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POLAND CENTENNIAL 
 
 September ii, 1893, 
 
 nih 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL 
 SKETCHES 
 
 ALVAN B. RICKER, BERT. M. FERNALD, 
 
 AxND 
 
 HIRAM W. RICKER. 
 
 1 APR 1 1896J 
 
 TO THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF POLAND, THIS BOOK IS 
 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
Copyright, 1896, by 
 
 RICKER, FERNALD & RICKER, 
 
 Poland, Maine. 
 
 •A 
 
 ENGRAVKU AND PRINTED BY 
 
 ANDREW H. KELLOGG, 409-415 PEARL STREET, 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 From the dearth of accurate knowledge possessed by the 
 present generation of facts and data relating to the past of 
 Poland, the importance has become strongly impressed upon 
 us of a record, accurate as far as our knowledge and research 
 extend, that may be preserved for reference by future gen- 
 erations, and that, a century hence, may be of value to the 
 historian, or to those interested in the annals of the birthplace 
 of their fathers. 
 
 In undertaking this, we have not presumed to attempt 
 a history — simply to give a few facts relative to those prom- 
 inent in the town's present or past; to its industries and 
 capabilities, which, together with a full account of the pro- 
 ceedings of the Anniversary of our Centennial Day, we hope 
 will constitute something of interest and value to be perused 
 by our descendants in years to come. 
 
 We present this book to our fellow-townsmen, and to 
 the public, sincerely trusting that, if aught has been over- 
 looked or too lightly passed over by us, the omission will be 
 pardoned, for we have endeavored to do the best we could 
 with the means at our command. 
 

 CEXTENNIAL COMMITTEE. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The Parade Frontispiece 
 
 Centennial Committee vii 
 
 Hiram W. Ricker, Marshal of the Day xi 
 
 James I. Chipman, 3 
 
 Bert. M. Fernald, 7 
 
 W. W. McCann, II 
 
 A. B. Ricker, 23 
 
 The Dinner, . . • 25 
 
 Hon. Nelson Dingley, 29 
 
 Town House, 31 
 
 Edward Payson Ricker, 33 
 
 Rev. J. Albert Lirby, 35 
 
 Frank E. Hanscom, 45 
 
 Mrs. Louise M. Waterhouse, 49 
 
 R. J. Everett, 53 
 
 John C. Davis, 59 
 
 Facsimile of Agreement of 1776, 63 
 
 S. L. Littlefield, 73 
 
 J. W. Penney, 79 
 
 View of Poland Corner, Centennial Day, 87 
 
 Mr. H. W. Ricker, Marshal, and his Staff 91 
 
 Selectmen and Treasurer, 1896, 93 
 
 School Board, 95 
 
 Moses Emery, the First Male Child born in Poland, 97 
 
 Hannah Snell, the Oldest Woman in Poland, 99 
 
 Moses A. Herrick, Poland's Oldest Male Inhabitant, 101 
 
 The Staples Burying-Ground, 109 
 
HIRAM W. RICKER, 
 Marshal of the Day. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Arrangements having been made at the annual town meet- 
 inc held on the second Monday in March, 1895, to celebrate the 
 on'e hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of /^l^^^' ^ 
 committee of five, consisting of A. B. Ricker, B. M. Fernald, 
 W W Dennen,R. J. Everett, and J. W. Boothby, werechosento 
 prepare a programme and make all necessary arrangements for 
 the eventful day. The sum of $500 was appropriated to defray 
 the expense, which was inadequate, the committee expend- 
 ing about $100 more than that amount. All citizens were 
 incited to furnish food, and it is but jtist to say that they 
 responded admirably, nearly every family in town contributing 
 cheerfully and liberally. The morning was cloudy, and by ten 
 o'clock a brisk shower poured down, but despite the ram fully 
 , 000 people had gathered to enjoy the festivities of the great 
 day By 10 30 o'clock, the clouds and rain had passed, and a 
 beautiful sunshine appeared for the remaining part of the 
 day A procession was then formed under the leadership of 
 Marshal Hiram W. Ricker and aides, to meet the incoming 
 guests at Poland Station on the Portland & Rumford Falls 
 Railroad, from whence, after greeting the concourse of 
 enthusiastic friends who had come to join in paymg tribute to 
 the beloved old town, it moved back, accompanied by the 
 Lewiston Brigade Band, through the streets of Poland Comer as 
 far as the cemetery. Here a halt was called, and a dirge 
 played, with muffled drums, in honor of our loyal dead 
 Thence the hue moved on to a tent, fifty by two hundred feet 
 square, which had been procured from Boston for the occasion. 
 Arriving at the tent, the meeting was called to order by 
 James I. Chipman, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, who 
 introduced B. M. Fernald as President of the day. Mr. Fernald 
 gave the address of welcome, and introduced the many speakers 
 of the occasion. The dinner was under the sole management 
 
2 INTRODUC'lION. 
 
 of Mr. A. B. Ricker, who was especially adapted for the posi- 
 tion, and who will long; be remembered for his generosity and 
 businesslike manner in preparing this part of the entertainment. 
 The dinner was one of the best, and free to all. The 
 speeches, poems, letters, and other proceedings will all be 
 found reported in this book, together with portraits of the 
 speakers, the town officers, selectmen, treasurer, school board, 
 the Centennial Committee, the first child born in Poland, and 
 many other illustrations of interest to this and to coming 
 generations. 
 
JAMES I. CHIPMAN, 
 Chairman, Board of Selectmen, i8q5. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 After the parade, the exercises were opened in the tent 
 by Mr. James I. Chipman, Chairman of the Board of Select- 
 men, who, with the following introductory remarks, intro- 
 duced Mr. B. M, Femald as President of the Day: 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: 
 
 The town of Poland is at home to-day to greet her 
 sons and daughters from other towns and distant States, and 
 welcome them to the scenes of their childhood, on this, her 
 one hundredth anniversary. It becomes my pleasant duty, 
 in behalf of this good old town, radiant in all the glory 
 of Autumn, to turn the key in the door, and bid you 
 welcome; and may the memory of this day, with all its 
 associations, be a helpful influence for good, for many years 
 to come. 
 
 Another pleasant duty that falls upon me is to call 
 upon an enterprising and loyal son of this town to preside 
 over these exercises. It is with pleasure I call upon 
 Mr. B. M. Fernald, of West Poland. 
 
 Mr. Fernald, in taking the chair, responded with the 
 following remarks : 
 
 By the generosity of our town, and the loyalty of her 
 citizens, we are permitted to-day to celebrate the one hun- 
 dredth anniversary of its existence. Centuries before any 
 authentic record of our history, the savages roamed with 
 freedom over our hills and vales, feasted on the beasts of 
 the forest, quaffed from the bubbling springs, sat by the 
 noisy brook, and listened to its enchanting music as, from 
 its hillside birthplace, it slowly descended, touching the white 
 pebbles in its course as notes on the keyboard of Nature's 
 harmony, executing symphonies which have never been 
 
6 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 written, but arc playing as harmoniously and sweetly to-day 
 as on the morn of creation. This is a glimpse at the primitive 
 condition of our beloved town, whose name we adore, and 
 whose one hundredth anniversary we celebrate. 
 
 Our forefathers moved here, sturdy men and women, 
 full of courage, ambition, enterprise, and perseverance, true 
 to themselves, their country, and their God. They instituted 
 a town, and every year in the century, from its establish- 
 ment, histor}' is replete with the evidences of its progress. 
 Our early settlers were men of sterling worth and character, 
 who loved and fought for their home, their town, and their 
 country. The lessons they taught, the love of liberty they 
 instilled, have helped to make our nation what she is to-day. 
 The scholar, the historian who attempts to unfold the history 
 of Poland's advancement, will find in her early settlers men 
 of strong and invincible character, who bequeathed to us, as 
 their richest legacy, integrity, honesty, love of liberty, faith 
 in God. Let us cherish their memories, that our children's 
 children, yet unborn, will, one hundred years from to-day, 
 acknowledge us as worthy of our sires. 
 
 But, my firm friends, all that I am expected to do to-day 
 is to bid you welcome. As a representative of the grand, 
 patriotic old town in which I have always lived, and of which 
 I have ever been proud, I bid you a hearty welcome. 
 
 To the sons and daughters of Poland residing in the 
 adjoining towns, with your friends, I bid you welcome. We 
 are glad to see you. It has been said, and truly, too, I think, 
 that Poland has contribiUed to Portland a larger share of her 
 business men than any other town in this State. And not only 
 Portland, but in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and many 
 other cities and towns where her sons and daughters have 
 located, as a rule, they have achieved success, and we are 
 proud of them. To you we bid a cordial welcome. 
 
 To the children of our fair daughter, the blushing bride 
 who married an offspring of Minot, and formed that new and 
 beautiful town of Mechanic Falls, we bid you a warm and 
 sincere welcome. We parted from you reluctantly. You had 
 been in the family for a long time — in fact, from its birth — liut 
 whatever achievements of success you may attain, we will ever 
 be glad, and wish you that sublime prosperity which you most 
 certainly deserve. 
 
BER1\ yi FERNALD. 
 
8 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 To the citizens of Poland now residing within its borders, 
 who have contributed so largely and so cheerfully to this enter- 
 tainment — in the name of the old town, I thank you. To you 
 is this occasion especially dear. You who have lingered on 
 the old farms and homesteads, you who have taken up the 
 work so nobly begun by your fathers, some of you venerable 
 men, have memories reaching back to the town's infancy. 
 Some of you, young men, have hopes stretching forward 
 almost to the next century ; and although none of us present 
 may ever live to share the glories of the next Centennial 
 anniversary, let us hope that our offspring may be so imbued 
 and inspired with the boundless love of patriotism, with respect 
 for the birthplace and home of our fathers, with regard and 
 honor for the old town of Poland, that this occasion, compared 
 to that, may be but as the faint rays of a lighted candle to that 
 great orb of light which sheds its dazzling beams of brightness 
 over the whole world. 
 
 After the opening remarks of the Chairman, prayer was 
 offered by the Rev. George F. Durgin, of Chicopee, Mass., a 
 former resident of Poland, and this was foUov/ed by the Cen- 
 tennial Hymn, composed by the Rev. Frederic Newport, which 
 was sung by the entire audience: 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 O Lord, Father of all our mercies, and God of grace, 
 Thou has been our dwelling place in all generations, our God 
 and our fathers' God. Grant us Thy presence and Thy bless- 
 ing this morning, as we engage in the services of this memor- 
 able occasion. Our hearts are made glad by the presence of so 
 many of our former citizens and kindred, who in Thy good 
 Providence have been permitted to assemble here to renew the 
 acquaintances and recall the associations of former years, and 
 unite with us in paying the homage of our respect and gratitude 
 to the memory of the early settlers. 
 
 We thank Thee that it has been our good fortune to have 
 our birth and home among this people, in the land of church 
 and school, the nation of civil and religious freedom. We 
 know that Thou art the author of all light, and truth, and 
 progress. In Thy Universe, there are no accidents. It was 
 not by chance that this continent was discovered. It was no 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 9 
 
 chance that our fathers braved the dangers of the seas to build 
 a home in a wild and hostile country. We thank Thee that 
 Thou didst sustain them amid dangers and hardships in their 
 struggle for a higher Christian life, and the attainment of a 
 more exalted citizenship. We thank Thee that Thou didst 
 assist them in establishing those institutions which have made 
 glorious the history of New England. We bless Thy name 
 for the patriotic, noble men who made for our State a place — 
 an honored name in the nation. Especially, would we bless 
 Thy name for the sacred memories and hallowed associations 
 that cluster around the names of the noble men and women 
 who have built up and bequeathed to us this beloved town. 
 May our hearts be filled with gratitude as we rehearse the 
 story of their life, their acts of patriotism and heroism and 
 self-denial — their devotion to the principles of truth, justice, 
 and religion. 
 
 O Lord, give us to realize that these fertile fields, these 
 pleasant homes, all the blessings we enjoy, we but hold in trust 
 for posterity. May the lessons of the past recited this hour 
 better prepare us to discharge the duties and responsibilities of 
 the present. Be with all those who are to participate in the 
 exercises of the day. Direct the thoughts and utterances of 
 those who shall address us, that their words may be words of 
 wisdom and truth suitable to the occasion. Make us loyal to 
 Thee, to the town, and to the nation. 
 
 Forgive us our sins, and be with this people in all the future, 
 as Thou hast been in all the past, and finally receive us unto 
 Thyself to dwell forever. And Thy name, Father, Son, and 
 Spirit, shall have all the praise, now and evermore. Amen. 
 
lO POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 CENTENNIAL HYMN. 
 
 Let Poland's sons arise, 
 
 With strains that reach the skies, 
 
 This happy morn. 
 'Mid festive scenes and gay, 
 Be this joyful lay, 
 To celebrate the day 
 
 When she was born. 
 
 From mansion on the hill 
 And homes along the vale. 
 
 The numbers swell. 
 We view a century past, 
 Replete with blessings vast, 
 Perform the sacred task, 
 
 Sweet memories tell. 
 
 Recall the honored names 
 Of noble sires and dames, 
 
 In days now gone. 
 Tell of the industry 
 Of sturdy yeomanry, 
 Well-earned prosperity, 
 
 Their toil have won. 
 
 Tell of the church and school 
 That gave true civic rule 
 
 By which to win. 
 And still in harmony. 
 With zealous loyalty, 
 A brighter century 
 
 Of life begin. 
 
 B. M. Fernald, Chairman — I am pleased to introduce 
 another loyal son of Poland, of whom she is well proud. I 
 have the honor, ladies and gentlemen, of introducing to you, 
 as Orator of the Day, an unknown and obscure farmer, W. W. 
 McCann. (Laughter and applause.) 
 
\V. W. McCANN. 
 
12 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 W. W. McCann — I thank you, sir, for 3'our modesty. 
 
 We meet to-day to commemorate the Centennial year of 
 our corporate existence as a town. In the slow progress of the 
 ancient world, one hundred years marks but little chanoe in 
 the progress of the human race; but in the swifter evolutions 
 of the recent past, the nineteenth century forms no inconsider- 
 able period in the progress and achievements of the modern 
 world. But four centuries have passed since this new conti- 
 nent was first made known to civilized man. Scarcely a century 
 and a quarter ago, the representatives of this people declared 
 their independence of the foreign power, and announced to the 
 world for the first time the sovirce from which governments 
 derive their chief power — the consent of the governed. The 
 seventeenth century was well advanced before any considerable 
 settlement was made on the coast of Maine or off New England. 
 But little over a hundred years ago, the place which you occupy 
 here to-day sustained a lofty growth of pines, and the hills and 
 valleys were covered with a dark and sunless forest, the 
 accumulated growths of centuries. No sound of civilization 
 had ever disturbed the unbroken slumber of these solitudes; 
 no sign of human habitation but the scanty wigwam of the 
 humble native, and no sound but the echoing war-whoop of 
 the Indian brave. Your fertile fields, now smiling in abundant 
 harvest, were Indian himting-grounds, and the site of your 
 costly, comfortable dwellings was the abode of savage life. 
 But the white man, the conqueror, came. The simple native 
 was unable to resist the advancing forces of civilization, and 
 reluctantly and sullenly he surrendered the hunting-ground of 
 his fathers, dear to him by associations and traditions. As a 
 race, they have perished from the earth. 
 
 One hundred and twenty-seven years ago was heard the 
 first sound of the pioneer's axe in Bakerstown, and the first 
 settlement was made on the soil of our town. The first open- 
 ing in this town was made at East Poland, in 17 68, and in the 
 following year others came. The soil was congenial, pro- 
 ductive, less hardy, and easier to cultivate than many of its 
 neighboring localities. This was an inducement to settlers, 
 and inhabitants began rapidly to multiply. They constructed 
 roads, they built a schoolhouse, and organized a church. They 
 prospered, they grew ambitious, and established an empire — 
 the first that was ever reared upon this continent. (Laughter 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 13 
 
 and applause.) You who reside in the west part of our town, 
 be not envious or impatient, "for the star of Empire still west- 
 ward takes its course," and you may some day hold the sceptre 
 of power. The Empire built here was not established by mili- 
 tary force or hereditary right. You gentlemen of the east 
 were not governed by despotic authority. Your Empire was 
 the dominion of thought, ideas, the school, and the church — 
 the best forces of New England civilization — and you have 
 maintained it well. 
 
 SOUTH POLAND. 
 
 The second permanent settlement in this town was made 
 in 1779, on what is now known as the Dockham Farm, South 
 Poland. Many of the early settlers of this region belonged to 
 ancient families. John Chipman, born in Dorchester, England, 
 in 16 14, emigrated to America in 1650. His grandson, Ben- 
 jamin, moved to Poland in 1778, His son, Benjamin second, 
 came from Thornton, Mass., to Poland in 1781, and settled on 
 the farm now owned and occupied by Chester Chipman. The 
 farm has been handed down from father to son during all these 
 1 14 years. Daniel Schillinger came to Bakerstown from Fal- 
 mouth, Maine, in 1792. He was the son of Jacob Schillinger, 
 of East Hampton, Long Island, N. Y. He was the fourth 
 generation from the Jacob Schillinger who came from 
 Amsterdam, Holland, and settled in New Amsterdam, now 
 New York, in 1653. The venerable William Schillinger, 
 grandson of the first Schillinger, who settled in this town, 
 resides at South Poland, and was born in 1806, to whom your 
 historian informs me he is indebted for much valuable informa- 
 tion. We regret that by the reason of age and infirmities we 
 are deprived of his presence to-day. Daniel Jackson settled at 
 South Poland at an early date. He built the old Jackson tavern 
 stand in 1795, which remains to-day in its original form. About 
 this time came the Rickers of ancient lineage. Later came 
 Capt. Robert Snell, and others. They maintained a school; 
 they sustained public and religious worship; they supported a 
 blacksmith's shop and a store. The little active community 
 assumed a prosperous and businesslike appearance. 
 
 In tracing the history of any community, it is well to 
 inquire what were the character and purpose of its early inhabit- 
 ants. The first settlers of this, like those of most other inland 
 
14 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 towns of Maine, were of hardy, industrious New England 
 stock, the best product of men and women, perhaps, the world 
 has ever seen. (^.Applause.) Their object in coming here cer- 
 tainly was not for gold or glory. 
 
 The old Spanish explorers, who made a conquest of Mexico 
 and Peru, were animated by an insane desire to possess the 
 gold of the Montezumas and the wealth of the Incas. Our 
 fathers, most of them, were poor men, having no earthly pos- 
 sessions but those they carried with them, and claims to the wild 
 land which they were to clear up and cultivate. The purpose, 
 then, of our fathers in coming here was to clear up farms, 
 build up homes for themselves and families, the title to which 
 they could possess and transmit to their children ; to build 
 schools which were to become the common educational home of 
 the community; to build churches where they could worship in 
 a manner dictated by conscience or reason; to cultivate an ex- 
 alted citizenship. What grander purpose, what higher aspira- 
 tion, could actuate a people than a desire to build a home for 
 themselves and families ? It is the love of home and home life 
 that constitutes the citizen and the patriot — the strength of 
 popular government. This was the inspiration of the fathers. 
 It inspired them to acts of incredible hardships, and sustained 
 them amid distressing privations. The forest disappeared, the 
 rocks were gathered into heaps or placed in stone walls, and 
 cultivated fields took the place of the wilderness. 
 
 WEST POLAND. 
 
 The first settlement at West Poland was made on what is 
 now known as Megquier Hill, in 1790, by Edmund Megquier. 
 The great career of the Megquier has been traced in the 
 history of this and other towns, and is too well known to make 
 any extensive comments. Megquier was soon joined by 
 William and Mark Emery and Asa Loring. One hundred 
 years ago, the first Keene, the grandfather of the present 
 generation of that name, purchased of Asa Loring the lot 
 which became known as the Keene homestead. At this time 
 it contained a log house and a hovel. Under the wise and 
 energetic management of three generations, it has grown to the 
 extensive and almost princely estate now owned and occupied 
 by Orrin S. Keene, one of our leading citizens and most enter- 
 prising business men. Megquier Hill has long been known for 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. I5 
 
 the tone and character of its people and the beauty of its sur- 
 roundings. It has become a favorite summer resort. The 
 home of Mr. Keene is thronged every summer with hundreds 
 of guests seeking pleasure, health, or recreation, where they 
 can inhale the mountain air, enjoy its sightly drives, and feast 
 their gaze upon varied scenes of beauty and grandeur such as 
 human eyes have rarely witnessed. (Applause.) 
 
 The first Free Baptist Church of Poland was organized 
 here in 1798. Edmrmd Megquier, William Emery, Mark 
 Emery, and John Fernald constituted the membership. This 
 church prospered from the first, and rapidly increased in mem- 
 bers. The history of the churches is left to other and abler 
 hands, yet I cannot forbear to mention one whose name shines 
 more prominently than any other in the history and progress 
 of this denomination in our town. You will anticipate me in 
 pronouncing the name of Rev. James Libby. (Applause.) He 
 was installed pastor of this church at early manhood. He was 
 a devoted disciple of Christ, an earnest advocate of His great 
 teaching. Under his pastorate the church so rapidly increased 
 in numbers and strength as soon to be able to build a meeting- 
 house. In the service of his Master, Father Libby gave sixty 
 years of his life in the religious interests of our town. Earnest- 
 ness, directness, and eloquence were characteristics of his 
 pulpit efforts. Kindliness and devoted piety characterized his 
 daily life. Most of you can remember him as he stood in the 
 pulpit, grave and dignified, declaring the truths of the gospel 
 with great force and wonderful facility of expression. It 
 seemed sometimes as if he was inspired by Him who " touched 
 Isaiah's hallowed lips with fire." He, Mr. President, was your 
 grandfather. 
 
 In 1792, John Fernald settled on the spot where rests the 
 beautiful dwelling which you own and occupy. This estate 
 has descended from father to son for more than a century. 
 Your father, sir, was a farmer and a trader — a respected citizen. 
 He often held positions of honor and of trust in his native town, 
 and was always faithful to those trusts. (Applause.) Now, 
 sir, with such an ancestry as this you ought to be a better 
 man — I take it all back, Mr. President; it was a slip of the 
 tongue. 
 
 The President — Oh, certainly, certainly, (Laughter.) 
 
 Mr. McCann — What I should say, and what is the truth, 
 
l6 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 is that with such an ancestry we have a right to expect great 
 things of our President, and I am happy to say that he is not 
 disappointing those expectations. You have shown yourself, 
 not an enterprising, but, what we more highly prize, a loyal 
 citizen. (Applause.) You, sir, and Mr. Keene, and Mr. 
 Keene's sons, have formed a new industry in this and other 
 towns, in the interests of farming and agriculture, and it speaks 
 well for the business capacity of that firm that in these hard 
 times of limited markets and low prices, while similar institu- 
 tions are silent, its factories are running to their fullest 
 capacity. That is the compliment that I wish to pay to an 
 enterprising son of Poland. (Applause. ) 
 
 In 1840, the second Baptist Church was formed on 
 White Oak Hill, of which William Stanton and William 
 McCann were chosen deacons, and officiated in that capacity 
 until their death, a period of forty years. 
 
 The President — Voti ought to be a better man. I have 
 nothing to take back. (Laughter and applause.) 
 
 Mr. McCann — It is hard to be chastised before the 
 gathered assembly of your fellow-citizens and neighbors, but 
 I accept the compliment to the memory of a worthy ancestor. 
 (Laughter.) 
 
 This new church consisted of those who had formerly 
 belonged to the First Baptist Chtirch at Megquier Hill. 
 There was no rebellion in this church; there were no dissen- 
 sions here. The division was to accommodate those who lived 
 in the westerly part of the town, and they ever cherished the 
 kindliest feelings and brotherly love for old Father Libby. 
 
 POLAND CORNER. 
 
 Poland Corner was settled later than many other parts 
 of our town. I have not the exact date of its settlement, and 
 cannot ascertain it, but it was somewhere about 1800. The 
 first building was the old saw-mill at the outlet of Range 
 Pond. When the road was constructed from Portland, 
 through Poland, Paris, and Oxford County, to Canada, Poland 
 Corner was a centre of trade. The older men here present 
 can remember when lines of teams were seen coming down, 
 at all hours of the day, from Oxford County, and slowly 
 ascending Ricker Hill to their market in Portland. Nearly 
 half a century ago, the railway was constructed through our 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. I7 
 
 town, changing the direction of travel and transportation, and 
 Poland Corner was almost deserted. And, sir, the thunder 
 of that train, as it comes down the valley to-day, reminds 
 us that nearly all the progress that has been made in trans- 
 portation has been made in the last century, yea, in the last 
 three-quarters of a century. (Applause.) 
 
 Poland, in the one hundred years of her existence, has 
 witnessed the marvelous progress of the world. Half a 
 century ago was the day of the glory of staging. The old 
 stage, driven by that greatest of stage drivers, Mr. Grosvenor 
 Waterhouse, was then seen passing through Poland Corner, 
 drawn by four prancing steeds. Half a century ago we had 
 no telegraph wires, but now the measureless extent of the 
 system threads the continent. It has joined the Atlantic 
 and the Pacific, and we can talk with our neighbors across 
 the continent, almost instantaneously. Science and enterprise, 
 not satisfied with this, bid defiance to the powers of the sea, 
 and we now speak to our neighbors across the water beneath 
 the waves of Old Ocean. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the varying fortunes, I am glad to 
 say there is a Poland Corner to-day. We have here a steam 
 mill, a saw-mill, and a creamery which makes the best butter 
 in the coimty, and I don't know but I may say in the country. 
 (Applause.) We have a sanitarium here, with a medical 
 specialist at its head, and who, although recently adopted, has 
 proved himself, on this occasion, to be loyal to his new town. 
 
 POLAND IN THE WAR. 
 
