one doubted that it was full of nerve and force. "Just and wise in administration, kindly in heart, desirous to be helpful to all, humane and Christian in spirit, a man whose character lifted the morale of whatever instruction he led, and inspired to higher living whatever pupils were entrusted to his guidance and instruction, his sudden death has spread over the community a universal feeling of grief. The flag which, as head of the school, he so lately received at the hands of the school board, now floating at half mast, and in keeping with it other school flags, fitly typifies the general sense of bereavement and pain." He married in Waterville, Sept. 1866, Emma F. Otis and left two daughters, Grace E. and Gertrude A. BENJAMIN F. NASON was born in Windham 13 March, 1818. His father was John, son of William and Betsey Nason, born in Windham 29 March 1792. His mother was Lavinia,dau. of Benjamin and Sarah (Libby) Weeks, born in Windham 27 June, 1797. They were married in 1817, and moved to Durham in 1819. John Nason died 30 May, 1872; his wife died 17 May 1879. Benjamin F. Nason was educated in the public schools of Durham and in private schools taught at S. W. Bend and West Durham by Joseph Hill, a student from Bowdoin College. He relates that when he was ten years old a kinsman visited his father's house and gave him, for reading a sentence from a book, a dollar with which to buy a Grammar and an Arithmetic. At the age of eighteen he began to teach and continued that profession for twenty-seven years, or thirty-five terms of school. His salary varied from $12 per month at the beginning to $50 per month at the end. He has received about $3000 for teaching and has given a full equivalent to his pupils, many of whom still remember his genial ways and patient efforts for their intellectual improvement. Mr. Nason has also been supervisor of Schools and one of the Selectmen. He interested himself in Town History and collected much material for the present volume. He married Frances E. Drinkwater, by whom he had three daughters, only one of whom, Mrs. Nettie Merrill of Auburn, is now living. He died at Auburn 20 July 1898. HON. WILLIAM H. NEWELL, son of Wm. B. and Susannah K. Newell, was born in Durham, April 16, 1854. After pursuing the branches taught in the local schools he attended the Western State Normal School at Farmington, from which he graduated in 1872. Thence he went to the Maine Wesleyan Seminary at Kent's Hill, graduating from the Classical Department of this institution in 1876. During the next six years Mr. Newell was principal of the Grammar School at Brunswick, a position which he filled with a great deal of success at a very trying time. While engaged in teaching at Brunswick he pursued a wide course of study and general reading at the Bowdoin College library and entered upon the study of the law in the office of Weston Thompson, Esq. While still teaching he was admitted to the Sagadahoc County Bar, at Bath. In 1882 he abandoned teaching and removed to Lewiston, where he immediately opened a law office. He formed a co-partnership with Hon. D. J. McGillicuddy and F. X. Belleau, Esq., under the style of Newell, McGillicuddy & Belleau, with offices in Central Block at the corner of Main and Lisbon streets. He soon after withdrew from this concern and associated himself with Wilbur H. Judkins, Esq., as Newell & Judkins. This partnership lasted until January 1, 1894, when Mr. Newell withdrew and became senior member of the present firm of Newell & Skelton, which is now recognized as one of the leading law firms in Androscoggin County. He was married to Ida F. Plummer September 20, 1883. They have three children, Augusta Plummer, born March 17, 1887, Gladys Weeks, born October 13, 1890, and Dorothy, born February 2, 1894. Mr. Newell is a Democrat in politics and, while he has never made politics in any sense a vocation, he has been called upon to fill many public offices. He was auditor of accounts for the City of Lewiston in 1885 and City Solicitor in 1890. In 1890 he was elected County Attorney of Androscoggin County by a large majority in a normally strong Republican county. In the following spring he was elected Mayor of Lewiston and was re-elected in 1892. He has been urged several times since then to accept the nomination at the hands of the business men of the City. In 1898, at the earnest request of the tax payers and representative citizens, he again became a candidate for the