While an accepted custom in the colonies, it was practiced in Maine as early as 1660 (see comment below) and in 1733 when the parish at York (then Agamenticus) “VOTED that there be a Slave Bought for the Parish to be Employed for the use of said Parish in Labouring for the Rev. Samuel Moody.”…
Selected works . . . Bertha and Lily, or, The Parsonage of Beech Glen: A Romance. (1854)The Dandelion (1845)Jack Spanker and the Mermaid (1843?)The Newsboy (1854)Old New York: or, Democracy in 1689. A tragedy, in five acts. (1853) The Poetical Writings of Elizabeth Oakes Smith (1845) Riches Without Wings: or, The Cleveland Family (1838) The…
(1972-1985) was born on June 29, 1972 in Houlton, and died in a plane crash on August 15, 1985. At age ten, she wrote a letter to then Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov expressing her concern over the possibilities of nuclear war. Andropov replied that the Soviets did not want war and invited her to visit him.
was born in 1792 at Buckfield in western Maine. He graduated in Bowdoin College’s class of 1818 and went on to establish Maine’s first daily newspaper, the Portland Courier. Smith created Major Jack Downing, a character he used in his quest to satirize the American political class. He was an advocate for Maine statehood, using…
1871 Born on Indian Island, grandson of the Chief of the Bear Clan. 1893 Attends St. Mary’s College, Van Buren. 1894-1895 Attends Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, batting a powerful .444 over two seasons. 1896 Transfers to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where his outfield talent catches the eye of big league scouts. 1897-1899…
Ellis Spear (1834-1917) was second in command to then Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain at the famous Civil War battle of Little Round Top at Gettysburg in July of 1863. He was born in Warren on October 15, 1834. Spear was graduated from Bowdoin College in 1858 and taught school in Wiscasset. Spear entered the Union…
1903 Born on Indian Island, eldest child of Horace Nelson, a future Penobscot Governor, and Philomena Solis Nelson, a celebrated basket maker. In Penobscot her given name is “Molly Dellis.” After her mother’s early death, Molly raises her seven brothers and sisters; studies native dancing to support her family. 1920-1922 (ca.) Studies anthropology and native…
Francis (1849-1918) and his twin brother Freelan (1849-1940) Stanley were born June 1, 1849 in Kingfield. They formed the Stanley Dry Plate Company in 1883 to manufacture dry plates for the photographic process invented by Francis. After 22 years, they sold the company to Eastman Kodak in 1905. Their interest had turned to steam-powered automobiles.…
(1865-1958), was a well-respected Maine ornithologist. At the age of 48, she found her true calling in life – the study of birds. After floating through one teaching job after another for 17 years, and a nervous breakdown, she remembered her childhood love of the outdoors and of the beautiful birds and their musical songs.…
Memorials to people, groups, and events are located near the State House in Augusta. One of the more striking images is the one dedicated to those who served in the Vietnam War, located in Capitol Park, across from the State House, the metal sculpture casts an image of three soldiers that moves with the transit…
Text of a 1875 law giving women the authority to solemnize marriage and administer oaths. (Click to enlarge.) Prior to 1875, women, who could not yet vote, had no authority to act as a justice of the peace, administering oaths, acknowledging signatures on deeds, or performing marriages. In 1874 the Maine Supreme Court was asked…
[pp. 13-17] LIST OF EMPLOYMENTS. Women were found engaged in the following employments. Artists. Art stores. Bazaars. Cigar stores. Crockery stores. Confectionery stores. Dry goods stores. Dry goods and notion stores. Dry goods and carpet stores. Dry and fancy goods stores. Drug stores. Drug and perfumery stores. Fancy goods stores. Fruit stores. Glove stores. Jewelry…
STATISTICS FROM A SURVEY FOR THE COMMISSIONER OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR STATISTICS REPORT, 1892 [pp. 150-151] Out of a total of 2,583 there are 115 who cannot read and 124 Who cannot write the English language, or between four and five per cent. They are found in seventeen different industries which are given, together with…
Joseph B. Stearns (1831-1895) was born in Weld and moved to Searsmont with is father at the age of fourteen. Three years later he moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts and found work in a cotton mill. After several early failures left him deeply in debt, Stearns found a job in a telegraph office in Newburyport in…
(1855-1940) was born in Boston, though his family moved to Portland in 1857 when he was two years old. The Great fire of 1866 destroyed the family home along with almost 1,000 other buildings. In 1873, after finishing high school, Stevens entered the office of Francis Fassett, one of the most popular architects in Portland.…
Selected works The Mayflower, or, Sketches of scenes and characters among the descendants of the Pilgrims (1843) The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution (1855) An inside View of Slavery; or, A tour among the planters (1855) Dred; a Tale of the great Dismal Swamp (1856) Agnes of Sorrento (1862) Oldtown Folks (1869) The American…
Anything Is Possible (2017) My Name Is Lucy Barton (2016) The Burgess Boys (2013) Olive Kitteridge (2008) Abide with Me (2006) Amy and Isabelle (1998) Elizabeth Strout (1956- ) lived in Harpswell as a young girl. “My parents came from many generations of New Englanders, and they were skeptical of pleasure.” she told the New…
(1780-1861) born February 10, 1780, was an enterprising businessman in the town of Westport, who had a thriving fishing and shipping business in the early 1800’s. He may have received the honorary title “Squire” because of his wealth, land holdings, and influence on the community. The first generation, John Tarbox, came from Hertfordshire, England to…
Selected Works Alice Adams (1921) Beasley’s Christmas Party (1909) The Beautiful Lady (1905) Beauty And The Jacobin; An Interlude Of The French Revolution (1912) Cherry (1903) Claire Ambler (1928) Clarence; A Comedy In Four Acts (1921) The Collector’s Whatnot: A Compendium, . . . (1923) The Conquest Of Canaan: A Novel (1905) The Fascinating Stranger,…
(1817-1862) was born on July 12, 1817 and raised in Concord, Massachusetts. He was truly a “journalist,” keeping a daily journal from young adulthood to shortly before his death. He traveled to Maine, climbed Mount Katahdin, and was an early observer of the state’s people and landscape. His book The Maine Woods is full of…