 Poland has ever been a loyal town. Many of her early 
 inhabitants were Revolutionary veterans. When the war of 
 18 1 2 was precipitated, this town was ready. Captain Robert 
 Snell, my grandfather, raised a company of volunteers. He 
 was assigned a position under the command of Gen. Stark, 
 and ordered to report at Burlington, Vt., on the shores of 
 Lake Champlain. Captain Snell served in the war of the 
 Revolution as a body guard for his father, who held a 
 captain's commission. He was a brave and gallant officer, 
 and did valiant service. (Applause.) Later, the terrific 
 thunders of Civil War burst upon us, and this temple of 
 liberty was rocked to its foundation. To the Government's 
 call for support Poland responded with alacrity. Many of 
 
t8 POLAND CENTENNIAL, 
 
 you will remember those excitino- times of 1861 to 1865, 
 when the destiny of this republic hung on the fortunes of 
 war. Thirty-three years ago this very day, at an adjourned 
 meeting held for the purpose of raising money for the support 
 of the war, William P. Frye was president, and addressed 
 the meeting. Mr. Frye was then young — in the prime of 
 early manhood. He delivered a glowing and patriotic speech, 
 which gave promise of the future orator and statesman. 
 His patriotic utterances found ready and hearty response 
 from the loyal heart of Poland. (Applause.) On that day 
 some of our most promising young men enlisted in "the 
 ranks of war." I am speaking from memory, and cannot 
 give the doings of that occasion in detail; but I remember 
 that Alvin F. Foss and Joseph H. Freeman, students and 
 teachers, left their schools, and enrolled their names among 
 the defenders of their country. Mr. Foss had long since 
 passed over to the great majority. Captain Freeman has, 
 since the close of the war, won honorable distinction in that 
 great State which gave the country its greatest President and 
 the world its noblest martyr, Abraham Lincoln. (Applause.) 
 Captain Freeman was expected here to-day to respond to the 
 sentiment, "Poland in the War." We regret his enforced 
 absence, as his presence and eloquent tongue would have 
 added so much to this occasion. You will remember, at 
 that time, the general muster held at Megquier Hill, in the 
 field in front of Orrin S. Keene's. This town assumed a 
 decided military appearance. There was martial music ; 
 training of both infantry and cavalry. The speeches that 
 followed voiced but one sentiment, that of prosecuting the 
 war at all hazards to a successful issue; that the flag of the 
 fathers must float over every State of this Union, the emblem 
 of sovereign power. The town of Poland furnished during 
 the W^ar of the Rebellion, including enlistments, more than 
 three hundred men — more than half of her able-bodied 
 citizens. The town voted her treasure with a lavish hand 
 in support of the families dependent on those who accepted 
 the chances of a soldier's life. Fifty thousand dollars and 
 the lives and health of many of our best citizens were the 
 sacrifice that Poland laid on the altar of her country. 
 (Applause.) As reckoned by the average human life, nearly a 
 generation has passed since the close of that great struggle, 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 19 
 
 yet we see veterans limping along our streets, empty-sleeved, 
 worn and battle-scarred, souvenirs of their own and their 
 country's glory. (Applause.) Scores of thousands of our 
 best citizens and countless millions of treasure were freely 
 offered in their country's defense. But the republic rose 
 from her great distress, mightier, purer than before, more 
 worthy of men's devotion and God's favor. The great 
 achievements of our veterans were the re-establishment of 
 self-government, the maintenance of our nationality, the 
 preservation of this Union of States, and the destruction of 
 American slavery. In your name and behalf, we present 
 our country to the world to-day without a master, and 
 without a slave. We present the flag of the fathers, the 
 emblem of union and nationality. We present to-day, "Not 
 a confederacy of independent warring and jarring States, but 
 a nation, sovereign, grand and free." With pride we recall 
 the great names developed in that great struggle, both in 
 the council chambers of the nation and in the field. What 
 American is there insensible to his country's glory, that his 
 heart does not quicken to a warmer patriotism, and pulsate 
 with a loftier manhood, as he remembers the great action 
 and unselfish life of Abraham Lincoln, the noblest of our 
 Martyred dead; of Seward; of Douglass; of Stanton; of 
 Fessenden ; of Sumner, and others ? 
 
 So, too, in the field, who does not point with pride to that 
 fearless Farragut, lashed to the mast, at Mobile Bay, that he 
 might behold the enemy above the smoke of battle; of that 
 gallant Sherman, marching, like an irresistible tornado, from 
 "Atlanta to the Sea;" to that incomparable Sheridan, riding 
 swifter than the wind, and organizing victory out of defeat; 
 to that fearless Hooker, fighting the enemy on the mountain, 
 above the clouds; that brave Hancock, resisting, again and 
 again, on the fields of Gettysburg, the fiery onslaught of Lee; 
 to Grant, the silent hero, speaking only in the thunders of 
 war and the paeans of victory, marching with uninterrupted 
 success from Vicksburg to Appomattox ? Heroes, patriots, 
 ever}^ one, but only fitting exponents of the soldiers they led 
 to victory and to glory. 
 
 Veterans of the Grand Army! It is with feelings of 
 sadness and solemnity that we recognize the fact that yoiir 
 ranks are fast thinning out. There is no resource from which 
 
20 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 to draw recruits. When a Grand Army man falls, he has left 
 a vacancy for evermore. There is none to take his place. In 
 a few years from now, you will live only in history, and in 
 memory; but when, in the changefulness of human things, 
 the time shall come when the last veteran of the Grand Army 
 shall have broken ranks below, and be mustered into the 
 ranks of comrades in the great beyond, the great deeds 
 that you did, the heroic sacrifices that you made for human- 
 kind, while on earth, will live on in ever-expanding glory. 
 In the coming centuries, your great doings shall furnish fresh 
 themes for the orator's lips, and your sacred requiem shall be 
 hymned by loftiest harps. (Applause.) 
 
 DIVISION OF POLAND. 
 
 Poland does not contain the territory to-day that it 
 contained in the original grant. In 1795, when Poland was 
 incorporated, it embraced the territory of Minot and Poland, 
 and the town was so large that it was unwieldy. Citizens 
 were unacquainted with each other in different sections of 
 the town. There were no dissensions, and no rebellions, but 
 it was thought best for the interest of the commonwealth to 
 divide the town, and that part on the east side of the Andros- 
 coggin River was set off, and called Minot. Poland retained 
 its name. In 1852, we made another grant to the town of 
 Danville. In 1893, we ceded a small part of our temtory, 
 which united with Minot, formerly a part of Poland, and 
 created the town of Mechanic Falls. But I congratulate you, 
 Mr. Chairman and fellow-citizens, that there is a Poland still, 
 fully armed for new conquests at the opening of its second 
 century of corporate existence. When Mechanic Falls was 
 set off, I, for one, was sorry. I will tell you why. I thought 
 that the boys were going away from home, and would be 
 homesick and want to come back. I have no doubt they have 
 shed homesick tears. But our distinguished first selectman 
 very wittily remarked, this morning, that the town of Poland, 
 in this last grant, had lost nothing but territory. (Laughter 
 and applause.) We have natural resources for a wealth of 
 business. We have in abundance the great products, men 
 and women, to establish other towns, and to create, if neces- 
 sary, a new county, and still have a grand old Poland left. 
 (Applause.) 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 21 
 
 Mr. President, you ask me to speak for Poland Spring. 
 You are asking a good deal. Poland Spring has been the 
 theme of orators and statesmen. The doings of the Cen- 
 tennial, and dedication of the Maine Building of the World's 
 Columbian Exposition for a public library and art gallery, 
 are still fresh in your memory. That was the most noted 
 assembly that ever gathered on the soil of Poland. The 
 elegant and accomplished Judge Symonds sounded the strings 
 of oratory in melodious tones. The Governor brought the 
 congratulations of a whole State in honor of these noble sons 
 of Poland. Massachusetts came asking honors, by claiming 
 that she was once a part of Poland Spring, and, after much 
 sparring and some historical references, it was finally decided 
 that Massachusetts should have the honor of at one time being 
 an inconsiderable part of Ricker Hill, and she went home 
 happy and satisfied with this. (Great applause.) Senator 
 Hale made the new discovery that the discoverer of Poland 
 Spring was a greater benefactor than he who discovered a 
 continent. Our honored Congressman, present to-day, whom 
 to speak of as a statesman of national reputation is to convey 
 but little idea of his public service, came to Poland Spring, 
 on that day, to give his honest and candid opinion. And our 
 own neighbor, and great statesman, the incomparable Frye, 
 poured the torrent of his mighty eloquence in appreciation 
 of what had been accomplished at Poland Spring, and in 
 recognition of the magnificent success of the Rickers. 
 
 Yes, sir, I agree with you that no one can speak intelli- 
 gently of the Poland of to-day, without reference to that 
 great plant. 
 
 A hundred years ago, when the first Ricker in whom this 
 town has an interest located at South Poland, the entire settle- 
 ment were Shakers. They would have no commerce with the 
 world's people, as they called all who did not embrace their doc- 
 trines. They would neither give shelter nor refreshment to the 
 weary and hungry traveler. I hardly need remind you that the 
 early Rickers did not embrace their faith. They preferred to 
 embrace something more substantial than the visionary ideas 
 of Ann Lee. How unfortunate it would have been for Poland 
 and the world had they been converted, and lived up to the 
 letter of its teachings! I am reminded that their descendants 
 of to-day take no more kindly to that faith than did their 
 
22 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 fathers, a century ag-o. (Laughter and applause.) But a 
 Ricker swung wide the door of hospitality to the stranger, 
 and offered the best entertainment and table that was then 
 obtainable. This was the commencement of hotel life on 
 Ricker Hill. From this small beginning and larger hopes, 
 on this uncultivated and unproductive hill, developing slowly 
 at first, has been wrought in these later years the grandest 
 success of modern times. From property paying but small 
 assessment, it has constantly increased in value, until to-day 
 it pays one-fourth of our annual expenditures. What a help 
 in support of our schools, in educating our children, in build- 
 ing new roads, and repairing old highways! They assume 
 one-fourth of the town's indebtedness that has been entailed 
 upon us. If we defer payment of our debt long enough, with 
 their increasing prosperity they will be obliged to assume half, 
 and they will pay it uncomplainingly. The energy and enter- 
 prise which have crowned yonder hill with such elegance and 
 magnificence, we claim to be the product of Poland. While 
 we are justly proud of their prosperity, which has given us 
 wealth at home and a name abroad, we recall on this our natal 
 day, with greater pride and satisfaction, their honest, intel- 
 ligent, generous, and patriotic citizenship. (Applause.) A 
 Ricker was never known to forsake a friend or betray a trust. 
 (Applause.) There may have been times when we have been 
 a little envious of their prosperity and growing fame. But 
 they must remember, as Carlyle has said, "It is hard for us 
 to believe that our neighbors and associates are made of better 
 or greater stuff than ourselves." But there is not a true son 
 of Poland who does not point to-day, with feelings of pride, 
 to their great success. They have ever shown themselves 
 loyal to the town, devoted to her interests, and proud of her 
 achievements. As we have said, the name of Hiram Ricker 
 & Sons has been the theme of eloquence. 
 
 There was one, however, whose life was given in this 
 struggle of developing Poland Spring, but whose name has 
 not been given to fame, a name not unworthy to be mentioned 
 in connection with its proudest triumphs. We, lords of crea- 
 tion, are not slow in sounding the praises of our own kind. We 
 do not forget to mention any deed or act worthy of notice. 
 But the less noisy and unostentatious triumphs of women, we 
 are not so swift to recognize and applaud. We regard it as a 
 
A. B. RICKER. 
 
24 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 happy omen that promises well for the future, that the power 
 and influence of woman is becoming- a recognized factor in the 
 progress of the human race. Gallantry alone would demand 
 that we place her at least on an equality with ourselves. In the 
 great army of human progress, it is the true men and the true 
 women who never shirk a duty or shrink from danger that 
 move the world on to victory. A great senator speaking of the 
 resources of Maine, on a recent memorable occasion, referred 
 to Oxford County and the large number of men she had 
 furnished the country — men who have occupied positions of 
 usefulness and honor in almost every department of the State 
 and national distinction. Now, if Oxford has produced great 
 men, it follows without argument that it produces great women, 
 for only great mothers produce great men. 
 
 Three-quarters of a century ago, in an inland town in 
 that famous old county, surrounded by the wild and rugged 
 scenery of hill and mountain, was born Janette Wheeler 
 Bolster, (Applause.) She was of a respected and honored 
 lineage. She received a thorough education at Kent's Hill, 
 and at Bethel. She became a teacher of youth and a student 
 of Art. At the age of twenty-five, she became the bride of 
 Hiram Ricker, of Poland. Half a century ago, she made her 
 home in what is now known as the Mansion House, on Ricker 
 Hill. Country inns, in those days, were conducted in a very 
 different manner than the fashionable summer resorts of 
 to-day. The duties of landlady were varied and arduous. 
 She at once assumed the duties of hostess, cook, and house- 
 wife. Later, she became the great mother of great sons and 
 daughters. Amid the varying fortunes at Poland Spring, her 
 wise counsel, executive ability, and uncompromising integrity 
 did much in giving tone and direction to the affairs on Ricker 
 Hill. (Applause.) She lived to realize in a great measure 
 the culmination of her early hopes. Twelve years ago her life 
 work was consummated. The loved neighbor, the honored 
 hostess, the devoted mother, and helpful wife was called from 
 her earthly to her eternal home. No more that kindly smile 
 in greeting the coming, or affectionate farewell to the parting 
 guest. Never more will the echo of that queenly step sound 
 along those corridors and splendid halls she did so much to 
 build up and adorn. She rests in the family cemetery, near 
 the scenes of her early toils and later triumphs — sleeping 
 
26 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 these summers beneath the flowers bedewed by the tears of 
 love. No biographer has given her Hfe to history, no Muse 
 has sung her virtues; but the winds which sweep over yonder 
 hilltop, and touch its sighing pines in strains of plaintive 
 melody, chant her requiem. Her life and work remain, not 
 only a precious memory, but an inspiration to wives and 
 mothers who shall succeed her in those splendid homes. 
 
 With pride, we recall the early struggles and sturdy 
 manliness of those of an earlier day. I love to think of the 
 triumphs of our fathers, the pioneers of these Northern wood- 
 lands. What marvelous exhibition of fortitude and principle! 
 I love to think of the manly, determined bridegroom, leading 
 his fair and no less determined bride to his lowly home in 
 these uninhabited wildernesses. I love to think of them, 
 commencing life thus humbly, with faith in God, faith in each 
 other, and faith in humanity. I love to think of the husband, 
 toiling in the summer's heat, and braving the stomas of winter, 
 for the girl he loved. I love to think of the wife, singing 
 merrily as the birds that surround her humble home in the 
 springtime, as she plies the shuttle, or prepares the frugal 
 meal for him who is all the world to her. I love to think of 
 the husband and father, now enlarging his fields, improving 
 and beautifying his home, enduring hardships unmurmur- 
 ingly. I love to think of the wife and mother, now with new 
 joys and increased cares, teaching her first-born to talk, at a 
 summer's twilight, after the duties of the day are o'er, or 
 instructing him in his letters, by the light of a pitch knot, 
 on a winter's evening. Again, I love to think of them, father 
 and mother, husband and wife, after the cares of life are o'er, 
 its trials past, and victories won, surrounded by manly sons 
 and womanly daughters, with n-o torturing memories or squan- 
 dered opportunities, no unavailing regrets of wrong doing or 
 misdirected effort, going down to life's horizon like a cloudless 
 sunset. These are the triumphs of patience, love, and trust. 
 They lived, they toiled, they died, unknown. Their names 
 are not recorded on the scroll of fame, but they are written 
 in the Lamb's book of Life. These are successes worthy of 
 emulation, examples worthy of our imitation. They did the 
 best they could with their surroundings — angels could do no 
 more. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 27 
 
 THE DINNER. 
 
 It is but just to say that the dinner was one of the finest 
 ever served under a tent, having been contributed and pre- 
 pared by the generous and public-spirited women of Poland. 
 The coffee was furnished by our liberal and enterprising 
 townsman, Mr. James S. Sanborn, of Chase & Sanborn, 
 Boston, one of the largest coffee exporting houses of this 
 country, and all was served under the personal supervision and 
 careful management of Mr. A. B. Ricker. 
 
 After the feast came toasts and speeches, Mr. Femald 
 opening with the following introduction: 
 
 We are eminently honored to-day by a distinguished 
 citizen of Androscoggin County. I have the pleasure of 
 introducing to you a man whose words and deeds have been 
 heard and read from Maine to California, from Canada to the 
 sea. Allow me to introduce to you the Honorable Nelson 
 Dingley, who will respond to the toast, '*The Future of Our 
 Country." (Applause.) 
 
 Hon. Nelson Dingley, Jr. — Mr. President, Sons and 
 Daughters of Poland : Perhaps I owe you an apology for dis- 
 turbing the conversation in which 3,000 of the Sons and 
 Daughters of Poland seem to be interested. I promise you, 
 however, that, if you will give me your attention, I will detain 
 you but a very few minutes. I feel that it is good to be here, 
 my friends. The only regret that I have is that I was not born 
 in Poland. (Applause.) And yet, I did the next best thing 
 to it. I was born in an adjoining town. (Applause.) lam 
 not sure but the fact that the northerly and westerly breezes 
 from Poland, sweeping down the Androscoggin, over my 
 cradle, are something that I ought to acknowledge as a per- 
 sonal boon to-day. (Applause.) 
 
 I have been thinking, Mr. President, as I have been listen- 
 ing to the entertaining story of Poland as a town, how interest- 
 ing it would be if some seer, endowed with prophetic vision, 
 could stand here to-day, and tell us what Poland, and what this 
 grand republic, will be one hundred years hence ; what 1995 
 will bring to those who are to follow in our footsteps at the 
 second Centennial of Poland. 
 
 And yet, my friends, if history is philosophy teaching by 
 
25 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 example, as it certainly is; if what has been shall be repeated 
 in the hereafter ; if the story of the past is valuable only as it 
 illuminates the path of the future, then I am sure, Mr. Presi- 
 dent, that in departing in your programme for a few moments 
 from the story of the probabilities of the future, you have done 
 wisely and well. For, my friends, life presents itself to us not 
 simply as an isolated event of the present, but also as stretch- 
 ing far into the future. Those who are to come after us have 
 our example and our work to aid them in whatever they shall 
 undertake. And yet, bearing in mind that the growth of the 
 Poland of 1795 is the growth not only of the Poland of to-day, 
 but of Minot, of Auburn, and of ^'echanic Falls, I call to 
 mind that the population here, which one hundred years ago 
 numbered but a few hundred, in a century has risen to at least 
 17,000, engaged in all the diversified pursuits wdiich befit and 
 ennoble the civilization of to-day. 
 
 What shall this territory be in the future ? It requires, 
 my friends, no prophetic vision, looking forward by the imag- 
 ination one hundred years, to picture, in the territory of the 
 Poland of 1995, a population of not less than one hundred 
 thousand, engaged in not only all lines of manufacture, but 
 also in all the diversified industries of to-day, and in all the 
 diversified industries of the future which the inventive genius 
 of the American citizen shall devise. 
 
 What of this grand Republic, my friends, in the future ? I 
 am aw^are that Carlyle, in one of his gloomy papers, has pic- 
 tured the American Republic in 1995 as a thing of the past. I 
 am awaro that he has predicted that the free institutions 
 which we have here established so successfully will, within a 
 century, have perished, and demonstrated the impossibility of 
 free government. But I have lived long enough, my friends, 
 to see many of such dire predictions with respect to the progress 
 of our institutions come to naught. When I reflect that the 
 flag of this Republic, when the town of Poland was incorporated 
 in 1795, had only fifteen stars, the original thirteen, and Ken- 
 tucky and Vermont, which had been added after the framing 
 of the Constitution, and that to-day, in that same starry 
 emblem, are found forty-four stars, with the forty-fifth soon to 
 be added; when I remember, too, Mr. President, that this 
 country has doubled its territorial limits since the town of 
 Poland was incorporated; w^hen I consider that the population 
 
Ho\. NELSON DINGLEY. 
 
30 POLAND CKNTKNNIAL. 
 
 of this country, then only four and one-half milhons, has risen 
 to seventy millions of people, it is difficult to place limits on 
 our future. Imagination sees in this country of ours in 1995 
 not less than five hundred millions of human beings, a number 
 so large that we may well inquire. What are the grounds of 
 such a prediction as this ? I call your attention to the fact 
 that, if this country were as dense in population as Great 
 Britain is to-d ly, it would have one thousand one hundred 
 and seventy millions of people this side of Alaska; and if it 
 were as dense as Belgium, it would have one thousand four hun- 
 dred millions of people — figures which almost startle the im- 
 agination when they are presented, and when we think of the 
 possibilities of the future. 
 
 The increase of the wealth of this Republic in the one 
 hundred years has been far greater than the growth of popula- 
 tion. Even as late as 1850, the wealth of the country was only 
 seven and one-fourth billions, or three hundred and eight 
 dollars per inhabitant, but in 1890 it had reached sixty-five 
 billions, or one thousand and thirty-nine dollars per inhabitant. 
 In 1795 there was not a mile of railroad in the United States, 
 and even as late as 1830 only tv/enty-three miles. To-day, 
 one hundred and eighty thousand miles of railway gridiron the 
 country in every direction, and with the aid of the telegraph 
 and telephone annihilate space. But if the progress of this 
 hundred years shall continue for the next century, who is dar- 
 ing enough to predict what this country will be when the 
 second Centennial of Poland shall come ? 
 
 But neither growth nor population, nor increase of wealth, 
 nor national power, alone marks the progress of any people. 
 Ideas are better than dollars, and thorough manhood and 
 womanhood more enduring monuments than splendid cities. 
 (Applause.) We have suffered in this direction from some 
 points of view, but, after all, the noble blood which coursed in 
 the veins of our forefathers has not lost its vigor or character. 
 It is in this great republic that the Anglo-Saxon race — the 
 race which, under God, is civilizing the world — has developed 
 its best qualities, and will make here a great nation — greater 
 than Rome in its best days — which shall be the hope of 
 humanity. (Applause. ) 
 
 You who are here to-day celebrating the Centennial of 
 one of our many towns, are citizens of the grandest country on 
 
32 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 the face of the earth. If you and your descendants shall be 
 true to the great principles which animated the fathers — for it 
 is such as you who are the only sovereigns we recognize in this 
 land of ours — the future of our grand republic will be safe. 
 (Great applause.) 
 
 The Chairman — I have the honor of introducing to you 
 another distinguished and progressive son of Poland, Mr. E. P. 
 Ricker, her greatest benefactor. 
 
 Mr. E. P. Ricker — Mr. President, and Dear Friends: I 
 hope you do not expect any extended remarks from me, for I 
 did not come here to-day with any intention of trying to speak. 
 I well know, even were I feeling in my best health, that it would 
 be impossible for me to make any address worthy of such an 
 occasion, and were it not for my love of our forefathers, and 
 the good old town which we have met here to-day to honor, I 
 should be in my bed. I am happy to be able to say that I am 
 glad to be with you, even feeling as I do — to listen to the 
 eloquent remarks which w^e have heard from our true and loyal 
 sons and daughters, and from our honored friend whom we 
 have just heard, whose name we one and all love to honor, 
 and whose words and acts are not only known throughout the 
 world, but will live in history to the end of time. (Applause.) 
 He has given us some facts in regard to what has happened in 
 the last hundred years in the way of advancement and great 
 changes in this country and town, and pictured what may come 
 in the next hundred years, before Poland has her next Centen- 
 nial, providing, as he says, that the dark predictions of Carlyle 
 for America — that in 1995 the Republic wiU be a thing of 
 the past — never come to pass: and I agree with him that 
 they never can. Then we may look for these great changes, 
 and I also feel and believe that the next hundred years 
 will see in this good old State of Maine, which is destined to 
 be the great playground of this country, more — yes, tenfold 
 more — progress and development than any man can predict here 
 to-day. Although we are safe in saying that not a living soul 
 of to-day will be breathing the pure air for which Poland is 
 noted, at her next Centennial (which I know she will celebrate, 
 for she can always be relied upon to play her part), and while 
 many changes have come since the creation of this world, and 
 many predictions of the great prophets have and may come 
 true, Poland will be all right in 1995. (Applause.) 
 
EDWARD PAYSON RICKER. 
 
34 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 The Great Book, which is the Guiding Star of all who 
 wish to find the true road that all should travel to reach 
 the gate through which we pass to solve the great mystery 
 — this Book tells us that it was two thousand years from the 
 beginning of this world to Moses, and then two thousand years 
 to our Saviour, and many of the great prophets claimed that at 
 the end of the next two thousand years another great change 
 would come. What that change may be, no one can tell; but I 
 will prophesy one change that I believe will come before that 
 time, and that is, the form of our Republican Government will 
 be established throughout the world, for I believe it to be the 
 best and the only one that will stand to the end of time; but if 
 these prophecies come to pass, Poland, with her loyal sons and 
 daughters, will be found as true to her ancestors in a hundred 
 years as to-day, and will still have five years left in which to 
 celebrate her second Centennial. 
 
 With all the happy remembrances of to-day, and hoping 
 that we shall all meet in spirit on our next Centennial day, I 
 will close my few rambling remarks by drinking your health 
 in Poland Water. 
 
 The Chairman — I am so closely related by the ties of kin- 
 ship to the poet of this occasion, that modesty forbids that I 
 can say more than that the next number will be rendered by 
 the Rev. J. Albert Libby, the sweet poet of Megquier Hill. 
 