mayoralty on a Democratic ticket endorsed by the citizens in general. His great popularity is attested by the fact that he was elected by a majority of almost 400 against a Republican majority of 997 at the preceding election. He is now serving his third term in this important office. He has also held many important positions of trust outside of politics. He was a delegate from the Maine State Bar Association to the twenty-first annual convention of the American Bar Association at Saratoga in 1898. About a year ago Chief Justice Peters appointed him to membership on the Commission to draft a plan for the annexation of the City of Deering to Portland. Mr. Newell is largely interested in important business enterprises and is officially connected with numerous corporations. He is Vice President and a director of the Manufacturers' National Bank of Lewiston, director and clerk of the Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lakes Railroad, director and clerk of the Maine Pulp and Paper Company, and director of the Androscoggin Water Power Company. He is a member of the Board of Trade and of the local social clubs and organizations. He is an Odd Fellow and a member of all the local Masonic bodies. He is also a member of Kora Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and attended the annual convention of Mystic Shriners at Dallas, Texas, in June 1898, as Supreme Representative from Maine. As a lawyer Mr. Newell stands among the foremost in the State. Sound, conservative and well grounded in his profession, he enjoys the confidence of the business public in a marked degree. An exceptionally able advocate, keen, incisive and resourceful, he is a terror to an obstinate or prevaricating witness and always makes the hardest fight when the odds are most against him. His reserve power and ability to adapt himself to varying circumstances is often the subject of remark among his associates. His fidelity to his clients, his strict integrity and his executive ability have brought him much into the management of large estates, and an extensive practice in this line, both in probate and in commercial transactions, testifies very emphatically to his success in his chosen profession. Generous, hospitable and public spirited in a marked degree, he makes and hold's friends without regard to political affiliations or business associations. He is apparently never happier than when assisting some struggling member of his own profession over a difficult point in his case, and the younger attorneys at his Bar all say that no one ever seeks assistance of him in vain, no matter how busy he may be. WILLIAM B. NEWELL, the eldest son of the Rev. David and Jane Newell, was born in Portland, Me., May 12, 1827. He was married to Susannah K. Weeks June 15, 1850. They have two children, Ida E. Newell, born January 12, 1852, who has always resided with him, and William H. Newell, Mayor of Lewiston. Mr. Newell has resided in Durham for more than forty years, during thirty-five of which he has occupied the farm where he now lives at West Durham. He secured a good common school education in early life and taught school during the winter seasons for thirty years with unqualified success. He is one of the few surviving representatives of those old-fashioned school masters whose work brought them into closest touch with pupils and parents alike, and whose influence, always for truer and higher manhood and womanhood, has borne its fruit in the sterling qualities of their pupils. Few of Durham's citizens have done more to stamp the impress of a noble life upon the lives of her sons and daughters than Mr. Newell. He has held many town offices, notably those of Town Clerk, member of the Superintending School Committee, member of the Board of Selectmen and Town Treasurer. A fitting tribute to his sense of fairness in all dealings of man with man and to the confidence which his fellow-townsmen have in his honesty and conscientiousness is the fact that they have persisted in choosing him moderator of their annual town meetings for many years. In politics, he is a Democrat, respected alike by his political friends and opponents. In religion he is a Congregationalist. He is an upright citizen. His word is as good as his bond. FRED W. NEWELL, son of James and Sarah (Herrick) Newell, was born in Durham 22 Nov. 1865. He fitted for college in part at Freeport High School and graduated at Bates College in 1889, ranking second in a class