Maine Genealogy
Source: George C. Purington, History of the State Normal School, Farmington, Maine : with sketches of the teachers and graduates (Farmington, Me.: Press of Knowlton, McLeary & Co., 1889).
"The address given at the beginning of each sketch is that taken from the records of the School when the graduate entered. At the close of the sketch, the present [1889] address is given." [p. 37]
[p. 40]CLASS OF 1867.Charles M. Bisbee, Canton, Me.
Second Class.—Graduated June 4, 1867.
Taught about 50 weeks after graduation, and then took a course in Latin and Greek. Studied medicine, and graduated from the Maine Medical School in 1871, receiving the degree of M. D. Has served on the S. S. Committee eight years, and is Secretary of the local Board of Health. Married, Aug. 6, 1871, Ella R. Tucker of West Peru, Me., and has two children: Harlan M., born Jan. 1, 1875; Chester G., born Sept. 16, 1881.
West Sumner, Me.
Maria H. Bisbee, Canton, Me.
Has taught more than 700 weeks. Is principal of a large grammar school in Evansville, Indiana.
Evansville, Ind.
Electa W. Bixby, Anson, Me.
Has taught twenty years,—eleven years in Maine, in Searsport, Thomaston, Lewiston and other places. Married, in 1875, her classmate, Charles A. Boston of Avon, Me. They have one child, Ada D., born in 1876. For several years they have lived in Minnesota.
St. James, Minn.
Charles A. Boston, Avon, Me.
Taught in 1868-9 in the State Normal School at Mankato, Minn. Pre-empted land near the present village of St. James, Minn., in 1869. Appointed County Superintendent of Schools of Watonwan County in 1870. Engaged portions of time for the next two years as instructor in State Normal Institutes and Training Schools. Taught graded schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin for several years. Engaged one year in work on the State Atlas of Iowa, and one year in County History work in Maine and Kentucky. Settled in the village of St. James in 1883, and taught there two years. Is Chief Templar of St. James Lodge of I. O. G. T., and President of the County S. S. Association.
Married, in 1875, his classmate, Electa W. Bixby of Anson, Me. They have one child, Ada D., born in 1876.
St. James, Minn.[p. 41]Mary R. Bugbee, Perry, Me.
Taught in Maine until March, 1868, then went to Stockton, Cal., and taught until her marriage, December, 1869, to Mr. L. C. Bliss, a merchant of that city. Ten years later, Mr. Bliss was killed by the explosion of a locomotive-boiler.
Nov. 8, 1883, Mrs. Bliss married Mr. Samuel Cole of Gilroy, Cal., and has resided in that place since. Is now principal of a primary school. Has one child, Laura E. Bliss, born Aug. 21, 1873.
Gilroy, Cal.
Susie M. Dyer, New Sharon, Me.
Taught one year in Malden, Mass., three years in the Normal School, Mankato, Minn., and a high school for one term at New Sharon, Me. Married, May 15, 1872, Mr. L. G. M. Fletcher, a farmer of Mankato, Minn. They have seven children: Lucina E., born April 7, 1873; Ella May, born Dec. 11, 1874; Jennie D., born Nov. 24, 1876; Nellie B., born March 6, 1879, died Sept. 10, 1884; Mildred, born June 4, 1881; L. G. M., Jr., born March 24, 1883; Edith A., born Aug. 10, 1886.
Mankato, Minn.
George M. Ferguson, Shapleigh, Me.
Mr. Ferguson was also one of the thirty-one pioneers. Was principal of a grammar school at Thomaston, Me., for one year after graduating and then taught three years in the State Normal School, Mankato, Minn., where he died, Oct. 24, 1871, of typhoid fever. He was very popular as a teacher and much respected as an earnest Christian man. Principal Gage said of him: "Those who knew him best will associate with his memory only such words and deeds as belong to the nobler types of human nature."
Ada M. Floyd, Winthrop, ,Me.
Taught until 1870 in various Maine towns. From 1870 to 1875 taught the grammar school in Keene, N. H., and then for a time the same grade in Marlboro, Mass. Married, Aug. 9, 1878, Charles Edwin Smith, A. B., of Monmouth, a graduate of Bowdoin College, class of 1874, and at this time Superintendent of City Schools, Lyons, Iowa. Here they resided till 1880, when they removed to Crookston, Minn., where Mr. Smith held the Superintendency of the City Schools, and was also largely interested in wheat raising. His death occurred in Crookston, in June, 1883, leaving one child, Charley C. F., born August, 1882.
Since her husband's decease, Mrs. Smith has resided with her parents[p. 42]in Winthrop. She is much interested in the Natural Sciences. Has organized and conducted a Summer School of Science, holding weekly meetings from April to October at her home, and has been its President since April, 1886. Is also President of Chapter 498 of the Agassiz Association. In connection with these organizations she has studied and taught, chiefly Geology, Botany and the History of Maine.