 Mr. Libby then recited the following original poem : 
 
 "1795-1895-" 
 
 In the old years, when all about were woods, 
 Came our grandsires with their scanty goods, 
 To climb the different heights, and settle down 
 On an old land grant, known as Bakerstown. 
 Through strange vicissitudes, these pioneers 
 Matched dauntless courage 'gainst foreboding fears, 
 Lords of the falling forest to become, 
 Till bridle pathways led to many a home; 
 The wives, as brave and noble as the men. 
 Were not averse to raising children then, 
 And soon the lusty lads and daughters born 
 Went forth to kill the brakes in burnt land corn. 
 Thus, all abroad did the hard toilers thrive, 
 
Rev. J. ALBERT LIBBY. 
 
36 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Till came the year of seventeen ninety-five, 
 When legal boundary lines were written down, 
 And all within was christened Poland town. 
 
 Some things there are which stay here, on and on, 
 While many other things away are gone. 
 As we are gathered here, the Poland clan, 
 Her history of a hundred years to scan. 
 
 With your topographer, at first look o'er. 
 
 What others found who came this way of yore. 
 
 In shape and size the ancient hills remain, 
 
 Sloping to valleys or more level plain ; 
 
 These are the ponds that from the heights we view, 
 
 O'er which the Indian pushed his light canoe. 
 
 From Gilead, Maine, down to the sea beat coast, 
 
 No town o'er ours for beauty dares to boast. 
 
 See, how our highlands rise so broad and strong, 
 
 And range abreast the town's whole width along; 
 
 Old Johnson westward slopes itself away 
 
 To meet the waters of a silvery bay. 
 
 Dotted with island. Then, in larger shape, 
 
 Great Thompson sweeps away, and rounds a cape 
 
 Another oval basin yet to fill. 
 
 Within the vale beneath Megquier Hill. 
 
 Megquier Hill — Megquier Hill, so dear to me thou art, 
 
 No other place can ever thrill as thou dost all my heart, 
 
 Since on thy brow I long have lived — yea, there I had my 
 birth— 
 
 Why should I not a tribute give to this bright spot of earth ? 
 
 Say, why not all my powers raise, and breathe for it a thought 
 of praise. 
 
 Here, splendid farms, all kept with care, attract the gazer's 
 eye. 
 
 Their orchard groves with fruitage rare leaning against the 
 sky, 
 
 The maples that our hands have set, with hands that now are 
 still, 
 
 Adorn the road with shapely tops along and down the hill. 
 
 Farm homes aback, though near the street, are built con- 
 veniently and neat ; 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 37 
 
 Highest of all the old church stands, so long a sacred place ; 
 The preacher reads there God's commands, and manifests his 
 
 grace : 
 Behind those walls our many dead unconsciously repose. 
 While, weeping o'er each lowly bed, friends plant affection's 
 
 rose — 
 So, let them sleep — the saintly diist is watched by messengers 
 
 of trust. 
 
 Our Black-Cap stands against the Southern sky. 
 The king of all our hills, of all most high. 
 Since from his breezy height one looks away 
 To see the masts and spires of Casco Bay; 
 The woodman's axe hath so forborne the stroke, 
 That thiTS is left his kingly crown and cloak; 
 Corrupt no more his long-enduring fame, 
 By giving him in taunt a mouser's name. 
 
 Drop down the slope, and up the broken land, 
 And now on Bragdon's smaller swell 3'ou stand; 
 There is no prettier place in all the town, 
 To sketch a picture as your eyes look down ; 
 West Poland's little lake is at its best. 
 Cradled between the hills in silent rest ; 
 Her only island better here is seen, 
 Round as a bowl, and dressed in summer green. 
 The village and the churches farther on 
 You quickly follow, till your sight has gone 
 O'er many a varying landscape, and come down 
 Into the valley of old Oxford town. 
 
 If, through a gorge of woods we find our way, 
 
 Oak Hill invites us for a little stay, 
 
 Her own peculiar beauties for the eye 
 
 In many senses other bluffs outvie. 
 
 She seems apart from other heights we found. 
 
 And thus our vision searcheth all around; 
 
 Old Thompson glitters some beyond the trees, 
 
 His triplet sister we behold with ease, 
 
 While down the eastern way the sight may sweep, 
 
 To find her sister lake below the steep; 
 
 From other heights around, you here may scan, 
 
38 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 What other hills have not — a Vatican, 
 
 At which, if yoii will climb o'er either slope, 
 
 You may at times be sure to see the Pope. 
 
 Well, we are up, so let us not stray down, 
 Till we have glanced o'er every hill in town; 
 We had a Pidgeon Hill. One sorry day 
 She spread her wings, and fled from iis away; 
 'T was hard to see her go, but never mind, 
 Since sterile " Rabbit Valley" skipped behind. 
 
 Harris and Bailey, both arise together, 
 
 And keep so near they have one kind of weather — 
 
 The only elevations here in town 
 
 Reaching each other without diving down. 
 
 Unless it be the Ricker Hill and range, 
 
 Which come around together somewhat strange; 
 
 Our Shaker Hill is seen beyond the two — 
 
 Its lofty granite block the first to view ; 
 
 Why went the family to the tow^n below ? 
 
 Was it because we towns-folk marry so ? 
 
 The Ricker Hill, what early used to be, 
 
 Must now be known with all antiquity, 
 
 Though hidden in the mansion pile, we know. 
 
 Is the old house of ten decades ago. 
 
 So changed about has everything become 
 
 From what was once each owner's old-time home; 
 
 The living spring, however, yet remains. 
 
 The one unfailing source of all the gains ; 
 
 And all the marvels later time has wrought, 
 
 With all the thousands each new year hath brought. 
 
 'T is not for lengthy prose, or poetry. 
 
 To tell these changes all, so go and see. 
 
 Survey the grounds, and scan the Gothic walls. 
 
 Walk the verandas, tread the spacious halls, 
 
 Climb the long stair-ways, tire to count the rooms. 
 
 Pass on and upward to the lofty domes. 
 
 And look away to far Mount Washington, 
 
 Whose shoulders oft the clouds come down upon ; 
 
 See all the mountains piled apart, and large, 
 
 Mount Pleasant, and beyond, old Kearsarge; 
 
 Bold Streaked, nearer, on the right looks down ; 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 39 
 
 On all the parts that make up Hebron Town. 
 Below, as well as from our many hills, 
 Surpassing beauty all the vision fills. 
 Their lovely water sheet the sight will please, 
 A mirror for the clouds and towering trees. 
 
 And here the eyes of all may be made glad 
 In seeing what from Maine, Chicago had. 
 The hand of enterprise, and thoughtful care, 
 Marked well the appointments of our building there, 
 And, all the way it came, and rose at length, 
 A gem for thousands here, in massive strength. 
 Flow on, health-giving water, so we sing; 
 Laugh at the wonders round thee, Poland Spring, 
 From hidden depths, thine ever gushing tide 
 Shall be the people's joy, each townsman's pride. 
 
 Cheers for the Rickers, in prosperity. 
 The same old Poland boys they used to be ; 
 And cheers for all our towns-folk, old and young. 
 Let Hip, Hip, Hip, Hurrah ! leave every tongue. 
 
 Aback the river's bank for miles away. 
 
 Our Eastern border lands more level lay. 
 
 And here the busy farmer gladly stays. 
 
 Often to boast of his more even ways; 
 
 He may not need, like us, his side-hill plow. 
 
 His roads are easier, often, anyhow ; 
 
 The rail cars, too, may glide anear his door. 
 
 They thread the valleys which the hills look o'er; 
 
 These also say, who stay on level ground. 
 
 We do not live by looking off around ; 
 
 The lowland dwellers of our town are few 
 
 That are not looked upon as well-to-do. 
 
 Hardscrabble much deceives us by its name ; 
 The farms are excellent, their owners claim. 
 And look in length and breadth the Empire o'er, 
 Where all the lands for seed-time well restore. 
 Elmwood is here, where wSanborn oft prefers 
 His country quiet to the city's stirs. 
 That Sanborn coffee — let us every one 
 Be glad that Boston lends us such a son. 
 
40 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 There is no town with every rod for clover 
 
 When each was made, there seemed somewhat left over 
 
 In sandy piles, or plains, or boggy fen ; 
 
 And here we find such places now and then, 
 
 If we were driven, though, with cash in hand 
 
 Neglected places might be garden-land. 
 
 Our villages are small — we own the fact — 
 They may be larger, though, with grit and tact ; 
 New York was little once, and Boston, too ; 
 Now they are large, with just what man can do. 
 We should not feel discouraged, nor be cross, 
 Since we may see at length the gain of loss, 
 In that our larger villa on a day 
 To make a little town was cut away ; 
 Peace, as a queen, had ruled our people well, 
 Till when at first, a few thought to rebel, 
 Counsel from older heads was all in vain 
 The younger rash Confederates to restrain. 
 Reason and some contention well we used, 
 Only to have our arguments abused ; 
 We loved our larger village, and its name. 
 And with reluctance thought to lose the same ; 
 But when a boy is bound to thrash his mother. 
 Say, what's the use with such a chap to bother ? 
 He'd better leave the home, and have his way, 
 And learn his error in a future day. 
 However, since the deed has now been done, 
 We must forgive and love our absent son. 
 Let us not listen to the man that whines, 
 But lift at progress all along our lines. 
 We are improving, and not going down, 
 Since a new house for every man in town 
 We gladly enter as we gather here 
 At Poland Corner this centennial year ; 
 And, say you, fellow townsmen, one and all. 
 Shall we not call the room Centennial Hall ? 
 
 The bugle call our Poland heard from far. 
 And filled her quotas for the Civil War ; 
 Two hundred fifty-seven sons went forth. 
 The enlisted, and the chosen men of worth ; 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 41 
 
 They fought, and many fell among- the braves, 
 And, where they sleep, let honor crown their graves. 
 
 Our town has been religious, it appears, 
 
 Through all her history of a hundred years. 
 
 The Methodists at first possessed the field — 
 
 As they no doubt would be the last to yield; 
 
 Their noble task has been, early and late, 
 
 To watch their ground and keep the Empire straight. 
 
 The Orthodox then came and took position, 
 
 To keep P. Corner people from perdition ; 
 
 How well they have succeeded will be known. 
 
 When all the books are opened at the throne. 
 
 West Poland all round, joining with Oak Hill, 
 
 Established churches early, called Free- Will — 
 
 That is, the Gospel hath for all a voice, 
 
 Take Jesus or the Devil — make your choice. 
 
 One pastor preached for fifty years in town, 
 
 Then, on his shield tmtarnished, laid him down. 
 
 Thus what sweet memories in many a mind 
 
 Elder James Libby, dying, left behind. 
 
 Many there be who are not over bold. 
 
 And yet, religiously this thought they hold. 
 
 That God so loves us — even in our sin. 
 
 That He will have us. if He whips us in. 
 
 Another class among us, be it said, 
 
 Holdeth the faith that man when dead, is dead — 
 
 And that a resurrection must obtain. 
 
 Before a life immortal he can gain ; 
 
 But not for what we think, or here, or there. 
 
 Shall we be judged — btit, just for what we are 
 
 The places where we put our dead. 
 
 We walk with reverential tread ; 
 
 And this is well — it shows our faith, 
 
 " That Life is ever Lord of death." 
 
 In far off Egypt, we are told. 
 
 They would embalm their dead of old. 
 
 From quick corruption keeping whole 
 
 The body for the wandering soul. 
 
 We are not careful thus to do — 
 
 But hide them with our tears from view 
 
42 POLAND CENTEXXIAL. 
 
 In better faith, that while they sleep, 
 Our God His precious ones will keep 
 Till His great promised after-day. 
 When they shall leap from dust away. 
 Our oldest graveyard, I suspect, 
 Some think is left to cold neglect — 
 But, since now^ overgrown with woods, 
 And left to Nature's solitudes — 
 'Twere well, I think, to guard the spot, 
 That careless hands might mar it not — 
 And leave the trees o'er these long gone, 
 Where year by year the birds sing on. 
 
 Much as the birds are found, year after year. 
 
 In their old nesting places, held so dear, 
 
 The offspring of the early sires and dames 
 
 Keep the old homes that had their fathers' names. 
 
 Nathaniel Bailey settled first in town, 
 
 And so his name through all the years comes down. 
 
 Thus, Emery, Pulsifer, Nason, Lane, and Dunn, 
 
 Megquier, vStrout, and True, the century here begun; 
 
 Davis and Ricker, Libby, Briggs, and Rowe, 
 
 Snell, Femald, Waterhouse, were of long ago. 
 
 But time would fail me to recount the more 
 
 That through the later years I might tell o'er. 
 
 The century through we barely keep some names — 
 
 Femald hath John and Joseph, Albert M, and James; 
 
 The Gerrys, once among us all about. 
 
 When H. A. goes his way, have all run out. 
 
 Once, too, the Browns on all our roads were met, 
 
 And so, a few, we find, are hustling yet; 
 
 But soon, I fear, this name extinct will be. 
 
 Since in their homes no Brown boys can we see. 
 
 The Walker tribe, once numerous and strong. 
 
 Hath dwindled toward extinction years along, 
 
 So many, loved and worthy, went from town, 
 
 Long since, on Western soil to settle down. 
 
 We hail a dear old neighbor here to-day. 
 
 Whose heart is with us for a little stay. 
 
 The Walker name may not from Poland drift, 
 
 Since Forrest bends to give another lift. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 43 
 
 We Stretch our strongest arms, to-day, to take 
 The hands of many with a cordial shake, 
 Who come so gladly their regards to show 
 For the old town they lived in years ago. 
 Thrice welcome back ! We still have ample means 
 To cloy your htmger with brown bread and beans. 
 We may not have long time for conversation, 
 But hail you happy to our jubilation. 
 Sons of our home-land— daughters, too, of such- 
 There many are our voices may not touch ; 
 To whom we reach no greeting hand to-day, 
 Ye are so scattered, and so far away. 
 But, though expatriation be your lot, 
 The home of earlier times is ne'er forgot; 
 And oft reviewals of old scenes gone by, 
 Will sadden memory and make moist the eye. 
 
 Nor would we here neglect our aged ones, 
 Whose homes are kept with daughters fond, or sons; 
 West Poland all about with pride reveres 
 Aunt Hannah Snell, of three-and-ninety years; 
 While down through Herrick Valley's pleasant way, 
 Lives our old graveyard sexton, Moses A. , 
 His four-score years and ten he doesn't mind, 
 But trots about, and leaves them all behind. 
 
 So, Poland Corner doubtless will declare, 
 She has the best of life-preserving air. 
 Since here are quite a number, it appears, 
 Who tell their ages over four-score years : 
 Think of Aunt Lucy M., of White Oak Hill, 
 At eighty-seven the queen of housework still; 
 And Uncle William Schellenger well knows 
 When all in town walked in their baby clothes; 
 Our Auntie Emery, now at eighty-four, 
 Waits for the angel at the shining door; 
 Thus all ye aged ones, or weak or strong. 
 Pray back for us who follow you along. 
 
 From love fraternal, ere we go apart, 
 Listen to catch some words to help the heart- 
 Before the God our parents honored so. 
 
44 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Let US be mindful that we bow as low. 
 In the rude hut the blessed book was read — 
 And glad thanks offered o'er the daily bread ; 
 Our godly mothers, and their mothers, too, 
 Leaned by the trundle-bed, when day was through, 
 To teach the children soon to fall asleep. 
 To pray unto the Lord their souls to keep ; 
 Their early breathings, and their holy trust, 
 Should be our comfort, as they lie in dust. 
 
 Have we considered, as we meet to-day. 
 How little is a life — how short our stay ? 
 A hundred bygone years we can review; 
 The coming days of time to us are few. 
 Let us be loyal to our earth-born King, 
 Who after Him the eternal age will bring. 
 
 The Chairman— The next toast is "Poland's Progress," 
 and will be responded to by a loyal young son of Poland from 
 Johnson Hill, Mr. Frank E. Hanscom. 
 
 Frank E. Hanscom — Mr. President, Fellow-citizens, 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: We are told that from the fulness of 
 the heart the mouth speaketh, but I should fail in justice to the 
 gentlemen who have preceded me, did I not add that some 
 mouths can speak equally well from the fulness of the stomach. 
 However, it may be, I feel myself to be much in the condition 
 of Charles Lamb, on an occasion similar to this, when he 
 likened himself to a pepper-box, which he said was full of 
 material but of poor delivery. 
 
 It is an eternal law of nature that nothing can remain at a 
 standstill. Everything must move forward or backward. We 
 stand, to-day, upon the threshold of a new century, and, as we 
 look backward through the long vista of a hundred years, it 
 seems fitting that we ask ourselves whether we have been 
 graduallv and positively moving forward, in accordance with 
 the spirit of the times, or the reverse. "Distance lends 
 enchantment " here, as elsewhere. It is quite natural, I know, 
 to quote the "good old times," to magnify the few homely 
 joys, while we pass lightly over the struggles and privations of 
 those who planted amid dangers and hardships, that we might 
 reap, in ;oy and peace, the fruits of their early sacrifice and 
 toil. 
 
FRANK E. HANSCOM. 
 
46 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 One hundred years forms no insignificant period in the 
 history of the human race. Scarcely four such periods have 
 elapsed since the report of the Pinta'sgun awoke the slumber- 
 ing echoes of a new world, while one and one-fifth such periods 
 make up the sum total of our national existence. 
 
 Poland can boast of no mushroom growth. She did not 
 flash before the gaze of the world like a meteor, to vanish in 
 darkness as suddenly as she came ; but in that grand constella- 
 tion of towns, called Maine, whose motto is " Dirigo, " she has 
 ever shone with a steady light, and I predict that she will not 
 only retain her place, but continiie to shine with increasing 
 brilliancy down through the ages. If we turn back the pages 
 of our history, and compare the Poland of a century ago with 
 the Poland of to-day, how marvelous must seem the change. 
 Yet so slowly and gradually has this transformation been 
 wrought as to remain almost unnoticed by the quiet, industri- 
 ous people of our little municipality. The narrow foot-path 
 has widened to the broad ^nd well-kept highway. Orchards 
 and gardens, cultivated fields and green pasture lands have 
 long since taken the place of the thick and gloomy forest. The 
 stones, so thickly scattered by Nature's lavish hand, have been 
 heaped into rock fences, as lasting as the hills, which mark the 
 boundaries of farms. The humble cottage with its rude 
 furnishings has given way to the spacious well-kept country 
 home. The railroad has pushed its way across our borders, and 
 the shriek of the locomotive has frightened the wild beast to a 
 more sechided lair. The school-house and the church, those 
 sacred parents of our modern New England civilization, joined 
 hands in the wilderness, and have traveled side by side, keep- 
 ing in touch with that spirit of moral and intellectual progress 
 so strikingly characteristic of the nineteenth century. From a 
 little bubbling fountain in the forest, we have watched the 
 growth and development of an institution that has caused 
 Poland and Poland Spring to become familiar names through- 
 out the length and breadth of the civilized world. 
 
 While the above changes have been taking place within 
 the limits of our little township, how many important and 
 wonderful events have transpired in the world at large I In 
 what a multitude of ways have the means of pleasure and com- 
 fort been multiplied! How rapidly have books and other 
 means of acquiring knowledge been increased ! What marvel- 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 47 
 
 Oils progress has been made in the arts and sciences ! How 
 "wonderful has been the growth and spread of religious and 
 political freedom ! All of which have influenced, to a greater 
 or less extent, the destiny of our town and its people. 
 
 While speaking of Poland's development, we should not 
 forget that she has given freely of her aeres to those of her 
 children who preferred to try their fortunes beyond the limits 
 of her maternal jurisdiction. No mother was ever more 
 generous with her daughters than Poland has been with those 
 youthful towns which preferred to set up housekeeping for 
 themselves; but, like all wise parents, she has ever kept, 
 securely locked in her strong box of treasures, the title deed to 
 the old homestead. 
 
 Poland's thrift and increase of wealth is strikingly shown 
 in the gradual increase in the valuation of the town during the 
 past fifty years, an increase surpassed by few towns having so 
 few facilities for manufacturing industries. When we consider 
 that during this time the increase in population has been very 
 slight, that our country has passed through a gigantic civil 
 war, in which many of our best citizens laid down their lives 
 in defence of the nation's flag and the nation's honor; when 
 we consider the enormous taxes paid for war purposes, and the 
 fact that Poland has, during this time, set off to other towns, 
 territory now valued at more than a million dollars, we can feel 
 naught but thankfulness at our continuous financial prosperity. 
 
 We have nothing to be ashamed of, but much to be proud 
 of, in the record of our town. She has trained hundreds of 
 men who have gone out into life and held their own amid the 
 rush and bustle of the outside world, while those who have 
 remained at home belong to a class which has been honored 
 and respected since the "flight of years began, " the honest, 
 hard working peasantry of our land. 
 
 That Poland is a good place in which to be born, those 
 who are with us to-day, after years of absence, bringing palms 
 of victory from conflicts with the outside world, will gladly 
 testify; that it is a good place in which to live, we who are 
 content to spend our lives here can give abundant assurance ; 
 and, if the shades of the departed who rest on its many verdant 
 hillsides, could come back to us on this the anniversary of our 
 natal day, I have little doubt they could furnish conclusive 
 evidence that Poland is a good place in which to die. 
 
48 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Then let iis be more loyal to old Poland. While we pause 
 at this, our one hundredth milestone, let us take upon our- 
 selves a vow to be true to the past and faithful to the duties 
 and responsibilities of the present ; let us read aright those 
 lessons of struggle and achievement taught by our ancestors 
 in those early days of hardship and privation ; let us place our 
 shoulders to the wheel of progress, and strive with our united 
 efforts to increase the rapidity of its revolutions; and may we 
 ever feel to say of Poland what one of our best-loved poets has 
 well said of our grand old State : 
 
 " Keep who will the city's alleys, 
 
 Take the smooth, shorn plain, 
 Give to us the cedar valleys, 
 
 Rocks and hills of Maine. 
 In our north land, wild and wood}-. 
 
 Let us still have part ; 
 Rugged muse and mother stinxly. 
 
 Fold us to thy heart." 
 
 The Chairman — Let me now introduce the Rev. Frederick 
 Newport, who will read a poem, entitled "Greeting to 
 Poland," composed by Mrs. Louise M. Waterhouse. 
 
 By way of introduction Mr. Newport remarked that this 
 was the only literary tribute from the daughters of Poland, 
 and inasmuch as the author was too modest to read her poem, 
 he felt honored in being allowed to stand behind the 
 manuscript. 
 
 GREETING TO POLAND. 
 
 I sing of Poland. On this natal day, 
 
 When regally she wears the crown of age, 
 
 I, her adopted child, would join my lay 
 
 With his, who owns by birth, his heritage. 
 
 For our fair mother is all honor meet 
 
 On this, her crowning day of all the 3'ear ; 
 
 When sons and daughters heartily will greet 
 
 Dear old-time friends who come to give her cheer. 
 
 For just as brightly do her waters gleam. 
 
 And just as grandly hills uprear their forms ; 
 
 On her fair face no deeply furrowed seam 
 Proclaims the ravagfes of winter storms. 
 
MRS. LOUISE M. WATERIIOUSE. 
 
CO POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Her lakes lie smiling in the sunlight still ; 
 
 Her leaves dance merrily on every tree ; 
 And all the waters of each sparkling rill 
 
 Haste with their old-time fervor to the sea. 
 
 On yonder stately hill, by magic rose 
 
 A palace beautiful, with tower and wing; 
 
 And near it in a lovely nook there flows, 
 
 From riven rock, the source of this — the spring. 
 
 Its waters pure, t:nrivalled thus far stand; 
 
 In healing power they're said to have no peer; 
 Securely cased, they're sent o'er all our land. 
 
 They seek, by steam, another hemisphere. 
 
 While modestly, within a lordly grove, 
 
 There hides "a poem wrought in living stone," 
 
 Maine's tribute when each nation vainly strove 
 To outshine ours — as yet she jdelds to none. 
 
 And of West Poland's beauty I would sing, 
 Of fair Megquier Hill, with lovely street. 
 
 Whose rows of shapely trees cool shadows bring, 
 While sunny lakelets gleam in summer's heat. 
 
 And all this beauty does not "blush unseen," 
 
 As many a city's child can testify ; 
 So, too, the prosperous home of farmer Keene, 
 
 And, no less tasteful, of his son, near by. 
 
 East Poland, where her ancient elm trees swing 
 Their graceful branches over fertile farms; 
 
 Where Sanborn and his famous horses bring 
 
 New life and beauty to old Poland's charms. 
 
 Yet Poland has resources of her own. 
 
 As well Excelsior Grange can witness bear; 
 
 In gayly decorated teams it shone, 
 
 A goodly company at our Maine State Fair. 
 
 You all can see Poland's chief village here, 
 
 And how she helps to swell New England's fame; 
 
 A Switzerland of America is here. 
 
 Our nestling village well deserves its claim. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 5^ 
 
 Nor these home charms are all of Poland's flock, 
 Mechanic Falls, our sister villa<je, too, 
 
 Is but an offspring from our parent stock, 
 So, too, is Auburn, busy with the shoe. 
 
 These children, thrifty, prosperous, atone 
 
 For all the trouble they have caused their Ma; 
 
 At last they're strong enough to stand alone. 
 Yet owe their birthright to the Poland star. 
 
 O fellow townsmen, let us gain new life 
 
 From this Centennial Day we celebrate ! 
 
 Let's join our forces with new vigor rife 
 
 To make our Mother town most truly great! 
 
 And not alone in well-kept homes, nor yet 
 
 In outward symbols of fair beauty reared, 
 
 May every form of public wrong be met 
 By officers of right who shall be feared. 
 
 In all the great debates for public weal. 
 Let Poland utter no uncertain sound ! 
 
 May she be strong and fearless — true as steel, 
 In the front ranks of Progress always found. 
 
 Then hail to Poland, whose grand scenery fills 
 Each son and daughter with a filial pride! 
 
