Oliver, James

James Oliver (1895-1986) a U.S. Representative was born in South Portland on August 6, 1895. He attended the public schools, and earned an A.B. from Bowdoin College in 1917. During the First World War, Oliver enlisted on June 4, 1917, attended the Plattsburg Barracks Training Camp, and was commissioned a captain on November 27, 1917.…

Otis, John

John Otis (1801-1856) a U.S. Representative, was born in Leeds on August 3, 1801. He attended the common schools and was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1823. Otis studied law, was admitted to the bar and began his practice in Hallowell in 1826. A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1841, he was…

Parkhurst, Frederick H.

Frederic Parkhurst

(1864-1921) born in Unity on November 5, 1864, attended local schools, and after receiving his degree from Columbia Law School in 1887, he was admitted to the Maine bar. Parkhurst joined his father in a leather goods business of which he later became president. He served on the Bangor Common Council and in the Maine…

Parks, Gorham

(1794-1877) a U.S. Representative, was born in Westfield, Massachusetts on May 27, 1794. He attended the common schools and was graduated from Harvard University in 1813. Parks studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1819; he moved to Bangor in 1823 and continued the practice of law there. Elected as a Jacksonian to the…

Parris, Albion K.

Albion K. Parris (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1788-1857) was born in Hebron, Maine (at that time a part of Massachusetts) on January 19, 1788. He was a cousin of Virgil Delphini Parris also a U.S. U.S. Representative. Albion Parris, a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a Senator from Maine, graduated from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1806; studied law; and was…

Parris, Virgil

Virgil D. Parris, courtesy Maine State Archives

Virgil Delphini Parris (1807-1874), cousin of Albion Keith Parris, was a U.S. Representative; born in Buckfield, February 18, 1807. He attended the common schools, Hebron Academy, and Colby College and was graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1827. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1830, and began his practice…

Partridge, Donald

(1891-1946), a U.S. Representative, was born in Norway on June 7, 1891, attended the common and high schools and was graduated from Bates College in 1914. He was principal of the high school at Canton 1914-1917, then was elected clerk of the supreme judicial court for Oxford County in 1918 and served from 1919 to…

Payne, Frederick G.

Frederick G. Payne (courtesy of Maine State Museum)

Frederick G. Payne (1904-1978) a Senator from Maine; born in Lewiston on July 24, 1904. He attended the public schools of Lewiston and the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance in Boston. During early school days he worked as a newsboy, usher and doorman in a theater, and as a reporter for a weekly newspaper.…

Perham, Sidney

Sidney Perham, governor

(1819-1907) a U.S. Representative, was born in Woodstock on March 27, 1819 where he attended the common schools and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He later became a resident of nearby Paris. A member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1854, he served as speaker. A supporter of alcohol prohibition, in 1857 he spoke in…

Perkins, Frances

Frances Perkins Center on Main Street in Damariscotta (2014)

While she was born in Boston, Frances Perkins considered her family’s “Brick House” in Newcastle to be her home. As the National Park Service observed in its National Landmark Nomination document: The Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine, is nationally significant as the ancestral home and lifelong summer residence of Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor…

Perry, John J.

John Jasiel Perry (1811-1897), a U.S. Representative, was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on August 2, 1811. In 1812, he moved with his parents to an area of Hebron that is now in the town of Oxford, attended the common schools and Maine Wesleyan Seminary (now Kents Hill School in Readfield). A deputy sheriff of…

Pert, Edwin H.

Ed Pert in Clerk

Edwin H. Pert (1933-2016), a long-time fixture in Maine politics,  graduated from Morse High School in Bath and the University of Maine in Orono. Pert served a tour in Korea as a public information officer for the U.S. Army. He was reporter for the local newspaper and news director for the local radio station, before…

Peters, John A.

John Andrew Peters (1822-1904), uncle of John Andrew Peters (1864-1953), a U.S. Representative, was born in Ellsworth on October 9, 1822. He attended Gorham Academy, and was graduated from Yale College in 1842. He studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1844 and began his practice in Bangor in 1844. A member of the…

Peters, John Andrew

John Andrew Peters (1864-1953), nephew of John Andrew Peters (1822-1904), a U.S. Representative, was born in Ellsworth on August 13, 1864. He attended the common schools, was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1885. He studied law; was admitted to the bar, began his practice in Ellsworth in 1887, and became judge of the municipal court…

Plaisted, Harris M.

Harris M. Plaisted (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1828-1898) a U.S. Representative, was born in Jefferson, Coos County, New Hampshire on November 2, 1828. He attended the common schools, and was graduated from Waterville College in 1853 and from the Albany (New York) Law School in 1856. His son, Frederick W. Plaisted was governor 1911-1913. Plaisted was admitted to the bar and commenced…

Poliquin, Bruce

Bruce Poliquin (1953-     ) was born in Waterville on November 1, 1953. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, graduating in 1972. He then graduated from Harvard University with a degree in economic in 1976. The 2014 Republican candidate for Congress in Maine’s second congressional district, he won his first popularly elected public office. In…