of twenty-five members. During his college course he taught terms of school in several towns including Oakland and Monmouth, where he was Principal of the Academy. Immediately after graduation he became Principal of the Boston Asylum and Farm School, a charitable institution with a hundred pupils. After a year he was elected Principal of a school at Pittsfield, N.H., where he remained one year. He was Principal of the Academy at Thetford, Vt., 1891-6. He graduated in 1898 from the School of Civil Engineering of Michigan University at Ann Arbor. He married 4 Aug. 1892 Sophia George of Barnstead, N.H. Is now a civil engineer in Ohio. JOHN DURAN OSGOOD, son of David and Elsie (Duran) Osgood, was born in Durham, Me., June 8, 1819. His grandfather, Nathaniel Osgood, having served as a soldier in the War of the Revolution, came from Salisbury, Mass., his native place, to Durham about 1790, and was one of the founders of the Osgood family in the latter town. John D. Osgood attended the public schools of Durham, and in addition to the education thus received, he acquired a well trained mind by his wide reading. He married, in 1849, Sarah A., daughter of Barzillai Richards of Durham, and settled on the homestead farm on the county road, near the Freeport line, where he resided until the death of his wife, in 1867. He then sold his farm, and for several years had no settled home, but visited other parts of the state and country, spending two or three years in Boston, from which city he went to Raymond, Me., in 1875. He married Mrs. Emeline Nash of that place, in 1877, and lived there until his death, Aug. 27, 1882. He served repeatedly as one of the selectmen of Durham and also as representative to the legislature in 1871. He was a man of sound judgment, very conscientious, and highly respected as a citizen. The honors he received from his townsmen were not of his own seeking. In 1868 he joined the Methodist Church at West Durham, and was also a member of Acacia Lodge No. 121, F. & A. M. He sleeps in the little cemetery on the Pownal road, beside the wife of his youth, and with them rest their first born son and their only daughter. Two sons survive him, both residents of Boston. ALEXANDER McINTOSH PARKER, M. D., son of Peter and Mercy (McIntosh) Parker, was born in Durham 19 March 1824. He studied medicine with Drs. F. G. Warren of Pownal and N. H. Cary of Durham. He also attended lectures at the Medical Schools of Bowdoin College and of Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1856. He practiced at Dresden, Me., three years. Moved to Morrill's Corner, Deering, in 1859, where he built up a large practice. In 1863 he served as Assistant Surgeon of the First Maine Cavalry in Virginia. Was present at the battles of Brandy Station, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania and at the siege of Petersburg. July 15, 1863, he was taken prisoner and confined four months in Libby Prison, Richmond. He was an Odd Fellow and Royal Arch Mason. He ranked high socially as well as professionally. He married (1) 2 July 1848, Mary C. Corbett of Durham; (2) Eliza A. Sawyer of Portland; (3) Mrs. Florentine C. Walker, widow of Capt. Joseph Walker of Portland. By second marriage there were two daughters, Carrie Elizabeth, who married Charles E. Clark of Yarmouth, and Alice Mary who married the Rev. W. H. Gould of Dexter, Me. Dr. Parker died 24 Nov. 1897. He is remembered by many friends as a true man and faithful physician. JOSEPH PLUMMER, son of Henry and Wealthy (Estes) Plummer, was born in Durham 7 Sept. 1834. He lived as a farmer in Durham till 1883. Since that time he has been a miller at Lisbon Falls. He married Marcia Foss of Lisbon and has one daughter, Clara A., who married 13 June 1892 Walter Douglas of Windham. An episode in his life caused a good deal of newspaper comment. At midnight of Aug. 6, 1879, he was awakened, at his home in Durham, by a noise like the slamming of a door. He hastened out and saw two men about ten rods away running across the field. With no clothing but a night-dress and without any weapon he gave chase, shouting to a neighbor for assistance. They pursued the two burglars some distance and finally captured both, finding them armed with revolvers. Frightened by threats of being shot the thieves surrendered. It was found that they had pillaged a number of houses. To burglarize houses in Durham is not half as easy as it once was to stab horses and burn buildings by