 Dear to each heart are all her rocks and rills, 
 Long may her honor in each heart abide ! 
 
 The Chairman — It is my pleasure now to present to you, 
 a young man, a native of our town, who has long been identi- 
 fied with its educational interests, to respond to the toast, 
 "Our Public Schools." 
 
 R. J. Everett — To-day we are at the close of the first 
 century of our town's life. Janus-like, we look backward over 
 the chequered past — forward to the unknown. And when we 
 remember how important a factor have been our public schools 
 in the development and progress of our town, how much is 
 due to them of our prosperity, and our position to-day among 
 our sister towns, we may with propriety, while considering 
 our condition and contemplating the many changes of the past 
 one hundred years, give a few moments to this source of our 
 welfare. We may with profit recall the early and meagre 
 
5 2 POLAND CKNTKNNIAl.. 
 
 bco-inninofs of our town's school days, the hard but earnest 
 struggles of our sturdy ancestors in their endeavors to give to 
 their children the rudiments of an education. Following the 
 current of years, we should find our schools increasing in num- 
 ber, length, and efficiency — a slow but steady progress till our 
 own memory serves us in what we may term the present. 
 Thus data may be obtained from which we shall be the better 
 able to judge of their condition to-day, and the better to per- 
 form our part in developing the school life of the future. 
 
 I wish, my friends, that it were in my power to hold to 
 you a picture of that first class, surrounding that first teacher 
 — the pioneer school of Poland. I would that I were able to 
 bring to view that first school-house, rising from the hillside, 
 humble in its quaint simplicity, yet heralding to coming gen- 
 erations the determination of a hardy people to secure at all 
 hazards something of an education for the children of their 
 generation. My friends, this is impossible; that school has 
 long since been closed here upon earth. That school-house 
 has long ago crumbled to decay, and no summer tourist was 
 there with obtrusive camera to preserve for us a likeness. Yet 
 each one of us may form a mental picture, and thank God for 
 that first school. An almost impenetrable haze overhangs the 
 early history of our schools, no records being in existence to 
 which we might turn. Fragments have been gleaned from 
 the recollections of a few of our older people, making the total 
 of our early school history. 
 
 As was the case in other sections of the State, the first 
 schools were held in private houses, wherever and whenever 
 convenience and population would permit. In some localities 
 the schools were held thus for many years after the incorpora- 
 tion of the town. In all there wxre seven or eight of these 
 schools within the present limits of our town, held somewhat 
 irregularly for a few weeks every year. 
 
 Although some doubt exists in regard to the exact date 
 and location of the first school-house, it seems very certain that 
 the first house was built as early as 1802 or 1803 at South 
 Poland, at the four corners, between Ricker Hill and Shaker 
 Hill. Several years later, that it might be nearer the centre 
 of the district, after the withdrawal of the Shakers, this house 
 was moved further north and located on Ricker Hill. This 
 house, at first, and for several years, accommodated the people 
 
R. J. EVERETT. 
 
54 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 of Range Hill, Ricker Hill, and the near portion of New 
 Gloucester. The present neat and commodious house is the 
 fourth in this district. 
 
 The first school-house on Range Hill was built not far 
 from 1815, near the residence of F. B. Shackford. In 1840, a 
 house was built on the Raymond Road, near the dwelling of 
 A. G. Thurlow, and in 187 1 the present house was erected. 
 
 West Poland, as a school district, was made up of the 
 entire western part of the town, including the West Poland of 
 to-day, Johnson Hill, Megquier Hill, and No. 15, Herrick 
 Valley, extending to the Oxford line. The first school-house 
 (1805) was built just north of the church, on the opposite side 
 of the road. Previous to the erection of this house, the school, 
 for many years, was held in the dwelling house of Edmund 
 Megquier. The school here is now occupying its third house. 
 In 1826, the district was divided, and a school-house was built 
 in what is now known as No. 15. Not until several years later 
 was a school-house erected in the Promised Land. The first 
 school-house in the section known as "The Empire," was 
 located south of the church, and on the hill now included in 
 the Cemetery. This house, built in 1808, accommodated not 
 only the present Empire district, but also the "city," the por- 
 tion of New Gloucester as far as Bald Hill, and the part of 
 Danville known as the Hotel Road. The first school-house 
 was burned; a second erected on the same site was sold, as 
 was also the third house, built further north, near the four 
 corners. The present house, built some six years ago, is the 
 fourth in this district. About this time (1S08), or perhaps a 
 little earlier, a school-house was built just east of the Cemetery 
 and beyond the dwelling of Mr. Zenas Lane, at East Poland, 
 and was used by the people of Minot Corner (Poland side), 
 Hardscrabble, Hackett's ^Nlills and East Poland. In 1846, this 
 house gave place to the " brick " house located near the Little 
 Androscoggin River, and used as a union house by District 
 No. 8, Poland, and No. 2, Minot. This house in turn gave 
 place, in 1868, to the present two-storied house, still occupied 
 by the pupils of Minot and Poland. 
 
 On Harris Hill the first school-house was located nearly 
 opposite Nelson Haskell's, on land now owned by W. W. 
 McCann. To this house came for a few years the children 
 from Bailey Hill, Harris Hill and Poland Corner. This house 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 55 
 
 was removed to the present site, near Grange Hall, probably 
 about 1825. 
 
 The first school-house on Bailey Hill (1815) was built across 
 the road from the present site, in what is now a pasture belong- 
 ing to A. B. Cobb. This house was burned; the present being 
 the third house in this district. 
 
 In 1850, Poland Corner built its first school -house, the old 
 town-house having been fitted tip and used for school purposes 
 since the withdrawal from Harris Hill. 
 
 For many years White Oak Hill was the school centre for all 
 the territory lying between the Range and Tripp Ponds. The 
 first school-house, built about 181 1, was located a quarter of a 
 mile east of the present church in the "heater" piece, lying 
 between the road leading to Lower Oak Hill and the one lead- 
 ing to Poland Corner. This house was burned in 181 7. 
 Another was erected on the same site, but as the result of 
 some disagreement this house was taken down, moved a few 
 rods west, and rebuilt in what is now David Waterhouse's 
 pasture. This house was again moved in 1845 to the present 
 locality. 
 
 For some years after separation from the parent oak, Lower 
 Oak Hill enjoyed its school privileges in the dwelling house of 
 Jeremiah Witham, near the location of the present school- 
 house. The first school-house was built south of the Town 
 Farm on land now the propert}^ of Mr. John Hanscom. 
 
 During the first years, the three R's, spelling, together 
 with sewing in some instances for the girls, were the general 
 course of study. Geography and grammar came cautiously 
 forward in the next twenty-five years — these making the full 
 course in my own childhood. No particular change, except 
 the introduction of algebra, with an occasional class in book- 
 keeping some twenty years since, was made, until the thorough 
 classification and adoption of a regular course of study six years 
 ago by our esteemed townsman, Mr. Frank E. Hanscom. 
 
 Now, after the imion of some districts, the division and 
 loss of others, we have seventeen schools — one being graded, 
 two free high schools, and the others ungraded — mixed. The 
 length of our school year has been doubled, while the wages 
 paid to our teachers have been more than quadrupled since the 
 memory of many now present. 
 
 By glancing at our course of study you will find that to the 
 
56 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 few branches constituting for so many years the entire school 
 curricukim, we have now added physiology, rhetoric, geometry, 
 physical geography, a year's course in civil government, work 
 in composition and declamation, besides in many of our schools 
 a careful course in supplementary reading, designed particu- 
 larly to instruct the child in morals and to guide him toward 
 honored citizenship. 
 
 And here it may be asked. How much better are our schools 
 to-day than they were, say, fifty years ago ? What profit, what 
 advantage from these changes ? How much better, broader 
 scholarship have we from the extended course and lengthened 
 year ? Are we graduating brighter boys and girls, with heart 
 and brain more thoroughly disciplined to enter upon the sterner 
 duties of life and the better to fill the positions that await 
 them ? In short, are we advancing toward a higher plane of 
 citizenship ? For this, no matter how much we may lose sight 
 of the fact, citizenship in its broadest sense is the prime object 
 and highest achievement of our public schools. It is the rock 
 upon which pauperism and vice must break, where ignorance 
 and socialism may be wrecked. 
 
 I candidly admit that the schools of Poland have not 
 reached their ideal; that we have seen the years go by without 
 bringing to us all the golden results that we so anxiously await. 
 Yet, I think that I make no mistake when I say to you to-day 
 that in general our teachers are faithful, our pupils attentive, 
 and our schools doing a noble work, and ranking favorably with 
 those of other towns. During the last few years, and since 
 the adoption of our course of study, a marked change for the 
 better is plainly noticeable. By a slow but steady growth, 
 which I believe to be healthy and permanent, our schools have 
 been coming to a higher degree of efificiency. Each succeeding 
 graduation is marked by more accurate and practical scholar- 
 ship. Even the younger children look anxiously forward to 
 the time when they shall be at the head of the school and near- 
 ing the honors of graduation. 
 
 And yet we are far from being satisfied. Only a begin- 
 ning, it seems to me, has really been made toward what can 
 be and will be done. But in order to reach our ideal, or even 
 to approximate it, all factors must work together and on the 
 same line ; for like the plant that strikes its roots deep into 
 the soil, seeking simply for that which will nourish itself, so in 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 57 
 
 too great a measure has been the manner of conducting the 
 child's education. To specialize, to narrow the intellectual 
 growth of the child into channels which it may follow in after 
 years, seems to me to prostitute the broad field of usefulness 
 and tmique place of our common schools. Yet it seems to be 
 the ambition of many prominent educators, even to-day, to turn 
 the child's inclination in the direction that he is to follow in 
 life. But the work of our common schools, I believe to be, to 
 lay securely a firm foundation for future usefulness. If they 
 do this they do well. With satisfaction I say to you that much 
 has already been done toward perfecting our schools. With 
 an earnest appeal to you all, I repeat that much is yet to be 
 done that can be done. 
 
 The summer just passed has witnessed in different parts 
 of our State many assemblies of earnest men and women, 
 eagerly inquiring for better methods for the instruction of our 
 children. Let this same zeal characterize us all, and even the 
 early years of our second century shall behold a wonderful 
 progress in our common schools. Parents, teachers, pupils— 
 the three factors of our schools— shall work harmoniously and 
 earnestly together, a imit in their desires and aspirations for 
 all that pertains to true citizenship, to noble and exalted man- 
 hood and womanhood. 
 
 The Chairman— The next speaker whom it is my pleas- 
 ure to introduce, you will all recognize as a townsman who is 
 much interested in the history of our town, and well equipped 
 to speak to the toast, "Reminiscences of East Poland." I 
 present to you Mr. J. C. Davis, of East Poland. 
 
 J. C. Davis— Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 Neighbors and Friends: Some time in the first half of the last 
 century, that section of East Poland intersected by the Port- 
 land & Rumford Falls and Grand Trunk Railroads, was visited 
 by parties of lumbermen, sent there by the authorities of the 
 English Government. This section, at that time, was covered 
 with a magnificent growth of pines, averaging from three to 
 five feet in diameter and a hundred feet or more in height. 
 These men came here to obtain masts to help build up the navy 
 of Great Britain, and many of the noblest specimens of these 
 giant trees were felled, and such as they considered suitable 
 for the purpose for which they were wanted, after careful in- 
 spection and measurement, were smoothly trimmed, barked, 
 
58 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 and loaded on strong, broad sleds, and, with large teams of 
 oxen, twenty yokes or more, were slowly hauled to some place 
 on the seaboard, where they were taken on board of vessels 
 and finally made to do service on the war ships of England. 
 We have measured the distance from the stumps to the tops of 
 these trees that were there, and have found that some of these 
 masts must have exceeded 100 feet in length. The removal of 
 such huge pieces of timber for so great a distance, through the 
 woods and across the streams, before the age of roads and 
 bridges, must have required much skill and care. 
 
 After these operations had ceased, the peace and quiet of 
 these forests remained undisturbed by civilized man, until the 
 first settler made his appearance in 1767. Between this date 
 and 1790, when the last of the pioneers came, the following 
 persons had made a permanent settlement here: John Nevens, 
 Josiah Dunn, Zebulon Davis, Captain Farrington, Nehemiah 
 Strout, Henry and David Pulsifer. These, with their families, 
 were the only original and permanent settlers of this section. 
 
 John Nevens was the eldest son of Hugh Nevens, who was 
 of Scotch descent, and came to this country in 1730. He first 
 settled in Gloucester, Mass., where he remained until about 
 1760, when lie removed to New Gloucester, Maine. The 
 original deed of the lot purchased by him bears date of June 
 1 2th, 1761 — consideration, forty pounds lawful money. Mr. 
 Nevens continued to reside in New Gloucester until his death 
 in 1778. His son John, the pioneer settler of this section, was 
 born in Gloucester, Mass., in 1743, and married Mary Pring of 
 the same town in 1767, and, in the month of November of that 
 year, was employed as axeman to assist in running the line of 
 Bakerstown. Through the courtesy of Mr. Addison Small, of 
 Lewiston, who is a great-grandson of Mr. Nevens, I have 
 received copies of many interesting papers, which give many 
 facts concerning the settlement of this section, and also dis- 
 close to us a spirit of self-sacrifice and a devotion to principle 
 and love of country on the part of these early pioneers, that 
 should cause us, their descendants, to ever hold them in esteem 
 and veneration. 
 
 Mr. Small writes as follows : 
 
 "I have in my possession an affidavit written about 1797, in 
 which Mr. Nevens mentions some interesting facts concerning 
 the survey and his settlement in Bakerstown. I quote : 
 
JOHN C. DAVIS. 
 
Co POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 " 'I, John Nevens, of a place called Bakerstown, in the county of 
 Cumberland, Gent., being of lawful age, testify and say that on Monday, 
 which, according to the best of my remembrance, was the ninth day of 
 November, in the year of our Lord, 1767, I was at a beech tree having a 
 pile of stones about it and having a number of letters cut in the bark of 
 said tree, which I then understood was, the Saturday before, made for 
 the northerly corner of New Gloucester. I was then employed by the 
 Proprietors as an axe-man to assist in running the line of Bakerstown. 
 The persons present at said beech tree on said Monday were John Brown, 
 as surveyor; Nathaniel Little and Nathaniel Bayley, chainmen ; Josiah 
 Little and Abel Davis, as assistants. From said beech tree we run south- 
 west four miles for the head line of New Gloucester, and foot line of 
 Bakerstown. We then run northwest until we struck the Upper Range 
 pond, and then came on a great rain; so we left the work and came 
 home. A few days after we proceeded to lot out a number of lots in said 
 Bakerstown, and I made choice of one lot for a settlement, No. 5, in the 
 end line of which said beech tree stood. In the winter following, I went 
 to the westward and purchased said lot, and in the spring following (176S), 
 I went to work to bring forward a settlement, and about a year after- 
 wards I moved my family on said lot and have continued there ever 
 since.' 
 
 "During the summer of 1768, John Nevens was doubtless 
 very busy clearing his new farm in the wilderness ; and a lone- 
 some time he must have had, though, no doubt, he made 
 frequent journeys to New Gloucester by the line of spotted 
 trees that formed the only highway thither. Some time during 
 the summer he seems to have made a trip to Gloucester, Mass., 
 where he purchased a quantity of supplies, intended, no doubt, 
 for the most part for use in his new home. Some may be 
 curious to know what articles were considered necessary for 
 housekeeping in a frontier settlement, so I give below a copy 
 of the invoice of them : 
 
 " 'Gloucester, July 4, 1768. 
 Mr. John Nevens 
 
 Bought of David Plumer : 
 
 6 stone Plaits ^o, 3, o 
 
 I punch Bole 1.2'/^ 
 
 I pr. wool Cards £0, 3, 2}4 
 
 3 porringers 3. TA 
 
 I puter Quart pott 2,8 
 
 }4 pd. Allspice 9 
 
 ^ pepper 10 
 
 needles 6d. ,'^ Tea 2s. 3d 2, 11 
 
 I Iron pott 2734;' pd. a 2od. O. T 6, 2 
 
 I Iron Tea Kittel 6, o 
 
 3 Earthen Platters 8 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. Ol 
 
 6 Bakeing panns £o, i . 4 
 
 I Small Looking Glass 4,8 
 
 1 Cake Sope yi^ 
 
 16 galls. Molases at 2od i, 6. 8 
 
 1 halfe Barriel for to put ye Molases In 2, 6 
 
 2 Earthen Juggs 1,4 
 
 2 Qu. Rum 1^4 
 
 2 Qu. Wme 3,0 
 
 6 Reasons 3, 71^ 
 
 I Sy the 6, 8 
 
 I Sive Bottam 10 
 
 I Ivery Comb 1,1 
 
 £4, 3. 2X 
 Reed. Note in full for ye above 
 
 David Plumer.' 
 
 " I have in my possession many other papers that belonged 
 to John Nevens, most of which are of a private nature, but 
 some of historical value. I give below a verbatim copy of one 
 of these, which speaks well for the patriotism of the early 
 settlers of the new plantation of Bakerstown. They had 
 evidently just heard of the Declaration of Independence at 
 Philadelphia, and the enthusiastic meeting of the settlers in 
 the house of John Nevens (still standing), on July 22, 1776, 
 was a notable event. It is plain that the pioneers were much 
 better patriots than spellers, but their spirit is well worthy of 
 imitation by all their descendants. 
 
 "'A memoraadum of an egreement maid and concluded by and 
 between us the subscribers as follows, viz : as wee are now mat at mr 
 John Nevinses in Baerstown so caled in the province of the masetusits 
 Bay and County of Cumberland and think as it eapires (appears) to us 
 proper to be on our gard in ordr to secure our Livs and propertys as the 
 anemy is ganing towards us and we do this twenty second day of July 
 one thousand seven hundred and seventy six mutly (mutually) and volen- 
 tarly ingag and promes to stand by sd. town in making a Compny in sd. 
 town and will from time to time and all times obay such offisers as we 
 shall apoint over us and bear our proporshineable parts of Cost and 
 Charge that shall arise by Reson of the War or aney outher thing for the 
 Banifet of sd. town as Witnes our hands, Samuel Dennen, Joel Haskell, 
 John Glover, Aron Davis, Elezer Grant, Samuel Dennen, Nath'el Bayley, 
 John Nevens, Moses Emery, Stephen Rollins, Daniel Lane, Zebulon 
 Davis, Edmd. Bayley, Michial Tool, Samuel Morgan, Job Tucker, 
 Nemeiher Tucker, John Hoyt (or Hoyle), John Prince, Benj. Lane Jun., 
 George Frances, Joseph Frances.' 
 
 " The twenty-two names signed to the preceding document 
 must have included nearly all the male settlers then living in 
 
62 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Bakerstown ; for two years later, in 1778, we find the com- 
 mittee of the plantation certifying- to the Council and House of 
 Representatives that ' the number of male inhabitants from 
 sixteen years old and upward are twenty and eight. ' This 
 certificate is signed by Job Tucker and John Nevens. Just 
 what part the members of the Bakerstown Company took in 
 the Revolutionary War, I am unable to state. It is known 
 that Zebulon Davis served in the army, and was held prisoner 
 by the British for a long time. Probably some of the others 
 served more or less. In 1781 we find Zebulon Davis captain, 
 and John Nevens first lieutenant, of the Bakerstown Com- 
 pany of Militia, which was assigned to the regiment of which 
 Isaac Parsons, of New Gloucester, was colonel. As late as 
 1786 it was still Captain Davis and Lieutenant Nevens. The 
 latter resigned, I think, in 1787." 
 
 Mr. Nevens made a clearing on land now owned and 
 occupied as a farm by Elvin D. Pulsifer, and he built the house 
 in which Mr. Pulsifer now lives. This was one of the first 
 houses built in the settlement. It is in an excellent state of 
 preservation, and ought to be good for another hundred years. 
 Mr. Nevens, I think, must have been a man of some means, 
 with a kind heart and progressive ideas. He brought into the 
 settlement the first horse and wagon, the first grindstone, and 
 iron shovel, and was ever willing that his neighbors should 
 have the benefit of their use. Mr. Nevens lived to a good old 
 age, and always retained the honor and respect of all with 
 whom he had to do. The exact date of his death is not known. 
 He survived his wife a short time. They left a family of five 
 daughters, viz. : Elizabeth, born May i, 1769. She was the first 
 white child born in Bakerstown — married a Mr. Andrews of 
 Paris. They had a family of ten sons and daughters, the 
 youngest of whom, Charles Andrews, became a member of 
 Congress. She died August 2, 1836. Mary, born October 2, 
 177 1, married Nathaniel Small, of Minot, now Auburn. They 
 had nine children. She died January 13, 1852. Her husband 
 died in 1824. Sarah, born September 20, 1778; Hannah, born 
 October 9, 1779; Nancy, born May 17, 1783. The last three 
 were never married. 
 
 Zebulon Davis was a descendant of John Davis, who 
 moved from Ipswich, Mass., to Gloucester, Cape Ann, in 1652, 
 and bought a farm in the latter town. Zebulon was born in 
 
XcOoCm 
 
 ■■■■■■HMilHianHiiiiil 
 
 FACSIMILE OF AGREEMENT OF 1776. 
 
64 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Gloucester in 1733. In the early part of his life he followed 
 the sea. The exact date of his coming- here is not known, but 
 it must have been in the first years of the settlement, from the 
 fact that he was one of the loyal band of citizens who came 
 tog-ether from all parts of Bakerstown, at the house of John 
 Nevens, on the 2 2d of July, 1776, just eighteen days after the 
 Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia, where the agree- 
 ment given above was drawn up and signed, 
 
 Zebulon Davis served in the war of the Revolution, was 
 taken prisoner and confined at Halifax for a long time, where 
 he endured much suffering and hardship. He bought land on 
 both sides of the road, just north of the lot taken by Mr. Nev- 
 ens, and built a log house near where the Methodist parsonage 
 now stands. His four sons came with him. Aaron, the eldest, 
 settled in the town of Woodstock ; Zebulon, in what is now 
 Centre Minot; Moses and William, on Pidgeon Hill; but in 1791 
 the latter moved back to live with his father, and in the year 
 following built the house in which Mr. Elbridge Gossom now 
 lives. His father, or Captain Davis, as he was called, lived there 
 with him imtil his death in 1820, being nearly ninety years old. 
 
 W^illiam married Hannah Marble, who, as a skilled mid- 
 wife and nurse, was widely known through this region. She 
 was ever ready at any hour of the day or night to respond to 
 the calls made upon her, to visit the sick and suffering, and 
 administer to their wants. She died in 1837, at the age of 
 seventy-one years. Her husband followed her in 1845, at the 
 age of eight3^-two. Of their five sons, William, Jr., the eldest, 
 and Eliphalet, the youngest, made their residence here. 
 William, Jr., married Betsey Trickey. They raised a family 
 of thirteen children, and always lived on the farm now owned 
 by their grandson, J. G. Davis. He died in 1863, and his wife 
 in 1869, aged seventy-two and seventy-eight years. Eliphalet, 
 the youngest, lived on the homestead until 1868, when he 
 removed to Minot Corner, where he died in 1886, being eighty 
 years of age. 
 
 Captain Farrington came from Boston. He was a car- 
 penter by trade. He bought the land now owned by Harriet 
 Disosca, between the two roads starting from the depot at the 
 Empire, one running south toward New Gloucester, the other 
 southeasterly to Lewiston Junction. He built the first frame 
 house in the settlement, the one in which Mr. C, A. Stroui 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 65 
 
 now lives, it having been remodeled and enlarged by its 
 present owner. The noble elms in front of this residence were 
 planted by him. He is reputed to have been somewhat brusque 
 and eccentric in his make-up, but inside the nnigh exterior 
 there beat a kind heart. He left four daughters and one son. 
 One of his daughters became the wife of the Hon. William 
 Dunn. His son, William F. Farrington, became quite eminent 
 as a Methodist preacher; he was a splendid specimen of man- 
 hood, tall and commanding in figure, easy and graceful in 
 address, with a voice so rich and melodious that he never 
 failed to please, whether he spoke or sang. I think he never 
 attended other than the district school at the Empire, and his 
 education consisted in the mastery of such branches of learning 
 as were taught in the public schools seventy-five years ago; 
 but he had unusual gifts of thought, language, and song; and 
 more than all else, he felt that he was divinely called to preach 
 thegospel. He joined the Maine Methodist Conference in 1829; 
 and during his membership of more than thirty years he filled 
 acceptabl3"many of its best appointments. In 186 1, he was trans- 
 ferred to the Providence Conference, of which he remained 
 a member until his death in 1888, in his eighty-ninth year. 
 
 Joseph Dunn settled on the farm now owned by Mr. 
 Burnham, on either side of Worthley Brook. He built his 
 house near where Mr. Burnham's now stands, and lived here 
 until his death in 1825, at the age of ninety-two. He left eight 
 sons, who always lived in Poland, and are well remembered at 
 the present time by the older citizens of the town. Of these, 
 Joshua, the eldest, served in the army of the Revolution. He 
 was noted for his witticisms and quickness at repartee. He first 
 settled at West Poland, and lived to a great age. Nathaniel, 
 the second son, always lived at the Empire, was a master framer 
 and builder, and was active in church work, for many years 
 taking lead of the singing. He died in 1831, at the age of 
 sixty-one. Sarah, his wife, who was a daughter of David 
 Pulsifer, after the death of her husband, lived with one of 
 her children in New York, dying there in 1861, being nearly 
 ninety-one years old. Josiah, after a residence of a few years 
 on the farm owned and occupied by the late Jesse Locke, 
 removed to Minot Corner. He was sheriff of Cumberland 
 County for several years, and also represented the town at the 
 General Court in Boston. He died in 1843, aged sixty-four. 
 