Winthrop Centre, Me.
Mary L. Goodwin, Dresden, Me.
Miss Goodwin is also one of the thirty-one whose names adorn the first page of the old register. After graduation, attended the Academy at Richmond several terms, studying French, the Higher Mathematics, etc. Has taught 148 weeks, all in Richmond, Gardiner, Lewiston and other Maine towns. Married, Nov. 4, 1873, Augustus S. Bixby of Lewiston, Maine, and went to Los Angeles Co., Cal., where they have since resided. They have four children: Alice M., born Nov. 24, 1874; Lulu A., born Sept. 25, 1876; Willie F., born Sept. 1, 1878; Florence L., born Dec. 22, 1886.
Sierra Madre, Cal.
Jennie M. Hayden, Raymond, Me.
Taught more than 500 weeks. For five years after graduation she taught in New Sharon and Lewiston, Me., and Mankato, Minn. In 1872 she was elected to a position in this School, where she remained a most successful teacher until her resignation at the end of the school year 1880-1. During her teaching she took a course in Drawing in the Boston Normal Art School, in Latin, French and Higher Mathematics at Bates College and Gorham Seminary, in Botany at the Harvard Summer School, and in Zoology at the Martha's Vineyard Summer School. She married, Sept. 5, 1883, John Irving Sturgis, M. D., of New Gloucester.
Her long connection with this School, and the superior character of her work, are sufficient excuse, if any be needed, for the insertion of the following tribute from the pen of one of her pupils:As a teacher, Miss Hayden's work was characterized by clearness and thoroughness. No class was allowed to leave a subject in which the foundation had not been thoroughly laid. Perhaps no branch better showed the excellence of her teaching than history. Quick to detect superficial preparation, her pupils soon learned the value of diligent and persevering effort.
Her interest in her work was not confined to the classroom but extended to all that pertained to the school life of the pupils. Her time was theirs, and help and encouragement, whenever needed, were freely given.[p. 43]Edmund Hayes, Farmington, Me.
Taught but forty weeks after graduation, and then entered the class of '73 in Chandler Scientific Department, Dartmouth College, remaining there two years. He then entered, in '71, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and for two years too a special course in Civil Engineering, but took no degrees. In May, 1873, he began the practice of Civil Engineering on the Erie Railway. Since 1874 has made bridge-building a specialty, and is now one of the four members of the Union Bridge Co. From other sources we learn that this is one of the largest bridge-building concerns in the world. They built the famous Cantilever Bridge over the Niagara River, the first bridge of the kind ever built, and have now on hand a contract to build and equip a railroad in Chili for thirty-five million dollars.
Married, April 27, 1878, Mary H. Warren of Buffalo, N. Y.
160 North Street, Buffalo, N. Y.
Abbie L. Huse, Farmington, Me.
Taught a short time and then went to Evanston, Illinois, where she spent a year stidying French, German and Spanish. For several years previous to her marriage, she was a clerk in her brother's store. She married, April 14, 1875, Mr. George Charlton, of Toledo, Ohio. In May, 1877, they moved to Wichita, Kansas, where she died, Jan. 10, 1882, after a brief illness, leaving three children: Vesta Adell, born Dec. 17, 1877; Lotta Abbie, born March 6, 1879; Guy, born June 5, 1880, died June 21, 1880.
John Jackson, Alfred, Me.
Taught several terms after graduation, at Whitneyville and Dennysville, Me., and, in the winter of 1869, in Haverhill, Mass. He was a member of the Freshman Class of the State College at Orono, when he was drowned, July 19, 1870, while bathing in Stillwater Stream.
Jerome B. Knapp, North New Portland, Me.
Has not taught since graduation. For fifteen years was engaged in the canvassing business as a General Agent. Is now a Real Estate Agent. Married, July 8, 1867, Lizzie S. Holley of Farmington, Me., who died Oct. 16, 1887.
69 N. East Street, Indianapolis, Ind.
Joseph W. Knight, Windham, Me.
Has taught about 450 weeks, all in the State of Maine, in the towns[p. 44]of Springfield, Gray, Standish, Gorham, and Windham, fifteen terms of which were high schools. Has been a member of the S. S. Committee of Springfield, Me., four years, and of Standish seven years, and is now one of the Selectmen of the latter town. Is engaged in farming during the spring and summer, teaches falls and winters. Maried, May 17, 1870, Sibbie A. Lewis of Springfield, Me., and has one child, Charles E., born March 23, 1872.
North Gorham, Me.
Ella A. Leland, Farmington, Me.