night. The thieves got their due reward in Auburn jail. EDWARD PLUMMER, son of Henry and Wealthy (Estes) Plummer, was born in Durham 4 Jan. 1830. He began his remarkable business career at the age of eighteen, working one year in Bath. The next year, 1849, he was owner of a saw and grist mill just below the present bridge at Lisbon Falls, which he operated till 1862. Then he sold out to the Worumbo Co., of which he became a Director and Agent. He superintended the building of the large woolen mill at Lisbon Falls. He was a promoter and director of the Androscoggin Railroad, built in 1861. He organized the Androscoggin Water Power Co. for lumbering in 1875 and has been its Agent ever since. The company has paid five per cent. semi-annual dividends on its capital of $100,000 every year since its organization. Its timber lands in the northern part of Oxford County were sold last August to the Umbagog Pulp Co. of Livermore Falls for $158,000. Mr. Plummer was a prime mover in the building of the Rumford Falls Railroad and also of the pulp mill of Lisbon Falls Fiber Co. He was Representative to the Legislature in 1870. He has a fine residence at Lisbon Falls, Me. Mr. Plummer married (1) Augusta Taylor of Lisbon, (2) Sarah A. Shaw of Durham. A son, Walter E. married Grace Douglas of Gardiner. Another son, Harry E. married Mary Libby of Lisbon. Both are associated with their father in business at Lisbon Falls. A daughter, Ida F. married Mayor Newell of Lewiston. JACOB HERRICK ROAK, son of Martin and Elizabeth (Lawrence) Rourk, was born in Durham 22 March 1806, and died in Auburn 5 July 1886. His father died when he was less than two years of age, and his early life was a struggle. He began his business career at South West Bend as a shoemaker. Later he became associated with Mr. Packard at West Auburn in the wholesale manufacture of boots and shoes. Their business was afterward transferred to Auburn. He may be called the pioneer of all the great shoe-manufacturing that is now carried on in that city. He established the first National Bank in Auburn, where his character and business ability are well known and approved. He is a fine illustration of so many American lads who by industry and perseverance have risen from humble circumstances almost unaided to positions of wealth and public influence. He married (1) 1833, Mary P. Packard of Auburn; (2) 2 Sept. 1841, Ellen Blake. There were two children by the first marriage and four by the second. HON. WILLIAM D. ROAK, born 4 Dec. 1820, has spent his life as a successful farmer on the farm occupied by his father. No citizen of Durham has been more useful, respected and honored. He was on the Board of Selectmen in 1855, '56, '58, '67 and '69, the last two years as Chairman. Was Town Clerk in 1879. He served on the School Committee nine years. Was Representative to the State Legislature in 1857 and 1858, County Commissioner 1870-76, and State Senator 1883-86. Has been chosen moderator of Town Meetings thirty-two times. Was Justice of the Peace several years. He held some town office forty years continuously, and always without a suspicion of dishonesty or charge of unfaithfulness. He has acted as appraiser of over fifty estates. An ardent lover of his native town he for many years has been collecting historical material, which has been utilized in this volume. It is probable that no one who ever lived in Durham has been so well versed in its history. He is still alive emphatically. In politics he is unquestionably a Republican; in religion, a Congregationalist; in social and business relations a kind, just and helpful man. ALFRED ROBERTS, son of Oliver and Sophia Roberts, was born in Lisbon 1 July 1838. When five years of age he was bereaved of his father, and his mother with five small children moved to S. W. Bend. When he was eighteen years old the care of the family devolved on him. He learned the trade of a shoe-maker. In Sept. 1861 he entered the Union army. Poor health prevented much active service. Most of his battles were fought with sympathizers with the Rebellion at S. W. Bend. After the war he moved to Portland and was engaged in business there for the next twenty years as a retail and wholesale shoe-dealer. He dealt also in real estate and acted as broker in exchange of bonds, mortgages and other securities. In the business of a broker he has continued in his partial retirement at Old Orchard. For the last five years he has lived at Los Angeles, Cal., where