66 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 William, more widely known as Colonel, was a life resident 
 here, and was ever identified with the educational and rehgious 
 interests of his native town; he was repeatedly chosen to rep- 
 resent the town at the State Legislature, and also served in 
 the Governor's Council. His death occurred in 1862, at the 
 age of seventy-five. The other sons, Joseph, Charles, James 
 and Samuel, while not called to public positions, were men of 
 note and infiuer.ce. 
 
 Nehemiah Strout came from Gloucester, Mass., being under 
 twenty years of age at the time. He bought a tract of land 
 next south of Capt. Farrington's, on the west side of the road. 
 Here he built a log house, where he lived with his young wife 
 Rebecca, the daughter of Josiah Dunn, whom he married in 
 October, 1780. Later on, he built the house in which James 
 Dunn now lives. One year, when living in this log house, 
 their provision ran short — no breadstuff in the cabin, and no 
 corn to be had in the settlement; so he took a meal bag and 
 went to North Yarmouth on foot, wdth the expectation of get- 
 ting corn or grain there, but was doomed to disappointment, 
 for none was to be had. Thence he went to his brother 
 Joshua in Durham, who gave him a couple of rye and Indian 
 loaves, and with these he returned home, somewhat dis- 
 couraged. But his wife cheered him by her brave words and 
 firm trust that Providence would not forsake them; and sure 
 enough, it did not, as the events of the next day proved — for a 
 Mr. Allen, of Woodman Hill, Minot, came that way, to whom 
 they sold a pig for two bushels of corn, which Mr. Strout 
 brought from there on his back, a bushel at a time, and he was 
 wont to say that always after that, they had enough for them- 
 selves and something for the stranger at the gate. Mr. Strout 
 was a hardy, robust man, and lived to the age of ninety-four. He 
 died in June, 1852. He was twice married; his first wife died in 
 1 831, aged seventy-one, and his second wife, a Mrs. Jenkins, 
 whom he married in 1832, survived him some ten years. His two 
 daughters, Deborah and Phoebe, became the first and second 
 wives of Solomon Pulsifer. His son, Nehemiah, Jr., and 
 Joseph, well remembered by many of us, always lived in this 
 part of the town; the former, for many years, at the present 
 residence of his son, Nehemiah P. Strout, where he died in 1866, 
 aged seventy-eight. His wife, Lucy Weston, who survived him 
 several years, died in April, 1878, at the age of ninety-four 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 67 
 
 years three months and ten days. The late Jonas W. Stront, 
 who died in 1884, was their eldest son. Joseph, the younger 
 son of Nehemiah, Sr. , died in 1876, aged eighty-three years. 
 
 Henry Bray bought a large tract of land on the road 
 leading from the Empire to the Auburn line, on the highest 
 elevation of which he built his house and barn, and near there, 
 in a rude building, he kept a small stock of groceries which he 
 was wont to sell to his neighbors. He had several sons who 
 became residents of other sections of the town. 
 
 David Pulsifer, the last of the original settlers, was from 
 Essex, Mass., and moved here in 1790. His wife and family, 
 consisting of five sons, two of whom were married, and two 
 daughters, came with him. He bought a tract of land on the 
 westerly side of the road next to the New Gloucester line, and 
 built on the south part of the lot, while his eldest son, 
 Jonathan, built the house which was the life residence of 
 himself, his son, Jonathan, Jr., and his grandson, John R. 
 Pulsifer, and is at present owned by J. S. Sanborn, of Boston. 
 The second son, Ephriam, built still further to the north, where 
 he lived, and his son Isaac after him, till the house was taken 
 down by the latter, and that one was built which now stands 
 on the same site, the beautiful home of Marcus W. Pulsifer. 
 
 Solomon, the youngest son, lived with his father, while 
 his other three sons made their homes outside of this section. 
 Jonathan, the eldest son, died in 1849, aged eighty-four years, 
 his wife, Mary, in 1862, at the age of seventy-three years. 
 Jonathan, Jr., their son, wtio was noted for his shrewd busi- 
 ness sagacity, died in 1855, being sixty years old; and his son, 
 the late John R. Pulsifer, well known to the most of us at the 
 present time as a man of inflexible integrity, and who filled, 
 with honor, the many public positions to which he was called, 
 died in 1883, at the age of sixty-one. Ephriam, David 
 second's son, lived to be eighty-seven years old, and died in 
 1864. His wife, Betsey Gilbert, who came with him from 
 Gloucester, died in 1857, aged fifty-six. They had a large 
 family of children, none of whom, however, lived to maturity, 
 excepting Isaac, the youngest, and an unmarried sister, who 
 resided with him. Isaac died in 1886, at the age of seventy-six. 
 Solomon was married three times, and had a family of nine 
 children. Of these only Joseph S., now in his eighty-sixth 
 year, and living with one of his children in Lynn, Mass., 
 
68 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 had a prolonged residence here, Solomon died in 1854, at the 
 age of seventy-four. IMr, Pulsifer, vSr. , was fifty-nine years 
 old at the time he settled here, and from that time on, for 
 forty-two years, he stood up bravely against the hardships and 
 discomforts of pioneer life, dying in 1833, at the age of 
 one hundred and one years. His wife died the year before, 
 being one hundred and two 5'ears old. 
 
 These are the men to whom, under the providence of God. 
 we, their children, are indebted for many of the favorable 
 conditions of our present situation. They were heroic and 
 stalwart, men of stout hearts and strong hands; and they had 
 need of all these qualities, for men of weaker mould and less 
 persistent courage would have stood appalled before the 
 problem set for them to solve. With a fixed purpose to accom- 
 plish the results they had in view, they went at once to work. 
 They cleared the land, erected buildings, stocked their farms, 
 fenced their fields, fed and clothed their large families of 
 children, in sho"t, they made for themselves comfortable 
 homes. This they did, but how they did it, at what cost of 
 effort, mental as well as physical (for this work required brain 
 as well as brawn), we cannot tell — no one can tell ; it can 
 never be told, for it is impossible to annihilate the progress of 
 the last hundred years, and bring back the condition of things 
 that then existed. But amid all these difficulties, they still 
 persevered. Their fields and families increased in size, but the 
 larger products of the one were needed to meet the increasing 
 demands of the other. They had no corn planters or culti- 
 vators; no steel plows or horse rakes; no machines for mowing 
 or threshing. But they ploughed the ground, planted, tilled 
 and harvested their crops, and threshed their grain, all by hand 
 labor, and with implements of the rudest kind, many of which 
 were made by themselves; and in the winter months, when they 
 could no longer work on the land, they manufactured many 
 thousands of a superior quality of shingles from the bodies of 
 those giant pines to which allusion has been made, which 
 years before had been blown down by a mighty wind. For 
 these products they found a ready market in the seaport towns, 
 and from the proceeds of their sale they were enabled to 
 supply their families with many indispensable articles that 
 could not be produced from the farm. And through all these 
 years of struggle and hardship, the wives of these heroic 
 
POLAND CRNTKNNIAL. 69 
 
 men proved themselves to be willing and able helpmates, for, 
 in addition to the housework proper, they spun the yarn, wove 
 the cloth, and made the garments for the family wear, and by 
 an economy of time and means they foimd a way to decorate 
 their modest homes with many little articles of beauty and 
 refinement; and thus the hardness of pioneer life began to dis- 
 appear. But they did not labor wholly for material things, for 
 they possessed deep and earnest religious convictions, and were 
 accustomed to meet at each other's houses for sacred worship. 
 They seem to have embraced the doctrines of John 
 Wesley, for in the early years of the settlement a Methodist 
 church was organized here, which has retained its organiza- 
 tion and maintained public worship from that date until the 
 present. The first Methodist sermon preached here was in 
 1793, when Jesse Lee, an eminent pioneer of Methodism, 
 preached in the house of Nehemiah Strout. The large kitchen 
 of Mr. Strout's house was used as a preaching place for 
 many of the itinerants who came this w^ay. In 1795, Port- 
 land circuit was formed, in which Poland w^as included, and 
 remained a part of till 1802, when the circuit was divided by 
 a line running nearly north and south between Portland 
 and Falmouth, and the name of the western half, which 
 included Portland, was changed to Poland because Poland had 
 the larger membership, and Philip Munger w^as read off to 
 Poland circuit. And since that date, Poland has ever appeared 
 on the rolls of the conference as one of its appointments. 
 
 Its territory, which formerly embraced a large section of 
 the surrounding country, has been greatly reduced in size, and 
 at present includes only East Poland and Minot. It has sent 
 out to other fields of labor a large number of ministers and 
 ministers' wives. 
 
 Its present house of worship at Empire was built in 1823, 
 and in the early years of its occupancy used to be filled to 
 overflowing. The influence of this church upon the com- 
 munity has ever been for good, and to it we are largely 
 indebted for the high moral character of our people. 
 
 And now, in taking a retrospect of the past, and looking 
 back on the deeds of our fathers and mothers, I think we can, 
 in truth and candor, say that they were a band of noble men 
 and women, an ancestry of vrhich we may well feel proud. 
 (Applause.) 
 
7° 
 
 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 COPY OF THE RECORD OF THE FIRST TOWN MEETING IN POLAND. 
 
 By a fire which consumed David Dunn's law office about 
 1824, nearly all of the town records were destroyed. 
 
 Mr. Dunn was one of the town officers at the time, and 
 keeper of the records. 
 
 We give below a copy of warrant for the first town meeting 
 of which there is anv record. 
 
 WARRANT. 
 
 [L. S.] To John True, Jr., Constable of the town of 
 [L. S.] Poland. Greeitno: You are hereby required in 
 the name of the State of Maine, to notify and warn the inhabit- 
 ants of Poland, qualified by law to vote in town meetings, to 
 assemble at the Centre School-house in Poland, on Saturday, 
 the twenty-first day of August, current, at three of the clock in 
 the afternoon, to act on the following articles, viz. : 
 
 I St. To choose a moderator to govern said meeting. 
 
 2d. To see what sum of money the town will raise to 
 repair such roads as have been complained of, and to repair 
 such other roads as may be liable to be indicted. 
 
 3d. To see if the town will accept or discontinue such 
 roads as may be reported by their Selectmen. 
 
 4th. To see what order the town will take respecting the 
 new county road by Daniel Waterman's, James Dunn's, etc. 
 
 5th. To act on any other matters relative to the above 
 articles that may be thought proper when met. 
 
 Given under our 
 hands and seals, 
 at Poland, this ninth 
 day of August, 
 A.D. 1824. 
 
 John Cousens, 
 James Twitchell, 
 Wentworth Ricker, 
 
 Selectmen 
 
 of 
 
 Poland. 
 
 Cumberland, ss.: 
 
 Poland, August 10, A. D. 1S24. 
 
 Pursuant to the within warrant I have notified the inhabit- 
 ants of the town of Poland, qualified as within mentioned, to 
 meet at the time and place and for the purpose within 
 
 expressed. 
 
 John True, Jr., Constable. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 7 I 
 
 At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of Poland, at the 
 Centre School-house, in said town, on Saturday, the 21st day 
 of August, 1824, at three of the clock in the afternoon, 
 
 I St. Chose John Cousens, Esq., Moderator. 
 
 2d. Voted to raise one thousand dollars to repair such roads 
 as have been complained of, and to repair such others as may 
 be liable to be indicted. 
 
 3d. Voted to oppose the new contemplated road Icadmg 
 from Joseph Morrell's by James Dunn's, Daniel Waterman's, 
 
 etc. 
 
 Voted to allow one dollar per day in expending the high- 
 way tax. 
 
 Chose William Stevens agent to superintend the road from 
 Poland Corner by Joshua Sanders'. 
 
 Chose Zadok Allen, Ezra Brett, Nehemiah Strout, Jr., 
 and Daniel Marble, agents to superintend the laying out of the 
 highway tax on the several roads. 
 
 Voted to dissolve this meeting. 
 
 JosiAH Jordan, Town Clerk. 
 
 The Chairman— I have the great pleasure of introducing 
 a distinguished son of Poland, Mr. S. L. Littlefield, who has 
 always taken a great interest in his town's prosperity. He 
 will respond to the toast, "Our Men of Fame. " 
 
 Mr. S. L. Littlefield— Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gen- 
 tlemen: In speaking of our famous men, you will not expect 
 me to mention all the men of note who have made this great 
 town their home since its incorporation, nor all those who have 
 been born and educated here, and gone out to win honor for 
 themselves in the various vocations of life. 
 
 In order that none may feel that 1 fail properly to notice 
 and speak of them, let me say here, that I shall endeavor, as 
 far as possible, to avoid repeating what has been said of any 
 of our noted men by the speakers who have preceded me, and 
 to avoid forestalling anything that may be said by those who 
 are to follow, by confining myself to those early settlers who 
 laid the foundations, and their descendants who have so well 
 built the superstructure of our prosperity, whose influence m 
 the affairs of our own town is best known to me. 
 
 First among our noted townsmen stands Moses Emery, 
 the first male child born in Bakerstown, in consideration of 
 
72 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 which circumstance he was accorded the honor of naming the 
 town, which he called Poland, after an old tune of that name 
 that was a favorite with him. 
 
 Another of our early men of note was Daniel Waterman, 
 who settled here in 1794 or in 1795, ^^^^ lived here till his death, 
 in 1845. He and his wife were two of the small number who 
 established the Congregational Church at Poland Corner, and he 
 was its first deacon, which office he held during his life. He was 
 also a captain of the militia. His family consisted of five sons and 
 seven daughters, all of whom, except the eldest son, were born 
 and educated in Poland. Jabez, the eldest of the family, was 
 a soldier of the war of 18 12, and held the office of orderly- 
 sergeant, and later was captain of an artillery company. 
 After the war he engaged in lumbering, and operated mills at 
 what is known as Hackett's Mills, where he died in 1877. He 
 had two sons, Jabez T. and Isaac D., who were very estimable 
 citizens. 
 
 Jabez T. became one of our selectmen, and Isaac continued 
 the lumber business after the death of his father till 1883, when 
 his failing health obliged him to retire. 
 
 The second son of Daniel Waterman, also named Daniel, 
 was born in Poland in 1797. During his life he held several 
 offices, among which were those of Representative to the Legis- 
 lature and Adjutant of the State militia. 
 
 Daniel Waterman, Jr., had one son, W. W., who was for 
 many years an influential citizen of Poland, taking a lively 
 interest in everything that would add to her prosperity. He 
 was not a politician, but accepted a place on the Board of 
 Selectmen for one year. 
 
 Prominent among the early business men in the eastern 
 part of our town was Josiah Milliken, who came from Buck- 
 field when quite a young man, and settled at Minot Corner on 
 the Poland side of the river, where he built our first tannery 
 and operated it about thirty years. He also engaged in the 
 lumber business and operated a saw mill for a long period. 
 He removed to Portland some time in the sixties, but was 
 never fond of city life, and at the time of his death, I am told, 
 he was negotiating for the purchase of his old homestead in 
 Poland. 
 
 His family of five sons and two daughters were all bom in 
 Poland, and received most of their education in our common 
 
f ;^^^ ^i^ 
 
 S. L. LITTLKFIELU. 
 
74 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 schools; some of them getting a few terms at the academies of 
 Lewiston Falls and Hebron. The eldest daughter, Mary F. , 
 became the wife of Daniel W. True, one of Poland's worthiest 
 and most noted sons, who was for many years one of the lead- 
 ing business men of our State. Addie, the youngest of the 
 family, is the wife of Mr. Short, of the firm of Loring, Short 
 & Harmon, of Portland. 
 
 The sons all became able business men. William Henry, 
 the second son, was a wholesale dr}' goods dealer in the firm of 
 Deering & Milliken, of Portland, and is the only one of the 
 sons of Josiah Milliken, not now living. Weston F., the eldest 
 son, after teaching successfully a few terms in the public 
 schools, engaged in business in Minot, where by his honesty 
 and affability, he soon became very popular, but the field being 
 too small for him, he removed to Portland, where he and his 
 brother, Charles R., became the wholesale grocery firm of 
 W. & C. R. Milliken. George, the youngest brother, became 
 a member of the same firm. 
 
 Besides his business reputation, Weston Milliken has filled 
 many important positions. He has been a bank director and 
 president ; a director in a steamboat company ; a member of 
 the State legislature, where he was chairman of an important 
 committee. C. R. Milliken is now the principal member of 
 the Poland Paper Company. 
 
 The fourth son of this famous family is Seth M., who does 
 as much credit to his Poland raising as any man that ever left 
 the town. As a teacher in our schools he was a success. Com- 
 mencing his business career in the same store as his brother 
 Weston, he soon follow^ed him to Portland, but his ambition 
 prompting him to seek a larger field, he went to New York, 
 where he is now engaged in the wholesale dry goods trade. 
 
 In connection with the Millikens, it seems to me appro- 
 priate to mention another of Poland's famous sons, — Lyman M. 
 Cousens. Entering the store of S. M. Milliken, at Minot, as a 
 clerk when quite young, he, by honest energy and close atten- 
 tion to business, soon became a partner. After a few years 
 spent in successful trade at Minot, he, too, went to Portland, 
 where he now occupies a high place among the l)usiness men 
 of our State. 
 
 Prominent among the names of the old residents of Poland 
 Corner, we find that of Hon. David Dunn. Born at Cornish, 
 
POT.AND CENTENNIAL. 75 
 
 Maine, in 1811, he pursued the study of law at the office of 
 John Fairfield, of vSaco, and, after being- admitted to the bar in 
 1833, he settled at Poland Corner, where he resided until his 
 death, on February 17, 1894. 
 
 He was a representative from his town for a numl)er of 
 5^ears, was at one time Senator, at another vSpeaker of the 
 House, and by a peculiar coincidence was, for one day, 
 Governor of the State of Maine. He was also appointed clerk 
 in the Post Office Department at Washington in 1857, which 
 position he retained for several years. 
 
 He was a man of ready wit and a native quickness of 
 repartee, which he used to good advantage in upholding the 
 principles of the Democratic Party, of which he was a lifelong 
 and enthusiastic adherent. 
 
 Another noted man in our early history was Colonel 
 Joseph Freeman. Settling in Poland in his early manhood, he 
 in compan}^ with Captain William Ladd, of Minot, built, at the 
 southerly end of the bridge at Minot Corner, the first whole- 
 sale store in our town, from which all the staple articles of 
 those days were dispensed to all the country around. In the 
 basement of this store was a mill for the manufacture of linseed 
 oil, the only mill of the kind in this part of the State. Later 
 in life he, in company with his son-in-law, T. F. Lamb, 
 engaged in the shoe business, and started the first shoe factory 
 in Poland. Colonel Freeman's two sons, Joseph H. and 
 Charles, both served in the Union army during the Rebellion. 
 Joseph went out first as a lieutenant, and rose to the rank of 
 captain. After the war, he became a successful teacher in the 
 West, and is now State Superintendent of Schools for the State 
 of Illinois. His brother Charles died soon after the close of 
 the war, respected by all who knew him. 
 
 Thaddeus R. Doten came about the same time as Milliken 
 and Freeman, and settled in the same neighborhood, where he 
 built up an extensive business in wood-turning. He was an 
 active man in church matters, and with a few of his neighbors 
 organized the Methodist church at Minot Comer. His family 
 consisted of seven sons and three daughters, all born in 
 Poland, and educated in the common schools. His eldest son, 
 John W., was a teacher of considerable note, but died in his 
 early manhood. The other six sons were all more or less dis- 
 tinguished as business men, — Charles Henry and Mellen T., in 
 
76 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Boston; and Samuel C, Ansel R., Roswell F. , and Edgar, in 
 Portland. 
 
 In speaking' of our famous men, we must not forget those 
 noble sons of toil, whose labors felled the primeval forest, and 
 laid the foundation of our present agricultural prosperity. 
 Probably no man did more to develop the splendid agricultural 
 resources of our town than Thomas Frank. Coming into our 
 borders nearly eighty years ago, he settled in that part known 
 as Hardscrabble, then a wilderness withovit even a road, so that 
 he was obliged to go to Minot Corner in a boat up the 
 Little Androscoggin for his supplies. With tireless energy he 
 cleared up a fine, large farm, and made a comfortable home 
 for his family of eight sons and two daughters, all but one of 
 whom lived to become useful men and women. Of the sons, 
 Whitney, Thomas, and David became farmers. The first two 
 now occupy high positions as successful tillers of the soil. John 
 C, a deaf mute, became a shoemaker, and by his industry and 
 shrewdness accumulated a snug little fortune. James, another 
 deaf mute, still works a portion of the paternal farm. Alpheous 
 W. is employed in a piano manufactory in Binghamton, N. Y., 
 and Zachariah J. resides in Marlboro', Mass. 
 
 In the western part of our town, two men who deserve 
 special notice were Nathaniel and Amaziah Keen. By their 
 intelligent cultivation of the rugged soil they were able to pro- 
 vide their families with the comforts of life, and to exercise a 
 generous hospitality toward all who entered their doors. 
 
 No two men of Poland deserve to be more honored for 
 exemplary lives of intelligent industry than these two Keens; 
 and to-day, Isaac H. and Everhard A., sons of Nathaniel and 
 Frank Keen, son of Amaziah, on the paternal homesteads, are 
 keeping even pace with the foremost in progressive agriculture. 
 
 Deacon William Stanton deserves to be mentioned on this 
 occasion as one of our prominent men. Born and educated 
 here, he was a true Poland man, one of those that give charac- 
 ter to the community in which he lives. He was an intelligent 
 agriculturist, and cultivated successfully a fine farm on White 
 Oak Hill, where he took a lively interest in church affairs. He 
 also at one time ably represented our town in the Legislature. 
 His two sons, James H. and Benjamin, have been exemplary 
 townsmen, James H. being at one time on the Board of Select- 
 men. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAI,. 77 
 
 Among the men who have developed the agricultural 
 resources of the south part of our town, none is more deserv- 
 ing of special notice than Alfred G. Thurlow. As an enlight- 
 ened farmer he had no superior, and his solid, manly virtues 
 won him the respect of all who knew him. He was something 
 of a local politician, and was several times a member of the 
 Board of Selectmen, and of the Republican town committee. 
 His unflinching integrity will never be forgotten by those who 
 knew him best. 
 
 I must not omit to mention, in this connection, that prince 
 among Poland farmers, Charles H. Cobb. Taught from his 
 boyhood to draw his sustenance, his comforts, and his luxuries 
 from the soil, he has studied its capabilities until he has 
 become, in his calling, a master of the situation. Nor does he 
 selfishly turn all his knowledge to his own account, but through 
 the Grange gives it freely to others. 
 
 His name is familiar to farmers in all parts of our State, 
 and he finds a warm welcome among them wherever he goes. 
 He never seeks political honors, his highest ambition being the 
 improvement of Maine agriculture. 
 
 Probably the most famous orchardist of our town is 
 Daniel W. Pulsifer. Accustomed to the care of fruit trees from 
 childhood, he has become an authority in the business, and his 
 extensive knowledge of his calling, together with a thorough 
 understanding of all the principles of modern farming, entitles 
 him to be considered one of our famous men. 
 
 Benjamin F. Cobb is another of our citizens who has dem- 
 onstrated to the world that farming can be made to pay, and 
 well deserves a place among the eminent agriculturists of the 
 town. 
 
 One more class of noted men remains to be mentioned. I 
 refer to those who went forth to defend our flag and uphold 
 our principles, when an armed rebellion threatened even the 
 life of our Nation. I regret that I am able to mention only a 
 few of the noble men of Poland who risked their lives in the 
 defense of our country, but while mentioning that few, I wish 
 to assure the many that we all consider them equally as much 
 men of fame as those I am able to speak of. First among our 
 brave soldiers, I call your attention to Captain Nathan Walker, 
 an adopted son of Poland, who, under a rough exterior, carried 
 as true and brave a heart as ever beat in the bosom of man. 
 
78 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Durini;" his military career he was several times complimented 
 for his bravery by his superior officers, and when he had built 
 a bridge over an important river, and half a mile of good road 
 in three days almost without tools, he was honored by its being 
 publicly proclaimed to the army that the place should be 
 known as "Walker's Bridge." 
 
 Another group of soldiers worthy of mention are the \"errill 
 brothers, sons of Charles Verrill, of East Poland. The oldest 
 of these brothers, Samuel H., prompted by patriotism alone, 
 paid his fare nearly five hundred miles to San Francisco to 
 enlist in California's quota, and, after serving three years in the 
 mountains of the Pacific coast, came East and re-enlisted for 
 the remainder of the war. If I am not misinformed, four 
 more of the brothers were in the Union army at the same 
 time. Has not Poland a right to be proud of such a family of 
 patriots ? 
 
 In the eastern part of our town lives another veteran of 
 the Civil War. I refer to Isaac P. Davis, who passed safely 
 through thirty-three hard-fought engagements. I consider this 
 enough to establish his title to a lasting fame. 
 
 I have now mentioned a few of the prominent men who 
 were either natives of Poland or from choice had their homes 
 here. Many more have been or will be mentioned by others 
 who have spoken, or will speak, to you to-day. 
 
 And now to the young men of Poland I would say: The 
 destinies of this great town will soon be left in your hands. 
 See to it that the progress of the next hundred years equals 
 that of the century that has passed away; so that, when our 
 children's children shall assemble here to celebrate our next 
 Centennial, your names may be added to the list of " our men 
 of fame." 
 
 The Chairman — The next toast is "The Early Settlers," 
 and to respond to this I shall invite one of our former towns- 
 men and new neighbors, a member of the Maine Historical 
 Society, — Mr. J. W. Penney, of Mechanic Falls. 
 
 J. W. Penney — Macaulay, the historian, says, "A people 
 which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ances- 
 tors, will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered 
 by remote descendants." This is but saying that the people 
 who do keep green the memory and deeds of their ancestors, are 
 a people in whose veins runs the noblest and richest blood of 
 
W. PENXEY. 
 
8o POLAND CENIKNNIAL. 
 
 the earth. The higher the plane of civilization and refinement, 
 the greater the development of this trait in the human 
 family. A people low down in the scale of civilization have 
 only histories of myths and legends. 
 