Was present at the opening of the School. Since graduation has taught about 200 weeks, all in Maine. For literary work, she has taken the C. L. S. C. course and a course in English and French History. Married in December, 1871, Mr. Edward L. Spalding of Worcester, Mass., now cashier of the First National Bank, Webster, Mass. They have two children: Leland J., born March 11, 1877; and Edward E., born Aug. 9, 1879, died Nov. 30, 1879.
Webster, Mass.
Emma C. Leland, Farmington, Me.
Has taught 350 weeks, all in Maine, four years of that time in the Farmington schools. Married, Jan. 19, 1880, Hiram H. Coolidge, of North Jay, Me., a former pupil in the School, for some time in business in Washington, D. C., now a merchant in Webster, Mass. Has taken half of the Chautauquan Course. They have one child, Florence Spalding, born Aug. 16, 1882.
Webster, Mass.
Mary O. Lord, Springvale, Me.
Has taught 400 weeks,—two years in a primary school in Lewiston, Me., the remaining time in a Boston grammar school. Married, Aug. 7, 1877, George Whitman Bailey of Portland, Me., now a dry goods merchant.
Pittsfield, Mass.
Julia E. Lowell, Farmington, Me.
Has taught 150 weeks, all in Skowhegan, Lisbon, Richmond, Farmington and other Maine towns. Married, Feb. 3, 1875, Alfred Augustine Atwood, a merchant of West Farmington, Me. They have one child, Marion A., born Sept. 2, 1876.
Farmington, Me.[p. 45]M. Emma Morrill, Farmington Falls, Me.
Taught successfully three terms in Chesterville. Her health failing, she devoted herself to teaching music for a time. Died Sept. 29, 1874.
Adella C. Parsons, North Chesterville, Me.
Has taught 215 weeks. After graduation took the College Course at Kent's Hill, Me., graduating in 1873 with the degree of A. B., receiving, three years later, the degree of A. M. Taught during vacations several terms in the towns of Chesterville and Farmington. In 1873-4 was Preceptress of a young ladies seminary in Quincy, Illinois. Taught at Kent's Hill in 1877-8. Married, Nov. 18, 1875, Joseph Waldo Vinal Rich, a graduate of Wesleyan University, for some time one of the Professors at Kent's Hill, now Principal of the High School, Woonsocket, R. I. They have two children: Edwin Gile, born Sept. 30, 1879; Ethel, born Aug. 17, 1881.
55 Blackstone Street, Woonsocket, R. I.
Anna De W. Pearce, Eastport, Me.
Has taught most of the time since graduation, fifteen terms in Maine, in Pembroke, Eastport (High and Grammar), Harrington, and Waterville (Classical Institute), and the remainder of the time in Massachusetts, mainly in Worcester, where she is now teaching a primary school. Had studied Greek, Latin and Shorthand, and read a part of the Chautauquan Course.
155 Park Avenue, Worcester, Mass.
Ruth G. Rich, Canton, Me.
Taught several terms in Lewiston, Maine. Is now completing her seventee[n]th year in the Dwight School, Boston, Mass.
Dwight School, Boston, Mass.
John G. Roberts, Farmington, Me.
Has not taught. Has for several years been a contractor and builder. Married, June 24, 1877, Aldana C. Hatch of Auburn, Me., Second Class of 1872.
37 Seventh Street, Auburn, Me.
Addie B. Stevens, Lewiston, Me.
Has taught fifteen years in the city of Lewiston, where she is now teaching in the primary grade.
9 Sabatis Street, Lewiston, Me.[p. 46]Olive H. Swan, New Sharon, Me.
Taught 25 weeks. Married, Jan. 15, 1874, Mr. Townsend I. Sutton of Boston, Mass., now a farmer and fruit-grower in Michigan. They have five children: Asa F., born May 26, 1875; Benjamin T., born May 6, 1877; Webster W., born Jan. 7, 1879; Elizabeth M., born Aug. 6, 1880; Mary C., born Jan. 4, 1888.
Sutton, Mich.
John A. Sweet, Farmington, Me.
Taught one term in Farmington, and then went West. Entered the employ of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co., one of the largest dry goods houses in America, in January, 1872, as Superintendent of their Law and Collection Departments, filling this position until May, 1878, when he was promoted to the position of business manager, which implies the exclusive management of the Financial, Credit and Law Departments, which position he still holds.
Has studied law, with particular reference to his business, but not for general practice, and for two years was President of the Garden City Savings and Loan Association, resigning at the end of that time on account of other duties.
Married, June 18, 1878, Mary Stevenson, of Sandusky, Ohio, and has two children: Fred Kent, born Sept. 26, 1879, died Dec. 2, 1879; John Allen, Jr., born April 27, 1881.
