(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…
1850-1899 Incorporations of new town across the state was a major theme of this period. Maine’s Hannibal Hamlin was elected Vice-President of the United States with Abraham Lincoln successful presidential campaign. James G. Blaine ran unsuccessfully for president. The Civil War saw 73,000 Maine soldiers serving; with one in ten killed. Joshua Chamberlain of Brewer,…
1900-1929 The beginning of the 20th century was marked by the expansion of pulp and paper mills, including the new Great Northern Paper Company mill in Millinocket. Eastern Maunfacturing in Brewer became Eastern Fine Paper Company. Lakewood summer theater in Madison symbolized the growing summer tourist industry. The economy was strong enough for labor law…
The National Home for Disabled Soldiers (Eastern Branch) Togus c. 1880 The Togus Veterans Administration Medical and Regional Office Center, as…
Annual Report of the Superintending School Committee and Superintendent of Schools I herewith submit my second annual report as Superintendent of the Schools of the town of Topsham. This is the twenty-first report since the organization of the Brunswick-Topsham District. It is designed by a report of this kind to bring to the attention of…
The 1873 President’s House is an elegant, restored, Victorian-era structure. Historic photographs show the early care given to the house’s landscaping, including newly planted trees. The mature trees on the house’s front lawn comprise native species, such as American beech as well as non-native species. This mix of indigenous and introduced species is true of…
(1751-1835) was born in Jamaica, West Indies on April 19, 1751. He was the oldest son of Samuel Vaughan, of London, a West India merchant and planter. His mother was Sarah Hallowell, daughter of Benjamin Hallowell, a Boston merchant. Since his family were Unitarians, not belonging to the Church of England, Vaughan could not attend…
General Samuel Veazie (1787-1868) was born in Portland. After trying several ventures, including being a sailor, then owning a ship, he moved to Topsham. While there he purchased the “Androscoggin boom,” a system of guiding and sorting logs floated down the river. Veazie participated in the War of 1812, reaching the rank of General. After…
The Maine Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management was established to coordinate and improve the discharge of the State Government’s responsibility relating to military, veterans and civil emergency management through the authorization, planning, provision of resources, administration, operation and audit activities in these areas. It contains the Office of Adjutant General, which has existed…