 To the New Englander of to-day, there is a halo of exquisite 
 romance that entwines the memory of the early settler, so full 
 of stirring incident, heroic achievement and sublime faith, that 
 it charms and thrills and stirs the emotions of the soul, pro- 
 moting patriotism and love of country, and inciting to nobler 
 living. We love to look back and peer into the dim and misty 
 centuries of the past, scan the acts of the pioneers of our 
 country, speculate on their environment, and wonder at their 
 incongruities, their superstitions, their fortitude, courage and 
 heroism, their love of country, and their marvellous success 
 that has, in the evolutions of the centuries, made the best 
 nation on earth. We love to review, step b}' step, the growth 
 of liberty's tree, planted in hope and reliance on God, watered 
 by tears, and defended by strong arms, until it becomes great 
 and glorious New England, with all the name New England 
 implies. We delight in letting the imagination run back to the 
 scene at the mouth of the majestic Kennebec — the Sagadahock 
 of the red man — where, in 1607, George Popham and his one 
 hundred colonists founded a commonwealth. Had it not been 
 for his untimely death, it is probable that the Sagadahock 
 would have antedated Plymouth Rock thirteen years, and 
 Maine's most historic and beautiful river would have possessed 
 the honor of the landing, and the founding of New England, 
 instead of the dreary and sandy shores of Cape Cod. 
 
 But the Pilgrim of 1620 would have perished with hunger, 
 had not the early settler at Pemaquid, Maine, fed him on 
 bread and fish; and a little later he found his richest estate in 
 trade with poor " Lo, " on the Kennebec at Cushnoc, now the 
 capital of Maine. 
 
 Pemaquid, Maine's first generally conceded settlement, 
 commenced in 1623. In 1624, John Brown, whose pedigree 
 reaches back to Adam, with the characteristic policy of the early 
 settler, bought of Sagamores, Samosett and Unongoit, for fifty 
 beaver skins, what is now Bristol, Bremen and Damariscotta, 
 with the Islands of Muscongus thrown in. The deed for this 
 remarkable transaction in realty is the first deed of convey- 
 ance of American soil. It was recorded a hundred years after- 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 8l 
 
 ward at Charlestown, Mass., and its acknowledgment is a 
 model of neat and compact formula, still followed, that well 
 entitles its writer, Abraham Shurte, to be called the father of 
 American conveyancing. He settled in Pemaquid in 1626, the 
 year of his acknowledgment of the deed, coming from Bristol, 
 England. He died at Pemaquid at a ripe age, honored as an 
 honest man and an upright magistrate. 
 
 J. W. Thornton, Esq., one of Maine's esteemed historical 
 writers, says: "The civilization of New England was initi- 
 ated at Pemaquid." The unwritten history of Pemaquid, that 
 is being slowly evolved from the silent testimony of witnesses, 
 recovered from beneath the green sod, will yet make the most 
 fascinating chapter in the annals of Maine's early history. 
 They now mutely speak of five nationalities who converted the 
 place, and shed each other's blood on its historic soil. 
 
 The beautiful islands that embellish Maine's picturesque 
 coast, sown seemingly by the Almighty hand, in exquisite con- 
 fusion, were the chosen places of the early voyagers to our 
 shores. Strictly speaking, they are not recognized as settle- 
 ments, for the reason that they were not continuous. Their 
 sudden and mysterioius abandonment was frequently due to the 
 unchristian habits of their neighbors. 
 
 Christover Leavitt, in 1623, sailed along our coast. Pleased 
 with what we now call Portland, which he said was called 
 Quack, he named it York, and founded a colony of ten men on 
 House Island, and built a fort, which he describes as a "forti- 
 fied house, in a reasonable fashion, strong enough against such 
 enemies as are those savage people." Leavitt's fort, it maybe, 
 was the prototype of Uncle Sam's formidable Fort Scammel, 
 that now, with its ten and fifteen inch bull dogs, guards the 
 entrance to Portland harbor. Leavitt was a Christian, if we 
 may believe what he has written of himself. The people he 
 found at Quack have never written a history. His six thousand 
 acre patent must have included Portland and its environs. 
 Poor Leavitt! He planted his colony, sailed away and never 
 returned. He may, in a limited sense, be called Portland's 
 first settler; but not imtil George Cleaves and Richard Tucker 
 built their cabins at the foot of Munjoy Hill, near the present 
 India street, in 1632, did Portland really commence to be the 
 first city of Maine, then known by the name of Machigonne. 
 
 Richmond's Island, near Cape Elizabeth, claims the honor 
 
02 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 of beino- the first real settlement of ancient Falmouth. Walter 
 Bagnall, in 1628, hung out his sign here for trade with poor 
 " Lo." By his unscrupulous methods he for three years made 
 "big money," but also brought down on his own pate the ven- 
 geance of his customers, and they wiped him out and divided 
 his spoil. He was a squatter and possessed no title to the 
 island. In 1855 an earthen pot containing silver and gold was 
 turned up b)^ the plough near his residence, perhaps some of 
 his ill-gotten wealth, rather than the treasure of Captain Kidd. 
 His immediate successor was Robert Trelawney, who obtained 
 a grant of the island and Cape Elizabeth in the year 1631. His 
 agent, John Winter, settled on the island and lived there until 
 his death, in 1645. By his energetic and wise management he 
 built up a large trade and a commerce probably not exceeded 
 by any place on the coast of Maine at that time. He built a 
 vessel here and had in his employ sixty men in the fishing 
 business, besides other industries, making Richmond's Island 
 the emporium of ancient Falmouth. The Rev. Robert Jordan, 
 marrying Winter's daughter, became his administrator, and 
 ultimately the possessor of the entire grant. He is the Genesis 
 of American Jordans, and his descendants are as the stars for 
 multitude, numbering to-day probably more than ten thousand 
 souls. The Samuel Jordan, an early settler of Bakerstown, 
 whose remains lie in yonder ancient church-yard in the woods, 
 was undoubtedly one of his descendants. 
 
 The early settler on our coast had, on one hand, the 
 wealth of the ocean, and on the other the vast riches of the 
 virgin soil. 
 
 " As off land stretched the boundless, restless sea. 
 So inland stretched the mighty sea of pines." 
 
 Maine's early settler could not long be satisfied with the 
 narrow ribbon of settlements along its rugged coast, which 
 was all border until about as late as 1736, when, with a desire 
 that rose above all obstacles and dangers, he, with invincible 
 courage, carved himself a home in the vast wilderness, and 
 gradually, tier upon tier, the towns were built as "Westward 
 the star of empire pushed its way." 
 
 In 1736 Bakerstown was granted to the officers and sol- 
 diers that served in the disastrous campaign against Canada in 
 1690, commanded by Governor Phips. Large numbers of these 
 soldiers must have passed beyond the want of land. Cotton 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 83 
 
 Mather quaintly says of them, " Some hundreds of them came 
 short of home." This g^rant, then, must have been a gift to 
 the sons of the veterans who found a grave before the walls of 
 Quebec, or perished in the waters of the St. Lawrence. Per- 
 haps, now and then, a solitary survivor, with axe and gun, 
 guided by blazed trees, found his sixty-acre lot and built his 
 cabin, only to discover, in 1741, that his hard-earned claim was 
 in New Hampshire, and must be lost with all its improve- 
 ments. A new township was granted the proprietors, but it 
 does not appear that any settler had the hardihood to venture 
 so far from the border settlements into the primeval forest 
 until after the fall of Quebec in 1759, which forever put to an 
 end the power of France to incite and arm her terrible allies, 
 the red men, in their awful work of destruction on the fair hills 
 and valleys of Maine. 
 
 Of the sixty proprietors of ancient Bakerstown, none can 
 be traced as becoming actual settlers. Happily, I am able to 
 trace one of these honored names, whose ancestor perished in 
 the siege of Quebec in 1690. The Stephen Longfellow men- 
 tioned in the list of proprietors' names was the son of William 
 Longfellow, who fell at Quebec. The name Stephen was con- 
 tinued down the generations of the family until we find 
 Stephen Longfellow born in Gorham, Maine, March 23d, 1774, 
 and married in 1804 to Zilpah, daughter of General Wads- 
 worth. He was the father of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 
 Maine's most gifted and best beloved poet. 
 
 The power of the Indians broken, a few daring spirits 
 began to explore the new township of Bakerstown, but not 
 until about ten years after the treaty of peace with France do 
 we find there were any settlers in Bakerstown. And then 
 'twas difificult to find a sixty-acre lot that did not belong to 
 Josiah Little. Many a poor settler was driven from his clear- 
 ing and lost his all by the inexorable logic of Dan Reed, who 
 held in his hand a bit of paper that told the hapless settler 
 that he must get, for he was a squatter on the land of Josiah 
 Little. 
 
 Some of the first settlers' names that have come down to 
 us are Nathaniel Bailey, Daniel Land, Moses Emery and John 
 Newman, who settled at the Empire in 1768-9. David Pulsi- 
 fer settled here in 1790 and planted the Pulsifer tree, whose 
 branches now reach over entire New England. 
 
84 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Moses' Emery was one of those rare geniuses who could 
 build a saw-mill with a broad-axe and pod-auger. Worthley 
 Brook was not large enough for his aspirations, and he built 
 Bakerstown's first mill on the Little Androscoggin, at Minot 
 Comer, established a ferry, and became the happy father of 
 the first boy of Bakerstown, winning the prize of a farm. The 
 boy he named Moses^ He was born vSeptember 20th, 1772; 
 built the first mill at Hackett's Mills. At fifty he became a 
 Methodist minister, preaching wherever he could find an audi- 
 ence, and school-house or barn for a pulpit. In 1843 he be- 
 came an Adventist and predicted the end of the world that 
 year. He died at Livermore Falls November 4, 1861, and was 
 buried at Lapham's Corner, in the little now abandoned ceme- 
 tery by the roadside, beside his wife Susan. In about 1887 
 they were by relatives removed to Mount Auburn Cemetery 
 and tombstones erected to their memory, inscribed as follows: 
 
 Rev. MoscS Emery, died Nov. 4, 1861, aet. 89 yrs. "Asleep in 
 Jesus." 
 
 Susan, wife of Rev. Moses Emery, died June 8, 1858, aet. 84 yrs. 
 " Happy in life, triumphant in death." 
 
 His son Moses^, born July i6, 1794, became a lawyer of 
 eminence. He died in Saco, May 12, 1881. 
 
 Moses senior's second son, Nathan^, was born August 5, 
 1780; was converted under the preaching of the noted Jesse 
 Lee, and began to preach at the age of nineteen. His field of 
 work was New York and Ohio. He was an eloquent preacher, 
 noted for his deep and uniform piety. He died December 18, 
 
 1845. 
 
 His (Moses senior's) third son, Stephen^, born April 29, 
 179°) graduated at Bowdoin College. He was judge of probate 
 for Oxford county, attorney-general of Maine, chairman of the 
 Board of Education, member of the Executive Council, and 
 judge of the District Court. 
 
 The now quiet little village of Minot Corner, a hundred 
 years ago, was the metropolis of Bakerstown. and Moses' 
 Emery was the principal man of the place. He was the sixth 
 in descent from John Emery, who emigrated to this country 
 from England in 1635, settling in Newbury, Mass. He was a 
 man of more than average intelligence; genial and sunny, he 
 looked on the bright side of life. Active and of good judg- 
 ment, he was a representative man of his time, and repre- 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 85 
 
 sented the town in General Court at Massachusetts Bay. It is 
 a gratification to know where reposes his honored dust. After 
 much inquiry and search, I find that he and his wife were 
 buried in the ancient churchyard adjoining the Congregational 
 Church at Center Minot. Marble stones have been erected to 
 their memory by their son Stephen, inscribed as follows: 
 
 Moses Emery. Born in Newbury, Mass., February 11, 1744. Died at 
 Minot, April 28, 1836. 
 
 Ruth Bod well, wife of Moses Emery. Born in Bethuen, Mass., 
 February 13, 1750. Died at Minot, November 28, 1831. 
 
 Without successful contradiction, to Moses^ Emery belongs 
 the honor of naming the town of Poland, the name having 
 its origin from a favorite psalm tune of his, and presented by 
 him with the petition to the General Court of Massachusetts 
 Bay. 
 
 Nathaniel Bailey, the reputed first settler of Bakerstown, 
 perpetuates his name in " Bailey's Hill," on whose picturesque 
 slope he settled, and like a monarch surveyed the vast 
 '* empire " that lay spread before him. Obeying the vScripture 
 injtmction, he replenished the hill with little Baileys. To him 
 and his wife Abigail were born children as follows : Rhoda, 
 born April 9th, 1781; Edmund, born April 5th, 1783; 
 Hannah, bom August 6th, 1785; Moses, born June 25th, 1789; 
 Samuel, born June 19th, 1792. His son Edmund married 
 Sally Lane in 1808, and their children were Lewis, Mary, 
 Edmimd, Benjainin, Sylvanus, Sarah, Cynthia, Otis, David, 
 Ann, Rhoda, Willard, Abigail and Lorenzo — fourteen children, 
 three of whom are now living, namely, Lewis, Willard and 
 Lorenzo. On the west side of Waterhouse Brook, on the hill 
 near the bridge, at Poland Corner, was located the first 
 cemetery in this part of the town. Its site is now obliterated. 
 Here, it is very probable, reposes the dust of Nathaniel Bailey, 
 Bakerstown 's first settler. 
 
 The picturesque hills of Poland, many of them, derived 
 their names from the early settlers, and Johnson Hill undoubt- 
 edly comes from James Johnson, who was a cutter of mast 
 timber in Thompson Pond Plantation, under a license of the 
 King, before the Revolutionary War. He was bora March 
 2 2d, 1735, ^^^^ married Elizabeth Porterfield. He died in 
 Poland, June i6th, 1831. His ancestors were of ^Scotch 
 descent, coming to this country in about 1692. He probably 
 
86 POLAND CENTKNN'IAL, 
 
 served in the French and Indian Wars, for he was first lieu- 
 tenant of Captain John Brackett's company of Stroudwater, 
 who marched in the Lexington Alarm as far as Wells, when 
 they were ordered to return to Falmouth. In Captain Brack- 
 ett's company he marched to Canibridoc in July, 1775, ^^^ 
 joined Colonel Phinney's regiment. He became captain, 
 December 31st, 1775, and was major in 1779. After the war, he 
 moved to what is now Poland, in 1791. He, with four others, 
 bought one thousand eight hundred acres of land adjoining- 
 Thompson Pond, it being unappropriated land. His family 
 consisted of eleven children, namely, William, Martha, Joseph, 
 James, Catharine, Nancy, Jeremiah, Lyman, David, Charles 
 and Ruth. 
 
 Charles married a niece of Admiral Tate, so prominent in 
 the history of Portland, and their daughter Ann inarried 
 Joseph Walker, who has made munificent gifts for public pur- 
 poses, there yet remaining a fund of $250,000 to be divided 
 among charitable and literary institutions in Cumberland 
 County. The grandfather of the James Johnson who settled 
 in Poland, whose name also was James, w'as a ferryman on the 
 Spurwink River, on the route of the ancient King's Highway, 
 from Falmouth to Boston. He died in 1740, a very old 
 man. His descendants of the seventh generation in the full 
 activities of life yet reside on the shore of beautiful Thompson 
 Pond. 
 
 Ricker Hill, grand, majestic, unique! The name vibrates 
 a chord that is heard around the earth! Before Adam, nature 
 gave birth to the hill, and established her exquisite alchemy of 
 beauty and health and joy, in perpetual perfection. The Ricker 
 ancestral tree sprang from Saxon soil. A century of hotel 
 keepers, they have developed the rugged old hill into a sani- 
 tarium, world-renowned, a paradise of health, a thing of 
 beauty and a joy forever. 
 
 The moss covered, weather beaten, uncouth field stone, 
 just protruding from the ground in a neglected corner of the 
 old churchyard, tells its pathetic story of the early settler, who 
 in the lowly walks of human life, toiled and struggled, hoped 
 and endured the storms of life, and went to rest, unlettered 
 and unknown. Descendants of Puritan stock, they were God- 
 fearing, brave, patriotic, honest, lowly toilers. They are the 
 unknown heroes who, in their humble way, helped to raise 
 
88 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 the glorioiis fabric of a commonwealth, the most beneficent on 
 the face of God's green earth. Here in some of their unknown 
 graves may lie the dust of 
 
 " Some village Hampden, that with dauntless breast, 
 The little tyrant of his fields withstood; 
 Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest. 
 Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood." 
 
 LETTERS OF REGRET. 
 
 The following letter was received from Governor Cleaves, 
 in reply to an invitation to be present at the exercises of 
 Poland Centennial: 
 
 State of Maine, Executive Department, 
 Augusta, Aug. i6, 1895. 
 
 Chairman Centennial Committee, Poland, Maine: 
 
 My Dear Sir: Permit me to aeknowdedge the receipt of 
 your esteemed favor of August 13, inviting me to attend the 
 Centennial Anniversary of the Town of Poland, of Septeinber 
 II, 1895. 
 
 You will allow me to express to you my appreciation of 
 your cordial invitation, and I regret exceedingly that my 
 engagements are such that I find it impossible to attend. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 (Signed) M. B. Cleaves. 
 
 The following from the Hon. William P. Frye, United 
 States Senator : 
 
 vSquirrel Island, Aug. 13, 1S95. 
 
 Mv Dear Sir: Yours inviting me to be present at the 
 Poland Centennial, is received. It would be a great pleasure 
 for me to accept, and I regret greatly that I have already made 
 engagements for the month of September that will prevent. 
 If my conveniences alone were to be consulted, I should 
 remove the obstacle, but several others would be A'cry much 
 discommoded. Very truly, 
 
 (Signed) Wm. P. Frye. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 89 
 
 The following from Captain Joseph H. Freeman, former 
 resident of Poland, and at this time Superintendent of Schools 
 in the State of Illinois: 
 
 McHenry, III., July i6, 1895. 
 
 My Dear Sir: Replying to yours of the 12th, I cannot 
 thank you sufficiently for your kind invitation to attend the 
 Centennial Anniversary of the town of Poland, vSeptember 11, 
 and respond to the toast — "Our War Record." 
 
 I do not know what would give me more pleasure than to 
 meet the much loved friends of my youth and early manhood. 
 At this writing I ought not to say "Yes," and yet I cannot 
 endure the thought of saying " No." 
 
 The fact that the Anniversary occurs the second week of 
 my school year will render it almost impracticable, I fear, to 
 be away from my school duties. Especially so, as one of my 
 principals is spending the vacation in Europe, and will not 
 return till the third week in September. Before giving a final 
 answer, I will talk with some of the members of my Board of 
 Education, whom I shall see next week, when I go home to 
 attend a meeting of the Board, after which I will write you 
 again. 
 
 With the kindest regards, I remain. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 (vSigned) J. H. Freeman. 
 
 Postal communication, received later: 
 
 My Dear Sir: I regret exceedingly that I shall be obliged 
 to decline your cordial invitation to be with you September 
 II. My school duties will prevent me from being present. I 
 cannot tell you how much I regret this. 
 
 With kind regards to all present, I am, very cordially, 
 yours, (Signed) J. H. Freeman. 
 
 From J. A. Turner, Hartford Couraiit : 
 
 Hartford, Conn., Aug. 18, 1895. 
 
 Dear Sirs: Your kind invitation at hand. I shall try 
 very hard to be one of the great family of children who will 
 gather to celebrate the old town's birthday, but I feel hardly 
 competent to reply to the toast suggested. I was barely seven 
 or eight years old when I left, and the reminiscences of a lad 
 
90 POLAND CENTENMAL. 
 
 of tliat age are mostly ]jersonal, and incident to the deserved 
 and other spankings that he may have reeeived. I sincerely 
 hope that you will find some other fellow to do this bit of 
 memory's work, whicli would need a deal of trimming and 
 forgetting to come within the allotted time. Hoping that the 
 celebration will be the greatest kind of a success, and that if 
 circumstances prevent my being present, I will scarcely be 
 missed from the large family, I remain, 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) J. A. Turner. 
 
 The following from the Rev. E. A. Stockman, editor. 
 World's Crisis : 
 
 Chelsea, Mass., July 24, 1S95. 
 
 My Dear Sir: Yours of the 12th inviting me to be 
 present at the Centennial Anniversary of my native town, and to 
 take part in the services, is received and appreciated. Nothing 
 could afford me greater pleasure than to accept your very 
 kind request ; but such is the state of m}' health at present 
 that I dare not promise myself the enjoyment of participating 
 in an event which cannot fail to thrillingly interest the sons 
 and daughters of the always dear old town that gave iis birth. 
 The most sacred memories of my life, still fresh and warmly 
 cherished, cluster amid the scenes of my childhood in that 
 historic parish — Poland Empire. I am only sorry that I will 
 not probably be able to be with you in your contemplated 
 celebration. 
 
 Hoping you may have a large and interesting gathering, 
 I am. Very truly yours, 
 
 (Signed) E.A. Stockman. 
 
 MR. H. W. RICKER, MARSHAL, AND HIS STAFF. 
 
 All the officers of this Staff were born in Poland, save 
 Messrs. W. W. Dcnnen and J. W. Mitchell, and nearly every 
 industry in town was represented by it. Mr. Ricker, of South 
 Poland, is of the firm of Hiram Ricker & vSons, proprietors of 
 the celebrated Poland Mineral Spring, through whose medium 
 the people of every clime have become familiarized with the 
 fair name of Poland. Through the energy of Mr. Ricker, 
 associated with his two brothers, E. P. and A. B. Ricker, from 
 
MR. H. W. RICKER, MARSHAL, AND HIS STAFF. 
 
92 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 the establishment of a small country tavern, has evolved the 
 noble dimensions of the Poland vSprin^^ House, which, with the 
 quaint and hospitable Mansion House, forms the summer home 
 of hiindreds of those representing the wealth and intellig-ence 
 of our country. The Poland Spring House has a frontage of 
 six hundred feet, and capacity for five himdred guests; the 
 Mansion House, a capacity for one hundred and fifty guests. 
 The latter is the home of the Ricker family, and was first opened 
 as a hotel in 1797, by Wentworth Ricker, grandfather of the 
 present proprietors. Nor does Mr. Ricker's ambition rest on 
 laurels won, for he is ever interested in advancing the educa- 
 tional interests and all that pertains to the welfare of his 
 native town. 
 
 Mr. Orren S. Keene was born at West Poland, in the 
 same house wherein he now resides, about 1836, and is there- 
 fore fifty-nine years old. He carries on farming to a large 
 extent, and his large and beautiful home, accommodating fifty 
 people, is filled with guests during the summer months. He 
 is also Vice-President of the Fernald, Keene & True Packing 
 Company, packers of Poland sugar corn. Mr. Keene has 
 always taken an active interest in all matters pertaining to his 
 native town. He has served on the Board of Selectmen for 
 many years, and is much respected by all. He is a fine horse- 
 man, and added dignity to the occasion. 
 
 Mr. W. W. Dennen was born in Oxford, Maine, in 1837 
 but is of a Poland family ; his father, Simeon Dennen, Jr., 
 was born in Poland in 1794. He is of a military lineage. His 
 great-grandfather served in the Revolutionary War, and his 
 father and grandfather both served in the War of 181 2, under 
 Captain Snell, of Poland. Mr. Dennen himself served in the 
 late Civil War, and was the first soldier enrolled from the town 
 of Oxford. Thus, it will be noted that four generations have 
 fought in the three great wars of their country, an instance 
 rare, indeed, and a record of which their posterity should be 
 proud. Mr. Dennen is an active worker in all that pertains 
 to the welfare of his town, and has represented his district in 
 the State Legislature with great satisfaction. He is local 
 manager of the Mousam Manufacturing Company, an industry 
 which employs many men, and is of great benefit to our town. 
 
 Mr. H. A. Gerry resides in that part of West Poland 
 known as Johnson Hill, still ()ccni)ying the house in which 
 
SELECTMEN AND TREASURER, 1896. 
 
94 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 he was born forty-five years ag-o. He is a jeweler by trade, 
 at West Poland, where he started in business in 1881. He is a 
 jovial fellow to meet, a man of strict integrity, and universally 
 respected. 
 
 Mr. D. W. Bailey represents the trading- fraternity. He 
 is a merchant at East Poland, where he has been in business 
 fully twenty-five years. He started in a small way, but by 
 pluck, ambition, and a push most commendable, combined 
 with honesty and business-like methods, he has, with his 
 brother's assistance, built up a large business. These gentle- 
 men also operate a grist and feed mill. 
 
 Mr. F. B. Shackford is an enterprising, energetic and 
 progressive farmer. He also was born in Poland, in the same 
 house where he now resides. He takes a deep interest in all 
 matters concerning his town, and is a cheery, good-hearted 
 fellow, constructed on the broad-gauge plan. 
 
 Mr. J. W. Mitchell moved from New Gloucester about 
 twelve years ago to Poland Corner, where he was called to 
 take charge of a butter factory, which is operated on the 
 co-operative plan. He has managed the business of the 
 company in a most acceptable manner, and has developed 
 an industry of magnitude, of which our people may well feel 
 proud. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that many of our industries were rep- 
 resented on the vStaff. 
 
 MEMORIAL WORDS. 
 
 As a voluntary tribute. Dr. Albion Cobb, of Casco, com- 
 municated the following appreciative lines to a Portland paper 
 soon after the death of one of Poland's well-loved preachers 
 in 1884: 
 
 On Thursday morning of March the 7th, in his residence 
 at West Poland, at the advanced age of eighty-seven, died the 
 Reverend James Libby, a Free-will Baptist clergyman, well 
 and favorably known throughout all this region of country. 
 