The following excerpt from the Chicago Morning News has been handed us, which, we are sure, Mr. Sweet will pardon us for inserting:With hundreds of other enterprising men who flocked to this great business mart at the close of the '60's came John A. Sweet, a tall, symmetrically proportioned young man, with a head well set upon broad shoulders, a pleasing countenance, and the impersonation of health and vigor. He sought and obtained the desirable but arduous position of Manager of the Collection Department of Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co., and by dint of sagacity soon established an enviable reputation in the Northwest for the successful manner in which he hunted "lame ducks" and the celerity with which he settled doubtful accounts for cash or indorsed notes. So satisfactory was the progress he made that additional duties were assigned to him, and in 1878 he received the well-earned promotion to the responsible position of Credit Manager, and he continues to fill that place of trust. The statement has been made by reliable authorities, supplemented by able exponents of commercial law in this city—men who are unbiased in forming an opinion regarding the qualifications or standing of a credit-maker—that Mr. Sweet has no superior in the West as an accurate judge of credits. He seems to be endowed with marvelous discernment and is a natural physiognomist, and thus almost intuitively is able to form a correct judgment. This opinion, however, must be confirmed by the manner of the merchant applying for credit in making his statement, as well as by the statement itself. Mr. Sweet's success in his important depart-[p. 47]ment may also be attributed to his wonderful memory, which renders him such valuable assistance that only in isolated cases does he consult his credit register. For 1887, the goods represented by the tickets he signs will approximate a value of $11,000,000—a remarkable showing considering the low value of goods and close competition. Mr. Sweet is equally popular with the purchasers and salesmen and highly esteemed by the business community. He is a member of the Chicago Commanders, Oriental Consistory, and has taken the 32d degree of Masonry. He is a native of the State of Maine, and in his 41st year.
Sarah C. Thayer, Auburn, Me.
We have not been able to learn anything in regard to her teaching. For several years she carried on the millinery and fancy goods business at Mechanic Falls, Me., where she died, Sept. 26, 1885.
Olivia M. Toothaker, East Holden, Me.
Has taught 574 weeks.—123 weeks in Maine, the remainder in California. Has studied Spanish, and commenced the C. L. S. C. course. Married, Feb. 25, 1884, William Thomas Armstrong, a gold miner of Grizzly Flat, California, where they now reside.
Grizzly Flat, El Dorado Co., Cal.
Alonzo P. Tukey, Windham, Me.
Taught the High School at Dennysville, Me., for three years. Took a year's course in Latin and French at Westbrook Seminary. For six years was Superintendent of City Schools, Makato, Minn., and for ten years was western agent for a schoolbook publishing house. Is now in real estate business at Omaha, Nebraska.
Married, Aug. 8, 1871, Elizabeth I. M. Allan of Dennysville, Me., and has five children: Lillie S., born Aug. 3, 1873; Harry A., born Aug. 7, 1877; Ethel M., born Aug. 11, 1878; Louise M., born Nov. 10, 1881; Beth T., born Nov. 13, 1887, died Dec. 10, 1888.
15th and Douglas Streets, Omaha, Nebr.
Priscilla S. Walker, New Sharon, Me.
Taught about 550 weeeks,—nearly three years in the ungraded schools of Maine, two years nearly in a grammar school in Rochester, Minn., eight years in the First Grammar School, Bath, Me., and then for two years ('81-3), was the popular and successful Principal of the Shailer School, Portland, Me.
Married, Sept. 3, 1883, Mr. John Edgar, a real estate broker of Rochester, Minn.
14 Prospect Street, Rochester, Minn.[p. 48]Roliston Woodbury, Sweden, Me.
Immediately after graduating he was engaged as an assistant in this School, where he remained twelve years. The remaining nine years of his life he spent at Castine as Principal of the Eastern Normal School, engaged in active work till his death, which occurred Nov. 1, 1888.
The same courage and devotion to duty that had characterized his army life was conspicuously shown in the last years of his teaching. For months he knew that death was walking in his steps, but he did not falter. He was ready to go, or to stay, but while he staid nothing should keep him from his daily duties.
It was the privilege of the editor to spend two days in the Castine School only a week before Mr. Woodbury's death, and he wishes to gratefully acknowledge the inspiration he received as he witnessed the energy, enthusiasm and clearness of the teaching of a man upon whom was already set the seal of the Better Land, and of whom his many devoted friends were saying, "For only a day can he be with us."
Mr. Woodbury married, Aug. 9, 1870, Miss Maria N. Billings of the Class of 1869, for nearly two years a teacher in this School. They have three children: Ernest R., born July 3, 1871, and just graduated from the Castine School; Nelson L., born May 22, 1874; Willie B., born April 20, 1877.
For a Memorial of Mr. Woodbury, see pages 25-7.