he has fifty acres used in the cultivation of fruit. He has always been an ardent adherent of the Republican party. MRS. ANNIE J. ROBERTS, wife of Alfred Roberts, was the youngest daughter of Josiah Fitz, late of Lynn, Mass. After twenty-eight years of peaceful, happy married life she passed away 13 May 1898 at Los Angeles, Cal. Her portrait is presented as an offering of love in tribute to the memory of one whose womanly virtues were recognized by all who knew her. She was a type of those self-forgetful persons who ordinarily are not found on the pages of history, who lose themselves as a living sacrifice to the happiness and welfare of others, and thus find the truest value of life. Such realize more pleasure in having an attractive, cheerful, restful home, than monarchs do in founding and extending a kingdom. Their conquests are those of love. Their acquisitions are such as belong to highest character. Modesty, gentleness, sympathy, charity, patience, purity, surely these are more valuable than the riches acquired by scheming industry, more honorable than high political station, more lasting than all other gains. The possession of such qualities of the heart found a great hope of a still happier and nobler state of existence, since no real loss can ever come to a good person. Made perfect through the physical sufferings of her last years she died as peacefully as she had lived. SAMUEL OWEN STACKPOLE was born in Durham 19 Dec. 1794. He received the homestead of seventy-five acres from his father, giving bond of $1500 for the maintenance of his parents and sister Jane as long as they lived and for the payment of certain amounts to other relatives. The bond obliged him, among other things, to provide for his parents "conveyance to Meeting and for visiting their friends in such manner as has been customary with them." This bond he gave at the age of twenty-two and he faithfully fulfilled it. He added to the homestead by purchase from time to time, till he owned one hundred and eighty acres. He engaged to some extent in lumbering, built a saw-mill back of his house, and drove many a mast and stick of oak timber to Freeport. When he wanted bricks, he made them on his own farm. Industry and enterprise made him a successful farmer. He refused all offers of public office, though urged to accept several. The title of "Major" was familiarly applied to him, though he would not accept that office when it was offered to him. His hospitality was unlimited. Everybody found a welcome to his home. He brought up fourteen children, but there was always room for lodgers. He was generous to the needy and to every good cause that appealed to him for help. Hence he was an early abolitionist and total abstainer. He united with the Methodist Episcopal church in 1838 and conscientiously and liberally supported it as long as he lived. He drove with his family three miles to meeting every Sunday in the year. No season of the year was too busy for family prayer. He was a friend to many, and therefore had many friends. In person he was six feet tall, straight as an arrow till bent by old age and sickness, rather slim than stout, tough and muscular. He slept but little and wanted to be at work all the time. Evenings and when not laboring he was almost always reading some newspaper or good book, especially in old age the Bible. With all his hard work and many cares he retained to the end a warm heart and genial, social ways. He lived seventy-six years on the spot where he was born. Moving to Brunswick in 1872 he did not seem to feel quite at home and was always glad to drive up to Durham. He died in Brunswick 7 April 1876, and was buried about a mile from his Durham home, where rest also his parents, wives and several children. JAMES STROUT, son of Joshua, Jr., was born in Durham 2 April 1792, and died in Brunswick 15 Aug. 1875. He spent most of his life in his native town and was one of the most prominent and influential citizens. He united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1816, and acted as steward and class-leader therein for many years. The Rev. Charles W. Morse wrote of him thus, "A man of varied powers, he consecrated all to Christ, and showed throughout a long life a single eye, giving glory to God. He won all hearts by his ardent and cheerful piety. Few persons have left a more consistent example of a deep and abiding conviction of God, and a faithful adherence to the Holy Scriptures. His house