 For an example of an earnest Christianity, as manifested 
 in a holy and blameless life, we may search long ere we find 
 his equal. His life is a full answer to those who continually 
 tell us that a religious profession draws upon vis the envy and 
 enmity of the world. Fearless, earnest and zealous, always 
 
SCHOOL BOARD. 
 
g6 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 ready, in season and out of season, to work for his Master, he 
 was universal]}^ beloved and respected, and all men spoke well 
 of him. I have known him well for nearly a third of a cen- 
 tury, and in all that time I have never heard an ill word spoken 
 of him by high or low, young or old, saint or sinner. A life 
 extending far beyond the measure allotted to man, and earn- 
 estly spent in the service of God, is unanimously approved 
 and proclaimed to be perfect by the verdict of more than two 
 generations of his fellow-men. 
 
 " Cold were the lips that spoke his early praise, 
 And hushed the voices of his morning days; 
 Yet the same accents dwelt on every tongue, 
 And love renewing, kept him ever young." 
 
 A consistent Christian example like his does more for the 
 cause of religion than thousands of professions and tens (f thou- 
 sands of sermons. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 We now^ present names of the aged persons in town, most 
 of whom attended the Centennial celebration, and took an 
 active interest in the programme. They are bright, witty 
 and well preserved old people, of whom their posterity may 
 well feel proud. 
 
 Mrs. Lucy Snell McCann, widow of Deacon William 
 McCann, w^as born in Poland, February 22, 1809, and is still 
 living with her son, Joseph McCann, on White Oak Hill. She is 
 in good health, and one of the best preserved and most interest- 
 ing old ladies in town. She well remembers the first settlers 
 of West Poland, where she was born, and relates with glow- 
 ing interest the hardships of these people; the trouble they 
 had with intrusions of bears; when carriages first came into 
 general use; and how the people in her girlhood used to travel 
 with oxen, or on horseback. Her mind is as clear as ever, and 
 she certainly is a remarkable woman. She has four sons now 
 living, W. W. McCann, who was orator on the occasion of 
 Poland's Centennial, being one of them. She is also the grand- 
 mother of Professor F. E. Hanscom. 
 
 Hannah Snell, daughter of Samuel Jordon, widow of the 
 late Moses Snell, a pioneer settler of Poland, was born in 
 Poland, June i, 1803, and is now^ aged ninety-two years. She 
 
MOSES EMERY. 
 IHE FIRST MAI.E CHILD BORN IN I-OLAND. 
 
98 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 is in perfect health, and does as much work as any woman of 
 half her age. vShe attended the camp meeting- each day of 
 its session in 1895, and in October took a carriage ride of fifteen 
 miles. She is a bright, interesting old lad)% in full possession 
 of all her faculties. 
 
 Moses A. Herrick was born in Minot, Maine, January 17, 
 1805, and has reached the age of ninety years. He has lived 
 in Poland for eighty years, enjoys good health, and has this 
 season cared for the garden, raising a fine crop of vegetables. 
 He is able to walk three or four miles to visit his friends. At 
 the age of eighty-seven years, he built the chimneys and 
 helped to do the plastering in the house of Edgar Foster. His 
 five sons enlisted, and served their country in the Civil War. 
 
 Mary Field, born in Falmouth, Maine, August 16, 1807, 
 now aged eighty-eight years, has lived in Poland for the past 
 forty years. She enjoys good health, and is able to work every 
 day. 
 
 Abbey Record, wife of Charles Record, was born in New 
 Gloucester, Maine, August 13, 1808. She died May 5, 1895, 
 aged eighty-seven years. 
 
 Lewis Baile}' was born in Minot, Maine, February 18, 1809. 
 He has lived in Poland eighty-two years. At the age of eighty- 
 six years he is able to do quite an amount of work, or take a 
 trip to Portland or Lewiston. Mr. Bailey is a descendant of 
 one of the pioneer settlers of Poland. 
 
 William Rowe was born in Poland, April 30, 1810, and is 
 now aged eighty-five years. He is in good health and able to 
 walk three or four miles a day. He manages his own farm 
 unaided, and does quite as much work as many men not half 
 as old as he. 
 
 Jonathan Lane, born in Poland, Februar}* 22, 1812, is now 
 aged eighty-three years. He is in quite good health, and able 
 to do a considerable amount of labor each day, or take a trip 
 to Lewiston or some more distant place for pleasure or upon 
 business. 
 
 Hannah Walker was born May i, 18 12, and is eighty-three 
 years of age. She enjoys good health. She is a pensioner of 
 the war of 18 12. 
 
 Amos Harris was born in Poland, October 15th, 1813. He 
 went to sea as cabin boy when twelve years of age, and fol- 
 lowed the sea for forty years. During the Civil War the 
 
HANNAH SXELL. 
 THE (^ILDEST WOMAN IN I'OI-ANP. 
 
 r.f C. 
 
PO I . A N D C E X TEN N" I A L. 
 
 schooner " Arcadia," was captured by the rebel "Alabama," 
 and he, with the rest of the crew, landed in Spain. His share 
 of the Alabama claim was about $300. He is still in the 
 enjoyment of good health at the age of eighty-two years. 
 
 Whitney Frank, born in Minot, Maine, April 15, 1815, 
 has reached eighty years of age. He enjoys good health, and 
 is able to work every day. He has lived in Poland seventy- 
 eight years, and served his town as selectman and collector for 
 many years. 
 
 William E. Lunt, born in Hebron, Maine, January 2, 1815, 
 has lived in Poland seventy years. He was one of the 
 keepers of George Knight, the wife murderer, after his arrest, 
 and remembers many incidents connected with the trial of that 
 famous case. His mind now, at the age of eighty years, is as 
 clear as ever, but his health is poor, keeping him indoors the 
 most of the time. 
 
 Mrs. Jane Churchill Dudley Emery, born in Buckfield, 
 Maine, January 8, 18 13, has lived in Poland thirty-five years. 
 Her first husband, who was several years her senior, was a 
 soldier in the War of 181 2. She had three sons by her second 
 husband, two of whom, Samuel and Oliver, served in the late 
 Rebellion. '' Aunt " Emery is a loyal, patriotic woman. She 
 has a good memory, and relates with interest her first attend- 
 ance at school, which was taiight in the tie-up of a barn. She 
 lives wdth her grandson, Ernest Dudley, of West Poland, 
 where she enjoys good health and is nicely cared for in her 
 declining years. 
 
 Stephen Fogg, born in Windham, Elaine, October 8, 
 181 2, moved to Poland in 1874, where he purchased the 
 Captain John Megquier farm, on which, with his wife, he is 
 still living. He is a well-preserved, energetic, bright old 
 gentleman. He well remembers the administration of John 
 Q. Adams, and has always kept apace with the times. He 
 takes an interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the 
 country, and, with the aid of his industrious wife alone, carries 
 on a large farm successfully. He and our esteemed towns- 
 man, Moses A. Herrick, are the only two links in male 
 descent in West Poland connecting this with a former genera- 
 tion. May they both live long to enjoy the love and respect of 
 their townsmen ! 
 
 Daniel A. Tluirston was born in ^Monmouth, IMaine, July 
 
MOSES A. HKKKICK. 
 POLAND'S OLDEST MALK INIIAHITANT. 
 
102 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 i6, 1808. He came to Poland when a youno- man, and has 
 lived here since. He is eighty-seven years of age, enjoys 
 good health, and is able to work a large part of the time. 
 
 James Dunn, born in Poland, April 9, 1810, is eighty-five 
 years of age. He enjoys perfect health, and thinks nothing 
 of taking a walk of four or five miles. He owns houses in 
 Lewiston which he rents, and manages all his business affairs 
 with the ability of a man in the prime of life. 
 
 Julia A. Jackson, widow of the late Reuben Jackson, was 
 born in the town of Raymond in the year 181 2. She moved to 
 Poland Corner in 1832, where she has resided ever since. 
 Mrs. Jackson is in very good health, and retains her faculties 
 wonderfully. 
 
 THE CHIPiAL-^N FAMILY. 
 
 Alden B. Chipman, born in Poland, June 12, 18 14, is 
 therefore now eighty-one years of age. He is in good health and 
 able to walk several miles each day for pleasure, and quite 
 frequently attends the meeting of the Grange, in which he is 
 much interested. Mr. Chipman is a descendant of Benjamin 
 Chipman, who settled in Poland in 1779. The earliest knowl- 
 edge we have of the Chipman family is of one John Chipman, 
 who was born in Dorchester, Eng., in 16 14, and was the first 
 one of that name to seek a home in America. He emigrated 
 to this country in 1630, and settled in Barnstable, Mass. Of 
 his children we have been unable to find any record, but his 
 grandson, Seth Chipman, was a resident of Kingston, Mass. 
 When that town was incorporated in 1726, and for fif!-een 3^ears 
 thereafter, he served it as one of the municipal ofificers. 
 On September 17, 1721, he married a daughter of Major 
 John Bradford. They had four children. Benjamin, the 
 youngest, born May 23, 1729, resided in Kingston, Mass., 
 where, on May 9, 1 751, he married Hannah Wadsworth, a sister 
 of General Peleg Wadsworth, and atmt to Henry Wadsworth 
 Longfellow's mother. In 1774 he moved from Kingston, 
 and landed in North Yarmouth, Maine. He then went to New 
 Gloucester, as far inland as any civilized folk at that time 
 lived. On April 17, 1779, he moved to Bakerstown, and, taking 
 up a claim in what is now^ South Poland, near the New Gloucester 
 line, on land now owned by the Shakers, was the first 
 settler of South Poland, and one of the pioneer settlers of the 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. I03 
 
 town. He had seven sons and daughters, all born in Kingston. 
 He died in Poland, in May, 1787, aged fifty-eight years. His 
 wife died in Poland, in December, 1821, aged ninety-three 
 years. Their eldest son, Benjamin, Jr., born in Kingston, 
 Mass., February 4, 1752, resided in Taunton, Mass., where, in 
 1776, he married Abigail Milliken. They had seven children, 
 all but the two oldest born in Poland, to which town they 
 moved from Taunton in 1781, and settled on the farm now 
 owned and occupied by their great-grandson, Chester E. 
 Chipman. This farm has been owned and occupied by the 
 Chipman family in direct line from father to son since 1781 
 — fourteen years more than a century. Benjamin, Jr., died 
 in Poland, June 18, 1838, aged thirty-six years. 
 
 WILLIAM SCHELLINGER. 
 
 William Schellinger was born in Poland, August 2, 1806, 
 and is therefore eighty-nine years of age. He is the son of 
 William Schellinger, Sr., and Betsey Waterhouse Schellinger. 
 He is still in rugged condition. In a recent conversation with 
 him, he remarked that he well remembered hearing his elders 
 relate that Captain George Waterhouse and Joshua Dunn 
 carried the only two Democratic votes for Thomas Jefferson 
 thrown in Poland at the latter's first election, in 1800. 
 The election was held at the house of Captain Waterhouse, 
 now the Barton place (so-called), near Poland Corner. He 
 also said that John Thurlow, grandfather of Alfred G. 
 Thurlow, was the first licensed minister, under the Massachu- 
 setts law, in Poland, preaching in various places in town, con- 
 siderably on Johnson's Hill, and sometimes out of town. Mr. 
 Schellinger's mind is very clear as regards the early history of 
 Poland. He well remembers the cold season of 181 6, when 
 but little corn was raised, and there was a frost every month 
 in the year; and as a little boy he was sent out with shears to 
 trim the dead leaves from the stalks, so that the corn might 
 take a new start. He also gives a vivid description of the 
 husking-bees, and how on these memorable occasions three 
 hundred bushels of corn would be husked in a single evening 
 and a considerable amount of New England rum disposed of 
 at the same time. He mentions the first plow he ever saw— a 
 wooden structure, made by one Lazarus Rand, covered with 
 iron straps. He also alludes to the baking ovens of those 
 
I04 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 days, which were made of stones piled on a large flat rock or 
 ledge, on which a large quantity of dry wood was burned, and 
 which sufficiently heated them to bake the pots of beans and 
 loaves of bread. Mr. Schellinger's memory is very good 
 respecting many interesting events of those early days, and 
 from him has been gained more information about the first 
 settlers of this town than from any man now living. 
 
 THE COUSENS FAMILY. 
 
 John Cousens came to Poland from the town of Wells, 
 now a part of Kennebunk, in 1798, at which place he had been a 
 ship carpenter, and earned about $300. He settled on what is 
 now known as Pidgeon Hill, put up a log cabin, and cleared up 
 his farm. On March 15, 1801, he married Sarah Cushman, of 
 Hebron. Mr. Cousens was for many years a large farmer 
 and lumberman. His mode of business was to buy timber- 
 land, and run in debt for it, operate enough on it to pay for it, 
 and then let it stand. He followed this method for a great 
 many years, and finally, closing his lumber business, sold 
 his whole purchase to Walker & Trickey, of Portland, for 
 $40,000, which, for those days, was considered a large sum. 
 He was a leading citizen of the town for a long period, being 
 one of the selectmen and filling other positions of trust ; and 
 he was also one of the strong supporters of the Congregational 
 Church at Poland Corner, and for many years paid one-quarter 
 of the minister's salary. His home was a home for the ministers 
 of all denominations; they went there as freely as to a hotel, 
 and the latch-string was always oiit for them. Mr. Cousens 
 and wife had a family of fourteen children, as follows : 
 
 (i.) Samuel, born February 26, 1801. He was a farmer 
 in the town of Poland, where he lived for many years. He 
 also filled numerous positions of trust in his native town. After 
 retiring from farming, he went to Portland and lived there 
 with his son, John Cousens, until his death, a few years ago. 
 
 (2.) William, born February 26, 1803. He was a mer- 
 chant for many years at Poland Corner; was also one of the 
 selectmen, and represented his town in the Legislature. He 
 was a man of marked business ability, and was ever a public- 
 spirited and most respected citizen. 
 
 (3.) vSarah, born March 13, 1805; married Dr. Simeon 
 Foss, December 29, 1823. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. I05 
 
 (4.) Eliza Cushman, born May 6, 1807; married George 
 W. Davis. 
 
 (5.) Lucy, born September 5, 1809; married Rufus vSoiile, 
 September 16, 1846. 
 
 (6.) Thomas, born June 29, 1811. He lived on the old 
 homestead until his death, which occurred but a few years 
 since. He was a most worthy and respected citizen, ever loyal 
 and true to all that pertained to his native town. 
 
 (7.) Susan Cushman, born August 19, 181 3. 
 
 (8.) Abigail Deering, born July 12, 1815; married William 
 F. Welsh, July 15, 1841. 
 
 (9.) Humphrey, born March 27, 181 7. He is now living 
 at Gorham, Maine, the last survivor of this honored and pro- 
 lific family. 
 
 (10.) Mary Jane, born April 24, 1819; married John True, 
 of Bangor, Me. 
 
 (11.) Adeline, born April 24, 1821 ; married the Rev. John 
 H. Mordaugh. 
 
 (t2.) Harriet Newell, born October 29, 1823. 
 
 (13.) Jacob Tewksbury, born June 3, 1825. 
 
 (14.) James Deering, born January 27, 1827. 
 
 Lyman M. Cousens, son of William, was born in the town 
 of Poland, in 1840. When a boy, in 1858, he went to Minot, 
 and was clerk in a store there, succeeding, in 1862, to the busi- 
 ness, under the firm name of Milliken & Cousens, and then of 
 Cousens & Rounds. In 1868, he went to Portland, and became 
 a member of the firm of D. W. True & Co., wholesale grocers, 
 afterward establishing the firm of Cousens & Tomlinson. At 
 the present time he is a member of the firm of Milliken, 
 Cousens & Short, commission merchants and wholesale dry and 
 fancy goods and clothing. He is also a director of the Portland 
 National Bank, director of the Union Safe Deposit and Trust 
 Company, director of the State Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, president of the trustees of Evergreen Cemetery, 
 president of the trustees of the Payson Memorial Church, and 
 trustee of the Home for Friendless Boys. Mr. Cousens mar- 
 ried, in [871, Mary E. True, of Portland. Perhaps no absent 
 son of Poland has lived more in the interests of his native 
 town than has Mr. Cousens. Her prosperity always cheers 
 him, as whatever might be agitated to impede her onward 
 march would disturb his loyal heart. 
 
Io6 POLAND CEMTCNNIAL 
 
 DAMKI, \V. TRUF.. 
 
 Very many of Poland's worthy sons, both alive and dead, 
 it would be pleasant to remember, but since our prescribed 
 limits forbid, we can name but a few. With these, Daniel W. 
 True should be inclvided. He was born in Poland, Aug-ust 20, 
 1S21, and died September 16, 1S88. In the year 1855 he 
 became a member of the firm of J. & D. W. True, wholesale 
 grocers, in Portland. He was a man of marked business capa- 
 city, and amassed a large property, and by his sterling worth 
 of character he held lifelong the confidence of the community 
 and a large patronage from a wide circle. He occupied many 
 public positions of importance, but though thus engaged, and 
 long away from town, he kept his old Poland home and an unfail- 
 ing friendship for all his native townspeople, old and young. 
 He married in 1S47, Mary F. Milliken. Their only son, Frank 
 D., succeeds his father in the Portland firm, which still holds 
 the old name of D. W. True & Co. This son, Frank, has 
 entered upon the years of manhood with much of the tact and 
 push of his honored father, and besides his local business in 
 Portland, holds an interest in the corn packing industry with 
 Fernald & Keene. He, too, delights to visit often, and stay at 
 times in the old Poland home. 
 
 LUTHER PERKINS. 
 
 Anything like a true history of the development and 
 progress of Poland would be incomplete without mention 
 of the late Luther Perkins. Born in Oxford, Maine, 
 May 9, 181 7, he married Mary L. Waite, and settled in 
 Poland, which became his adopted home ; and he was 
 ever loyal and true to her interests, taking an active part in 
 all that pertained to her welfare. Mr. Perkins began busi- 
 ness in 1841, as a cattle and real estate broker, and was engaged 
 in this pursuit at West Poland for more than fifty years. In 
 all this time he was well and widely known as one of Poland's 
 most honorable and substantial men. Genial, kind-hearted 
 and courteous, always generous to every good cause, he was a 
 prominent figure in town through the half century and more, 
 filling many positions of trust with dignity and honor, and 
 invariably saying and doing the right things at the right 
 time and place. An honored and respected citizen, a trust- 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. IO7 
 
 worthy and faithful townsman, a devoted and kind neighbor 
 and friend, all the nc^ble virtues were in him to be found, — not 
 withoutfaults to be sure, but with a record and character which 
 few possess. He moved to Mechanic Falls, in 1888, where he 
 resided about four years previous to his death, which occurred 
 April 2, 1892. 
 
 RICHARD TRlPP's FAMILY. 
 
 On a little knoll, a short distance from the lake at West 
 Poland, which has since borne his name (Tripp Pond), once 
 lived Richard Tripp and his wife, Jane Gustin. It is not 
 known precisely when they moved here, but it was probably 
 about the year 1780, for they were among the first settlers. 
 Little is known of these people beyond the fact that they 
 were honest, industrious, and very respectable. Richard 
 Tripp purchased his land of a proprietor who agreed to take 
 his pay in baskets, of any size Mr. Tripp desired to make. 
 Traveling in those days being chiefly confined to oxen, and a 
 journey of twelve or fifteen miles in winter taking several 
 hours, he conceived the idea of making a basket large enough 
 to cover over a whole sled. This he constructed with a tight 
 fitting cover, and it was used as a vehicle in cold weather for 
 moving some of the early families. It is .said that William 
 Emery's family, which consisted of wife and five small chil- 
 dren, were placed in this giant basket, packed in straw and 
 warm blankets, in the month of March, 1796, and transported 
 from Gloucester to Megquier Hill, Poland, a distance of fifteen 
 miles, Mr. Emery driving the oxen. It required one whole 
 day to make the journey. This basket, made more than one 
 hundred years ago, is said to be still in existence and care- 
 fully preserved by some member of the Emery family, 
 probably the last relic of the handiwork of Richard Tripp. 
 In these later years of pride and fashion, the inhabitants of 
 West Poland have tried to change the name of this beautiful 
 lake to one more romantic, but all in vain, for it invariably 
 reverts to the original Tripp. And may it be known by 
 this name for all future time, as a lasting memento to the 
 courage, honesty, and kindliness of this prolific family ! They 
 lived in an age when large families were popular, and wishing 
 to keep abreast of the times Mr. Tripp and wife had nineteen 
 children. We are able to give the names of fourteen of these 
 
I08 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 and it is probable that the others died young. Among the 
 number were two pairs of twins. The list is as follows : 
 
 Abigail Born April 17, 1786. 
 
 Pecie " June 13. 1787. 
 
 Mary " Feb. 12, 1789. 
 
 David " Apr. 28,1791. 
 
 Reuben " Jan. 27,1793. 
 
 Ebenezer " Nov, 13, 1794. 
 
 Sarah • ' Mar. 26, 1 796. 
 
 Joanna " Apr. 24, 1798. 
 
 Abel " Apr. 26, 1 800. 
 
 Abner " Apr. 30, 1802. 
 
 Jane " Mar. 30, 1804. 
 
 Thomas " Dec. 23,1805. 
 
 Eunice Date of birth unknown. 
 
 Hannah Born Apr. 24, 1812. 
 
 Dr. Bnrbank, the family physician, offered ]\Irs. Tripp 
 one hundred dollars if she would become the mother of the 
 twentieth child, but the records prove that this offer was of 
 no avail. 
 
 At one time, in the school district at West Poland, fifty 
 scholars were contributed to the school by five families, the 
 Tripp family being one of them. On the occasion of the 
 death of Richard Tripp, William Schellinger, then a boy, was 
 passing the house, when the old lady, coming to the door, 
 called to him, saying : " Tell your folks to come to the funeral 
 at ten o'clock, for the old man wants to be off with himself." 
 He afterward learned, however, that she had reference, not 
 to her dead companion, but to the minister. The Tripps have 
 long since passed away, but their memory still survives. 
 
 It was learned from one of our oldest citizens that the 
 family w^as nearly all buried in the old Staples burying- 
 ground, on the south slope of Black Cap Mountain, a cemetery 
 long since neglected and forgotten. It was only by diligent 
 search that it was found. Here on a little knoll, sloping to the 
 South, ready to catch the first gleams of the rising sun, 
 covered with pine and birches, in the midst of a forest, lie the 
 ashes of Richard Tripp and his wife, Jane. There is nothing 
 at the head of the nameless graves here to indicate who lies in 
 the lonely and secluded spot. Nothing but plain stones mark 
 them, and they have become moss covered and drifted over 
 with leaves. It is probable that more than one hundred were 
 buried in this sad and gloomy sepulchre. 
 
THE STAPLES BURYIXG-GROUXD. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 BENJAMIN WATERHOUSE. 
 
 Benjamin Waterhouse, son of Joseph, who was a son of 
 George Waterhouse of Revolutionary fame, was born in Poland, 
 October 28, 1800, in the house w^hich was his home during his 
 entire life, and which is now owned and occupied by his son, 
 V. P. Waterhouse. He early became interested in the affairs 
 of his native town, and served on the Board of Selectmen for 
 seventeen years, a much longer period than any other man 
 before or since his time. His administration of town affairs 
 always gave universal satisfaction, and his wisdom in settling 
 many serious and important questions which arose in those 
 early times, shows that he was a man of marked ability. He 
 was one of the Board of County Commissioners when the pres- 
 ent county buildings w^ere erected; served his district in the 
 wState Legislature two years in succession, and was ever a 
 broad-minded, loyal citizen. In politics he was a life-long 
 Democrat, and in religion a Universalist, although he would 
 often say he "wasn't sot in either." He was a civil engineer 
 by trade, and probably laid out more lots and observed more 
 lines than any other man who ever lived in town. In all the 
 business that was entrusted to his care he ever maintained a 
 straightforward and honest policy, and the town of Poland 
 w^as made better by his life. His death occurred in June, 
 1891. 
 
 Before closing these brief sketches we desire to speak of 
 a most respected former citizen of this town — Mr. Adna C. 
 Dennison. Mr. Dennison came to Mechanic Falls, which was 
 part of Poland till 1892. In 1856 he engaged in building and 
 in the manufacture of paper. He practically created Mechanic 
 Falls, and carried on a large business for many years at that 
 place. He was a most successful paper manufacturer, and 
 an honest, enterprising townsman, ever loyal and generous, 
 taking an active interest in everything that contributed to the 
 w^elfare of this town. In the early sixties, when the town was 
 financially embarrassed, he even paid his taxes in advance and 
 performed many noble and patriotic acts through those trying 
 years of civil war — deeds which should be remembered by this 
 and the coming generation. Mr. Dennison is now^ living on a 
 farm on Pidgeon Hill, in the town of Mechanic Falls, and is in 
 feeble health. 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAI,. 
 
 INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Prominent anion*;' the industries of Poland, aside from 
 those already spoken of, is J. vS. Bris^fg's's mill at Poland, which 
 has been operated for more than twenty-five years by its 
 present owner. Mr. Brigg's has made many improvements and 
 additions since starting his first mill, kee])ing in touch with the 
 modern methods as they have been developed, imtil he now has 
 one of the largest and best equipped saw and grinding mills in 
 this section of the State. In connection with his mill busi- 
 ness he conducts a large trade in farm and agricultural 
 implements. 
 
 The store at Poland Corner is owned and managed by 
 Charles Rowe, who has been its proprietor for about twenty 
 years. This is one of the finest locations in town, and the 
 store has changed hands but few times in the last half-century. 
 Mr. Rowe has lately added a livery stable to his business, and 
 is receiving liberal patronage. 
 
