Chamberlain, Joshua L.

Joshua L. Chamberlain (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1828-1914) was born September 8, 1828, in Brewer the eldest of five children. He worked on his father’s farm and, like many other promising young men, taught school for a time. Entering Bowdoin College in Brunswick in 1848, Chamberlain studied the traditional classical curriculum and showed particular skill at languages. At First Parish Church, he…

Chandler, John

John Chandler, Senate President courtesy Maine State Archives

(1762-1841) was born in Epping, New Hampshire, brother of Thomas Chandler and uncle of Zachariah Chandler, both penniless and illiterate. A U.S. Representative from Massachusetts and a U. S. Senator from Maine, he served in Congress in the following years: 1820-1823; 1823-1825; 1825-1829 as a Democratic-Republican, Crawford Republican, and a Jacksonian, precursors to the Democratic…

Cilley, Jonathan

Jonathan Cilley, courtesy Maine State Museum

(1802-1838), nephew of Bradbury Cilley (U.S. Representative from New Hampshire 1813-1817) and brother of Joseph Cilley U.S. Senator from New Hampshire), was a U.S. Representative who was born in Nottingham, Rockingham County, New Hampshire on July 2, 1802. He attended Atkinson Academy in New Hampshire, was graduated from New Hampton Academy and later, in 1825,…

Clapp, Asa

Asa William Henry Clapp (1805-1891) a U.S. Representative was born in Portland on March 6, 1805, and was graduated from the Norwich (Vermont) Military Academy in 1823. He engaged as a merchant in foreign and domestic commerce at Portland. In the early 1820s, he owned what was to become the McLellan-Sweat Mansion, now a National…

Clark, Franklin

(1801-1874) a U.S. Representative was born in Wiscasset on August 2, 1801. He attended the common schools, and engaged in the lumber and shipping business in Wiscasset. Clark was a member of the Maine State Senate in 1847 and was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847-March 3, 1849). He engaged…

Clauson, Clinton A.

Clinton A. Clauson (courtesy of Maine State Museum)

was born in Iowa on March 24, 1898. After attending local schools and serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, he graduated from the Palmer School of Chiropractic and soon moved his practice to Waterville, where he practiced until 1938. Clauson became active in local and state Democratic committees beginning in 1928 and…

Cleaves, Henry B.

Henry B. Cleaves (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1840-1912) born in Bridgton on February 6, 1840, was Maine governor from 1893 to 1897. Educated in local schools and at Bridgeton Academy, During the Civil War he enlisted in Company B of the 23rd Maine Volunteers and by War’s had been promoted to Lieutenant. After working in a factory and lumber yard, Cleaves began…

Clifford, Nathan

Nathan Clifford, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (second from left)

(1803-1881) was a U.S. Representative who was born in Rumney, New Hampshire on August 18, 1803. He attended the public schools of Rumney, the Haverhill (New Hampshire) Academy, and New Hampton Literary Institute. He taught school and gave vocal lessons, then studied law in New York, was admitted to the bar, and began his practice…

Cobb, William T.

William T. Cobb (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1857-1937) born in Rockland on July 23, 1857, was Maine governor from 1905 to 1909. Educated in local schools, he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1877 and did graduate work at the University of Leipzig and the University of Berlin. He attended Harvard Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1880. William Titcomb…

Coburn, Abner

Abner Coburn (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1803-1885) governor of Maine 1863-1864, was born in that part of Canaan now Skowhegan on March 22, 1803. He was the great-grandson of Joseph Weston, one of the town’s first settlers. His brother, Stephen Coburn, was a member of Congress. After minimal schooling, including a brief stint at Bloomfield Academy, Coburn became an assistant to…

Coburn, Stephen

Stephen Coburn

(1817-1882) a U.S. Representative was born in Bloomfield (now Skowhegan on November 11, 1817. A brother of Abner Coburn, he attended Waterville and China Academies, was graduated from Waterville (now Colby) College in 1839. Coburn taught a plantation school in Tarboro, North Carolina in 1839 and 1840. Then he returned to become the principal of…

Coffin, Frank Morey

(1919-2009) a U.S. Representative was born in Lewiston on July 11, 1919. Educated in Lewiston public schools; he graduated from Bates College in 1940, from Harvard Business School in 1943, and from Harvard Law School in 1947. Coffin served in the Pacific Theater with the United States Navy as an ensign and later as a…

Cohen, William

William S. Cohen (1997)

William Sebastian “Bill” Cohen was a Republican U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from Maine, 1979-1997. Born in Bangor, Penobscot County August 28, 1940; he attended the public schools; graduated, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine in 1962 and graduated, Boston University Law School 1965. He was admitted to the Maine bar in 1965 and commenced practice…

Collins, Susan M.

(1952- ) Susan Margaret Collins, a U.S. Senator from Maine, was born in Caribou December 7, 1952, and graduated from St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York in 1975.  A native of Aroostook County , her family has run a lumber company since the mid-19th century. Even after the United States Department of Agriculture proposed eliminating…

Connor, Selden

Selden Connor, governor

was a Civil War general, formerly a Colonel in the 19th Maine Volunteers, and governor from 1876 through 1879. He was born in Fairfield on January 25, 1839, attended local schools, and graduated from Tufts College in 1859. In 1861, as Civil War threatened the country, Connor joined the 1st Vermont Regiment. He rose through…

Cony, Samuel

Samuel Cony (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1811-1870), Governor of Maine from 1864 to 1867, was born in Augusta on February 27, 1811 in a politically active family with a military tradition. His father, General Samuel Cony, was the first Adjutant-General of Maine, holding that office for a decade, and was a representative of Augusta to the Massachusetts General Court. Educated at…

Crosby, William G.

William G. Crosby (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1805-1881) was born in Belfast on September 10, 1805. He was educated at Belfast Academy and graduated from Bowdoin College just before his eighteenth birthday. He was the first person born in Belfast to receive a college education. His contemporaries included Franklin Pierce, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry W. Longfellow, and William Pitt Fessenden, among other notables.…

Cross, Burton M.

Burton M. Cross (courtesy Maine State Museum)

(1902-  ) Cross was born in Gardiner, on November 15, 1902, graduated from Cony High School in 1920 and became a florist in Augusta in 1926. In 1933 he won a seat on the Augusta Common Council and four years later in 1937 moved up to the Board of Aldermen, presiding over both bodies. Elected…

Curtis, Kenneth M.

Governor Ken Curtis, wife Polly, and daughter Angel (from a Christmas card sent to friends while governor.)

(1931- ) was governor of Maine from 1967 to 1975, and was Chair of the Democratic National Committee in 1977. William Curtis moved to the to the Town of Leeds in 1800 in what is now Curtis Corner, once a post office and railroad stop, both of which are now gone. Generations of Curtis families…