was always a home to the itinerant, and he spared no pains in their great work of saving souls. True to God and the Church, he gained the esteem of his fellow-men, who honored him with civil trusts, at home and in the Legislature, both for the town and county." He was on the Board of Selectmen eleven years, thrice Representative and twice State Senator. DR. DAVID B. STROUT was born in Durham 5 April 1814. He was the only dentist that ever practiced in Durham. He was well known in Auburn and Lewiston where he lived many years. No one was better acquainted with the old inhabitants and folk-lore of the town. He was Captain of one of the early militia companies. His memory retained many interesting items of personal and family history, and he knew how to relate them entertainingly. He was from youth a firm believer in the doctrines of Universalism and was always ready for a controversial argument. The cause of Temperance found in him an ardent and constant advocate. He died in Lewiston 25 Jan. 1890. He married, 28 Nov. 1839, Jane B. Lufkin of Pownal, daughter of Joseph and Patience (Bartol) Lufkin. She died 26 Feb. 1898. A daughter, Amanda Jane, died at the age of five years. Another daughter, Priscilla Ellen, born 4 Nov. 1840, married Wm. Fred. Rowe and lives in Lewiston. WILLIAM HARRISON THOMAS, son of Woodbury Thomas, was born in Durham 24 Aug. 1848. He acquired sufficient education in the public schools and by self-help to become a very successful teacher, having taught twenty-two terms in Durham, Lisbon and Brunswick. He has served as Town Clerk and Representative to the Legislature. He interested himself in the preservation of Durham's churches and collected most of the funds for the repair of the Free Baptist Church and of the Union Church a few years ago. He is remembered as an ardent supporter of the Republican party in Durham. To him was due much of the credit for the success of the Durham Centennial, and without his advocacy and financial management this History of Durham might not have been published. He is a lover and helper of his native town. He still owns a farm near S. W. Bend, but moved to Lewiston in 1890. Mr. Thomas married, 25 June 1871, Cathie Susan, dau. of James and Sarah (Herrick) Newell. Their children are George W. b. 25 July 1873, who graduated at Bates College in 1896 and is a student of Law at Harvard University; Charles H. b. 29 Mch. 1875, who is an employee in the Manufacturers' Bank of Lewiston; and Emery J. b. 12 Dec. 1876, who is a student in the Medical Department of Tufts College. PROF. FREDERICK MORRIS WARREN, the oldest child of John Quincy and Ellen Maria (Cary) Warren, was born in Durham June 9th, 1859. His father dying in 1863, his mother married the Rev. Wm. H. Haskell in the fall of 1864 and moved with her husband and son to Westbrook (now Deering, Woodford's Corner) Maine, in 1865. The latter attended school at Casco St. Vestry (Miss Hall's) in Portland, the district schools at Woodford's and of Falmouth, to which town his parents moved in Jan. 1869. In the autumn of 1872 he was sent to Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., where he graduated in 1875. After a residence in France and Germany (attending M. Cuillier's school in Paris for a year and living in Hanover with a private family) he entered the Freshman Class of Amherst College in April, 1877, and graduated as A. B. in 1880. The year following he was a student and private tutor in Amherst. In August, 1881, he was appointed Instructor in Modern Languages at Western Reserve College, Hudson, Ohio, and when that Institution moved to Cleveland in 1882 and became Adelbert College of Western Reserve University, he was retained in the same position in Cleveland for one year. The academic year 1883-1884 was passed as a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, the years 1884-1886 at the Sorbonne, College de France and l'Ecole des Chartres in Paris. In 1886 he was appointed Instructor in French at Johns Hopkins University. In June, 1887, he took the degree of Ph.D. at the same institution, and, continuing there as instructor, was made Associate in Modern Languages in 1888. In 1891 he was appointed Professor of Romance Languages in Adelbert College of Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, which position he now holds. He was married in Baltimore, June 8th, 1892, to Estelle Ward Carey, daughter of James Carey Jr., of Baltimore (deceased) and Martha (Ward) Carey of Richmond Co. Virginia. On June 24, 1894, a daughter, Martha Stockbridge, was born and on October 18, 1896, a son, James Carey. Besides various contributions to scientific periodicals and magazines he has edited several French texts for class use, and is the author of "A Primer of French Literature," 1889 (D. C. Heath & Co., Boston) and "A History of the Novel Previous to the Seventeenth Century," 1895 (Henry Holt & Co., New York). WAITSTILL WEBBER was born in Harpswell 17 Sept. 1779. At the age of thirteen and a half he was sent to live with a Mr. Corey who kept a grocery store in Harpswell near where Mrs. Eleanor Merriman now lives. Here he worked till he was sixteen. Not liking to sell rum he left the store and learned the carpenter's trade with John Curtis, remaining with him till twenty-one years of age. In 1803 he bought one half of lot No. 12 in Durham for $650. The new house which he built in 1811 was destroyed by fire in 1831. He at once built the large two story house where his son, Charles W. Webber resides. In 1814 he joined the Society of Friends at South Durham, and was an honored member till his death, 15 Jan. 1869. In 1828-9 he was one of the Selectmen. He preferred the walks of private life and worked as a carpenter and farmer nearly up to the hour of his death. He was a good citizen and a sympathetic helper of his fellowmen. The text used at his funeral was Psalms xxxvii :37. HOWE WEEKS, son of Benjamin, was born in Gorham 28 April 1812, and moved to Durham when six years old. He served his apprenticeship with John A. Briggs, a dam and bridge contractor. He helped build the old toll bridge between Lewiston and Auburn, also the first log dam on the Androscoggin River at Lewiston, and the Lincoln Mill. In 1840-6 he was in partnership with Daniel Wood in a general store on lower Main St., Lewiston. In 1858 he moved to Auburn and was for several years engaged in the manufacture of shoes with A. C. Pray. He served on the Board of Selectmen of Lewiston, and was tax-collector in Auburn several years. He was a Director of the Lewiston Falls Bank and one of the promoters of the Lewiston and Auburn Railroad, connecting with the Grand Trunk. He was a lifelong Democrat and never missed casting his ballot at election till the one preceding his death, which occurred in Auburn, Me., 1 Mch. 1895. He married (1) 1839 Sarah Daggett; (2) May 1850 Pamelia H. Stetson. Their children were Flora L., b. 4 April 1852, d. Feb. 1869, and William H. b. 19 Aug. 1858. ABIJAH B. WRIGHT, M. D., was one of the early physicians of Durham. He lived just south of the present Cong. church, near S. W. Bend, and had an apothecary shop by the side of his house. He came to Durham from Lewiston. His ancestors came from Dracut, Mass. His widow, Abigail (Hardy) Wright, married Nathaniel Parker in 1858. He had a son Horace who married, May 14, 1840, Mary Ann Lincoln of Durham, and a daughter, Allura, who married, July 30, 1835, Sidney Skelton of Lewiston. She is still living in Auburn. Joel Wright was his nephew, who used to live near by the Doctor and had a family of thirteen children, none of them, however, born in Durham. All have moved out of town except Geo. Washington Wright. Joel Wright died 10 Jan. 1884, aged 83 yrs. 9 mos. 5 days. Dr. Abijah Wright died 17 April 1842, aged 52 years. WILLIAM RILEY WRIGHT, M. D., was a cousin to Joel. He was son of Capt. Jonathan and Sallie Wright, born in Strong, Dec. 15, 1816. His early life was spent on a farm. He was educated for his profession in a Medical School at Worcester, Mass. He moved to Durham in Sept., 1856, and resided there till his death, June 12, 1879. He married, Nov. 27, 1839, Mary Hinkley Backus of Farmington. They had two children, Belle J., who became the wife of Samuel K. Gilman of Boston, Mass., and now resides in Farmington, Me.; and Josiah Lister Wright, M. D., who was born in Farmington Dec. 22, 1850, and has practiced medicine in Durham since 1884. Dr. William R. Wright was a man of cheerful and sunny disposition and one whom little children greatly loved. He was generous to an eminent degree, never pressing a claim against the poor or the unfortunate. The hungry were fed at his board and the homeless always found shelter under his roof. He was prominent in the establishment of the Acacia Lodge of Free Masons in Durham and was always a worker in that society. It may be truly said of him that he was "one who loved his fellow-men." His wife died Sept. 11, 1889.