 The two stores at West Poland are conducted respectively 
 by George O. Goodwin & Co., and S. A. Megquier. Both firms 
 have been in trade nearly, or quite, twenty -five years, and both 
 have the confidence and respect of their townsmen, 
 
 E. A. Storer and W. H. Storer, are each carriage makers, 
 and do a thriving business. 
 
 William M. Megquier, at West Poland, carries on black- 
 smithing, which he has followed for many years, occupying the 
 same shop which was built by his father, Moses Megquier, who 
 established the business here nearly seventy years ago. This 
 long established shop, one of the landmarks of the town, has 
 always received a liberal patronage, and Mr. Megquier is one 
 of the stalwart men of his native place. 
 
 At West Poland is also the home ofifice of the Fcrnald, 
 Keene & True Company, packers of Poland sugar corn at 
 Poland, Oxford and Bryant's Pond. This industr}-, which has 
 carried the name of Poland to distant parts, is of Poland 
 origin, and of Poland management, having been established in 
 1888, by Harry A. & C. L. Keene, sons of O. S. Keene, a 
 native of Poland, with I>. M. Fernald, great-grandson of one 
 of the first settlers of Poland, as manager. Mr. F. D. True, 
 also of an old Poland family, was admitted to the business 
 in 1891, when the present corporation name was adopted, and 
 
112 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Messrs. C. L. & O. S. Keene became directors. As a Poland 
 enterprise, the first factory was built in Poland. The second 
 factory, at Bryant's Pond was erected in 1891, and the third, at 
 Oxford, in 1892. The business has steadily increased from the 
 beginning, and the concern early became the third largest of 
 its class in the State, shipping all over the country, its product 
 having the endorsement of leading grocers, especially in the 
 cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and vSan Francisco. 
 It finds its raw material in the rich farms of Poland, which are 
 to be numbered with the most noteworthy of Poland's indus- 
 tries. Mr. Fernald, who has been the manager from the start, 
 has made his headquarters in Poland. He is warmly attached 
 to his native town, heartily devoted to its interests, and has 
 always been ready as a leader or follower to help on every 
 praiseworthy movement or good work for its benefit. He has 
 served frequently as moderator of town meetings, and has 
 exerted his influence for every measure for town improvement 
 which his judgment has approved. Mr. Fernald's home is on 
 the old homestead, which has been in the family for upward of 
 one hundred years. 
 
 The famous Elmwood farm, at East Poland, owned and 
 managed by J. S. vSanborn, of the firm of Chase & Sanborn, 
 Boston, is an enterprise of which the town of Poland may 
 indeed feel proud. Mr. Sanborn is a breeder of the finest of 
 gentlemen's driving horses, and has one hundred and fifty on 
 the place at the present time. This was originally the John 
 R. Pulsifer farm, and was purchased by Mr. Sanborn in 1886. 
 He has erected and fitted here the most commodious breeding 
 stables in this county. They are models of neatness, and 
 reflect great credit upon the owner. This industr}' is a great 
 benefit to our town. Mr. Sanborn is a most generous, loyal 
 citizen, and has a constant interest in the welfare of Poland. 
 
 The hotel at Poland Corner has been recently purchased 
 by Dr. W. S. Norcross, the celebrated specialist, and has been 
 fitted by him with great care for use as a sanitarium in the 
 future. Dr. Norcross has made many changes about the 
 entire premises, all of which are improvements, and show that 
 he is a man of progressive ideas. We gladly welcome such a 
 citizen to our enterprising town. 
 
 While we are mentioning the business at Poland Corner, 
 we Avould not forget to speak of the Portland &- iMumford 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 113 
 
 Falls Railroad and its genial local agent, Mr. Robert Moore, who 
 helped so much in making satisfactory arrangements for trans- 
 porting the large company of Poland friends on Centennial 
 Day. This road has been in operation scarcely two years, but, 
 by the courtesy of its management, it has come into general 
 favor, and shares a large patronage, which must steadily 
 increase. It is a great benefit to our town, and is fully appre- 
 ciated by all. 
 
 POLAND'S SONS WHO SERVED DURING THE 
 REBELLION. 
 
 Names. Age. Co. Regt. M. or S. Date E 
 
 Allen, Geo. L 26 F 9 S,...Sept. 
 
 Allen, Wm. H 20... G....23....S Sept. 
 
 Archibald, Hira A 19.... D 15. . . .S. . . .Feb. 
 
 Atwood, Eleazor H 22 . . . . H. . . . i . . . . S . . 
 
 Beal, Leonard H 30. . . . F. . . . 13. . . .M.. 
 
 Bragdon, Josiah i8....I)....i5... S.. 
 
 Berry, William 30. . . .1). . . . m. . . .S. . 
 
 Burnham, Otho W 24 C 17... ,M.. 
 
 Bridgham, Geo. G 26 . . . . C . . . . r 7 . . M. . 
 
 Brown, Horace J 24. . . .C. . . . 17. . . .M.. 
 
 Benson, Clarenton W 24 .... G .... 23 . . . S . . 
 
 Bowen, Eben i3. . . .G. . . .23 . . . .S. . 
 
 Bragdon, Joseph R 18... G....23 
 
 Bray, Stephen 39 .... G .... 23 . 
 
 Bailey, Smith G 5- 
 
 Bancroft, John F 
 
 .S 
 .M. 
 
 .May 
 . Dec. 
 . Dec. 
 .Dec. 
 
 • Aug. 
 ■Aug. 
 
 • Aug. 
 .Sept. 
 .Sept. 
 . Sept. 
 . Sept. 
 
 nlisted. Remarks. 
 
 20, '64 
 
 29, '62 
 
 17. '65 
 
 3, '61 . . . .Living 
 
 10, '61 
 
 10, '61 
 
 10, '61 
 
 18, '62. . . .Living 
 18, '62. . . .Living 
 18, '62. . . .Living 
 
 29, '62 
 
 29, '62 
 
 29, '62 
 
 29, '62. . . .Living 
 
 ,21. . . .1 5. . . .S. . . .June 
 
 ,, I Sgt.Mai. 
 --1' ^' s June I. 
 
 , 10. . . .S. 
 10 . . S. 
 
 • Aug. 
 
 .Oct. 
 
 .Oct. 
 
 Bragdon, John J 
 
 Butler, Florentine 18 1 9 S Sept. 
 
 Berry, Geo. W 35 H 14 M.. . .Mar. 
 
 Brooks, Geo 25 A i M... .Jan. 
 
 Brown, Wentworth M 7th Battery 
 
 Chaplin, W. Jr 18 Unassig'd..S April 
 
 Crooker, Ansel F 21 Unassig'd . . S Mar. 
 
 Cole, Isaac 44 H 14 M.. ..Mar. 
 
 Cousins, Hanson S 17 H. . . .14 S Mar. 
 
 Cash, Nathaniel 18. ... B. 
 
 Cummings, Wallace E 27. . . .C. 
 
 Chipman, Elmer 24. . . .K. . . . i S 
 
 Colbert, John 18 G 15 S Feb 
 
 Cole, Levi E 34 (^ 23 S Sept 
 
 Cole, Osgood 30. . . .G. . . 23. . . .M 
 
 Crooker, Almon 23 .... G .... 23 ... S . 
 
 Cobb, Charles M iS B. . ..31 S. 
 
 Cobb, Chipman 42. . . .G . . . . 14. . . .M 
 
 Cobb, Marshall C 20 (i. .. .14 ^• 
 
 Crooker, Jonathan 44. . . .G. . . . 14. . . .M 
 
 Chipman, Edward S 18. . . .C. . . . 17. . . .S. 
 
 Churchill, Allen M 21.... C. 
 
 Cobb, Cephas B 32 C . 
 
 Cutler, Stephen P 30 B . 
 
 Chipman, Julias G 20.. .B.. 
 
 Cushman, Solomon D 30 G. 
 
 .Sept. 
 
 .Sept. 
 
 .Mar. 
 
 . Dec. 
 
 .Dec. 
 
 .Dec. 
 
 • Aug. 
 .17. . . .S. . . .Aug. 
 . .17. . . .M.. . .Aug. 
 . .17. . . .S. . . .Sept. 
 
 . .17 S Sept. 
 
 . .23 . . .M... .Sept. 
 
 27, "04. . . . Living 
 
 22, '65 
 
 Q. "65 
 
 '"6,''65^.. '. 
 
 24/65 
 
 22, '65. . . .Living 
 
 22, '65 
 
 iS, '62 
 
 5, '61 
 
 4, '61 
 
 18, '65 
 
 29, '62 
 
 29, '62 
 
 29, '62. . . . Living 
 
 23, '64 . . Livmg 
 12, '61. . . .Living 
 
 12. '61 
 
 12, '61 
 
 18, '62. . . .Living 
 
 18, '62 Tviving 
 
 18, '62 
 
 20, '64 
 
 29, '62. . . .Living 
 29, '62 
 
114 
 
 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Age. 
 
 Co. Regt. M. or S. Date Enlisted. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Chaplin, Samuel F. 
 Chandler, Ezra D . . 
 Durt^in, (leo. A. . . . 
 Duran, James W. . . 
 
 Dunn, Geo. B 
 
 Daisey, Chas. M. . . 
 Dockham, Chas. AI. 
 Donald, James T. . 
 
 Duran, Josiah 
 
 Davis, Lucius 
 
 Dennen, Eugene L 
 
 Davis, Benj 
 
 Davis, Moses B. . . . 
 Downing, Timothy T 
 Dudley, Samuel H 
 Dunn, Bertrand F. 
 Dustin, Alfred. . . . 
 Denning, Jabez T. 
 Deguis, John W... 
 Davis, Maynard G 
 Dockham. Geo. A. 
 
 Dwinal, Orrin 
 
 Durgin, Joseph H. 
 Duran, Elliot C. . . 
 Dudley, Oliver P. 
 Durgin, Chas. C . 
 Davis, Isaac P. . . . 
 Downing, Jas. \V . 
 Dwinal, Wellington H 
 Everett, \Vm. H. . . . 
 
 Estes, Silas 
 
 Edwards, Humphrey ! 
 Edwards. Joshua... 
 Emery, Greenleaf . . . 
 Edwards, Nelson W. 
 Edwards, Richard... 
 Edmunds, Joseph O. 
 Fuller, Edward H. . . 
 Freeman, Chas. O... 
 Freeman, Joseph H. 
 Fisher, Lucius D. . . . 
 
 Foss, Alvin F 
 
 Field, James W 
 
 Fuller, Wm. H 
 
 Fisher, Thomas 
 
 Fardy, John 
 
 Grant, William H. . 
 
 Gillson, Luke 
 
 Gam moo, Stephen W 
 Gerrv, William (i. . . 
 
 Lrriffi'n, Albert 
 
 Gerry, James F 
 
 Greenwcjod, Xorris. . 
 Griffin, Sidney A . . 
 Goodwin, Noah H. . . 
 
 Gordan, Lewis 
 
 Harris, Chas. E 
 
 Harris, Tri-tam T. . 
 Hodgkins, (ieo. A... 
 Haskell, Frank S. . . 
 
 33 
 
 i8 
 
 19. 
 
 19. 
 
 .G. 
 
 .G.. 
 .K.. 
 .D.. 
 . C . . 
 
 .C. 
 .C. 
 C, 
 
 C. 
 .G. 
 
 G. 
 .G. 
 .G. 
 .G. 
 .G. 
 .G. 
 .G. 
 .A. 
 .A. 
 .D., 
 .F. 
 
 G. 
 .D. 
 .D.. 
 .G. 
 .K. 
 .C. 
 
 17 
 17 
 17 
 17 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 30 
 30 
 32 
 
 lO 
 
 I 
 
 9 
 9 
 9 
 14 
 8 
 . Unassig 
 
 .B. 
 C. 
 . K. . 
 .1).. 
 .1).. 
 .G.. 
 .D.. 
 .D. . 
 .B.. 
 
 Q 
 
 .K.'. 
 
 . G . . 
 
 .G.. 
 
 .G.. 
 
 .G. 
 
 .A.. 
 
 .G.. 
 
 .B.. 
 
 .K.. 
 
 D.. 
 .C. 
 
 G.. 
 
 A.. 
 .B.. 
 ,11.. 
 .(i. . 
 .(i. . 
 
 ,M. 
 
 .S. 
 .S. 
 
 .s. 
 
 . s. 
 
 . M. 
 ..S. 
 
 ..s. 
 
 . .M. 
 
 .M. 
 S. 
 .M. 
 
 . .S. 
 . .M. 
 
 . .S. 
 
 M. 
 
 .8. 
 .M. 
 .M. 
 .M. 
 .S. 
 
 .s. 
 
 .M. 
 .M. 
 
 .S. 
 
 .s. 
 
 .s. 
 .s. 
 
 .M. 
 .M. 
 
 .S. 
 M 
 .M. 
 .M 
 
 .S., 
 .S. 
 
 s. 
 
 .s. 
 
 M. 
 M. 
 
 .S. 
 
 s. 
 .s. 
 .s. 
 s. 
 .s. 
 
 .vSept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .June 24, 
 . Dec. 10, 
 .Aug. iS, 
 .Aug. iS, 
 .Aug. 1 8, 
 .Aug. 1 8, 
 .Aug. 18, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Dec. 15, 
 .Dec. 15, 
 .Mar. 23, 
 .Oct. 4. 
 .Feb. 19, 
 .Sept. 22, 
 .Sept. 22, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Alar. 25, 
 •Aug. 5, 
 .April 6, 
 .Dec. 28, 
 .Nov. 2, 
 .June 24, 
 .Dec. 10, 
 . IJec. 21, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Dec. 31. 
 .Dec. 10, 
 .Dec. 18, 
 .Aug. 18, 
 . Feb. 6, 
 .Sept. 19, 
 Oct. 15, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Dec. 15, 
 .Feb. 13, 
 .Dec. 28, 
 .Ji:ne 24, 
 .Dec. 10, 
 Aug. 1 8, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Dec. 15, 
 .Sept. 26, 
 .Mar. 22, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Sept. 29, 
 .Jan. 4, 
 .Dec. 31. 
 .June 24, 
 .June 24. 
 .Nov. 9, 
 
 '62 
 
 '62 
 
 '61 . . . Living 
 
 '61 
 
 '62 
 
 '62 
 
 •62 
 
 '62 
 
 '62 
 
 '62. . . .Living 
 
 '62 
 
 '62. . . .Living 
 
 '62 
 
 '62. . . Living 
 
 '62 
 
 '62 
 
 '62 
 
 '^^3 
 
 '63 
 
 '64 
 
 '64 Living 
 
 '^>4 
 
 'ur 
 
 'Oi 
 
 '(^ 
 
 ,'65 
 
 '63. . . . Living 
 
 '65 
 
 '63 
 
 '65 
 
 '61 
 
 '61. . . . Living 
 
 '61 
 
 '62 
 
 '61 . . . .Living 
 '61 \ 
 
 '63 
 
 '62. . . .Living 
 
 '64 
 
 '62. . . . Living 
 
 '62 
 
 '62 
 
 •62 
 
 '63 
 
 '65 
 
 'f'3 
 
 '61 
 
 '61 
 
 '62 
 
 •63 
 
 'b3 
 
 '64 
 
 '65. . . . Living 
 '62. . . .Living 
 
 '62 
 
 '65 
 
 '63 
 
 •61 
 
 '61 
 
 '61 
 
POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 "5 
 
 Herrick, Bloomville. . . . 
 Heirick, F'reeland M. . . 
 
 Herrick, Geo. W 
 
 Harris, Albert W 
 
 Haskell. Samuel F 
 
 Hanaford, Francis A. . . 
 
 Herrick, Mark A 
 
 Herrick, Rufus W 
 
 Herrick, Weslev C 
 
 Herrick, Ronell'o S 
 
 Herrick, Granville R . . 
 Herrick, Mark A 
 
 Herrick, Nathan 
 
 Haskell, Wm. L 
 
 Harris, Chas. M 
 
 Harris, Wm. H 
 
 Harris, Albert W 
 
 Hunnewell, Geo. W. . . . 
 Hunnewell, Isaiah S.. . . 
 
 Hunnewell, Jas. B 
 
 Herrick, Albert F 
 
 Hutchinson, Henry H.. 
 
 Harris, Chas. E 
 
 Hutchinson, Almon H. . 
 Herrick, Percival D. . . . 
 
 Hall, Frank H 
 
 Jordan, Levi F 
 
 Jillson, Rensalaer 
 
 Jordan, Levi F 
 
 Joi-dan, 2d, Joseph T — 
 
 Jackson, Geo. \V 
 
 Jackson, Augustus M.. 
 
 Jordan, Chas. W 
 
 Jordan, Chas. W 
 
 Jordan, Henry M 
 
 Jewell, Edwin D 
 
 Jewell, David 
 
 Jackson, Augustus M.. 
 
 Kilgore. Andrew 
 
 King, Hiram B 
 
 Knight, William 
 
 Kilbourn, Wm H 
 
 Kalner, (xeo. W 
 
 Libby, Silas C 
 
 Libby, Chas. S 
 
 Lock, Elvin W 
 
 Libby, Silas E 
 
 Lunt, Alexander W. . . . 
 
 Lane, Geo. B 
 
 Lamb, Alonzo P 
 
 Morton, Wm. E . 
 
 Morton, Lewis J 
 
 Mills, James M 
 
 Megquier, Silas A 
 
 Marshall, Lemuel T.. . . 
 
 Mills, Joseph \V 
 
 McKeene, Harper C. . .. 
 
 MortJii, Lewis J 
 
 Morrin, Lewis 
 
 Mavberrv, Francis E. . . 
 
 Age. 
 
 Co. Regt, ,M. or S. Date Enlisted. 
 
 23 
 
 26 
 
 14. 
 
 14 
 
 14. 
 
 17- 
 
 ,17. 
 ■23. 
 
 B. 
 
 B. 
 
 B 
 
 B. 
 
 G. 
 
 K. 
 
 B. 
 
 B. 
 
 ■ 31- 
 
 • 31- 
 
 • 3'- 
 
 ■ 31- 
 
 •31- 
 1 . 
 
 ■ 7- 
 
 G.... 9. 
 ,H....i4. 
 C... 8 
 C... 8. 
 ,B.... 9. 
 Unasg'd. 
 A.... I. 
 .B. 
 ,B. 
 .F. 
 G., 
 B. 
 .C. 
 K 
 
 .G. 
 .C. 
 .G. 
 
 . I . 
 . 1 
 
 • 9- 
 ,23., 
 . I . 
 
 . 8. 
 
 5- 
 
 .14. 
 
 .17. 
 
 ,G 
 A. 
 .B. 
 .H. 
 G. 
 A. 
 ,G. 
 A. 
 B. 
 
 23- 
 
 .30. 
 
 • 9- 
 ..14. 
 
 • 5- 
 .30- 
 •23. 
 . I . 
 
 9 
 
 . Unasg'd 
 G. . . 12. 
 K.... 5. 
 
 .G 23. 
 
 ■ 23. 
 
 . Unasg'd 
 .G.... 3. 
 .E.... =;. 
 
 .14 
 .17. 
 
 • 23 
 
 .G....23 
 .G....r3, 
 .G....IS. 
 .B....T4. 
 
 .G....23 
 .H....14 
 
 S. 
 S. , 
 ,M. 
 ,M. 
 S. 
 S. 
 
 ,s. 
 .s. 
 
 M. 
 
 .s. 
 
 s., 
 
 M., 
 
 s.. 
 s., 
 
 s.. 
 
 .s. 
 
 .s. 
 
 ,M. 
 
 .s. 
 
 .s. 
 .s. 
 
 M. 
 .M. 
 .S 
 .M. 
 .M. 
 .S. 
 .S. 
 
 .Dec. 
 
 .Dec. 
 
 . Dec. 
 
 • Aug. 
 
 •Aug. 
 
 .Sept. 
 
 .Sept. 
 
 .Mar. 
 
 .Feb. 
 
 .Mar. 
 
 .Feb. 
 
 . Apr. 
 
 .Oct. 
 
 ■ Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 .Sept. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 •July 
 
 .July 
 
 .Apr. 
 . Dec. 
 .Dec. 
 .Dec. 
 Sept. 
 
 .Nov. 
 .Julv 
 . Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 ■ Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 . Sept. 
 . Dec. 
 .Sept. 
 .Mar. 
 .June 
 .Dec. 
 .Sept. 
 . Feb. 
 
 Sept. 
 .Apr. 
 .Mar. 
 .Nov. 
 .Sept. 
 .Sept. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 .Apr. 
 .Sept. 
 . Dec. 
 .Dec. 
 •Aug. 
 . Sept. 
 .Sept. 
 . Sept. 
 
 Feb. 
 . Tan. 
 .Feb. 
 . Mar. 
 
 61 . . . .Living 
 
 61 
 
 Oi. . . .Living 
 62. . . .Living 
 62. . . .Living 
 62 
 
 62. . . . Living 
 .Living 
 .Living 
 .Living 
 .Living 
 . Living 
 . Living 
 
 64. 
 65. 
 64. 
 65- 
 64. 
 61. 
 61. 
 61. 
 
 .Living 
 
 ^-4 
 
 65 
 
 63 
 
 63 Living 
 
 65. . . .Living 
 6-i. . . .Living 
 
 63 
 
 63 
 
 64. . . . Living 
 
 63 
 
 63 
 
 61 
 
 61 
 
 62 
 
 62 
 
 62 
 
 63 
 
 61 
 
 65 
 
 bi 
 
 03 
 
 62 
 
 64. . . .Living 
 61 . . . Iviving 
 
 05 
 
 65 
 
 61 
 
 62 
 
 62 
 
 65 
 
 65 
 
 05 
 
 62. . . .Living 
 
 61 
 
 61 . . . .Living 
 6t . . . .Living 
 62. . . .Living 
 
 62 
 
 62 
 
 65 
 
 64 
 
 6c; 
 
 65 
 
ii6 
 
 POLAND CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Names. 
 
 Age 
 
 Co. Regt. M. or S. Date Enlisted. 
 
 ..14. 
 ..19. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Al.. . .Sept. 
 M....Oct. 
 
 Merrill, Wm. H 51 H. . ..14 S.. .Mar. 
 
 McKay, Daniel 2« II 14 S. . . .Feb. 
 
 Mills, James M 22. . . .Unas^'d . . .S. . . .Apr. 
 
 Morton. Mark E 20. . . . Unasg'd . . S. . . .Mar. 
 
 Morse, Ilezekiah 37. ... F ... . 4. . . .S. . . .Aug. 
 
 Marshall, Lemuel T ig. . . . F. . . . 9. . . .S Oct. 
 
 Mayberry, Frank E 
 
 Noyes, John 29 . . . . C . . . 1 7 . . . . M. . . . Aug. 
 
 Orr, Daniel 30 . . . . D . . . . i 5 . . . . M. . . . Dec. 
 
 Perkins, Wm. M 44 G 14 M. . . . Dec. 
 
 Pratt, Cvrus T 24. . . .C . . . . 17. . . .S. . . .Aug. 
 
 Pratt, Wm. W 18 G 23 S... Sept. 
 
 Pulcifer, Alonzo 18....C....31....S... .Mar. 
 
 Pulsifer, Eben J 24 . . . . G . . . i Cav . S . . . . ( )ct. 
 
 Pearson, Chas. H 22. ...H 
 
 Peterson, Orrin L 26. . . L) 
 
 Pattee, Andrew J 32 C 
 
 Parsons. E. G C. ... 17 
 
 Rounds, Joseph 23. . . .H. . . . J4. . . .M.. . .Nov. 
 
 Record, Elhanan W 37. . . .C. . . . 17. . . .S. . . Oct. 
 
 Ricker, Wentworth P 23....C....17....S.... Aug. 
 
 Reed. Jcseph 28 . G 23. . . .]\I Sept. 
 
 Ross, Edward F 18 A 30 S. . .Jan. 
 
 Small, Orrin I i D. C. S 
 
 Stowe, Newton E 25. ... B. ... 14. . . .M.. . . Jtine 
 
 Snell, Alonzo H 1S....G.... i,...S.... Feb. 
 
 Snell, Albion K 43 (x. . . . i. . . .IsL. . .Feb. 
 
 St. Clair, Alanson W 19 . . K. . . . 5. . . .S. . . .June 
 
 Stowe, Newton E 23. . . .(x. . . . 14. . . .M.. . .Dec. 
 
 Strout, Chas. E 22... G. . . . 14. . . . M.. . .Dec. 
 
 Stone, Willard ig . . ,G 23 S Sept. 
 
 Seavy, Chas 18. . . ,B. . . .31 . . . .S. . . .Mar. 
 
 Strout, Alfred 18. . . .II. . ..31. . . .S. . . .Apr. 
 
 Smith, Louville 21 . . . .B. . . . 10. . . S. . . .July 
 
 Tobie, Wm. A 50. . . K 5 M.. . .June 
 
 Tripp, Chas. H 35. . . .G 2^ M Sept. 
 
 Tripp, Joseph P 18 G 23 S Sept. 
 
 True, Thomas J., Jr iS G 23 S Sept. 
 
 Thurston, Benjamin F 18. . . .B. . . .31 . . .S Mar. 
 
 Thurston, Jacob 22 .. B... 32. . . .S. . . .Mar. 
 
 Tobie, JnhT athan L 22. . . .H. . . . 14. . . .S. . . Mar. 
 
 Taylor, Samuel 
 
 Thomas, Otis 21 H... .20 S Oct. 
 
 Verrill. John L 19 .. E.... 5. . . .S. . . . June 
 
 Verrill, Horace A 19. . . .K. . . . 5. . . .M.. . .June 
 
 Verrill, Jeremiah 20 .... G .... 23 .. . S . . . . Sept. 
 
 Verrill. Chas. W 18 B 31 S Apr. 
 
 Verrill, Thomas 31 H....14 M... .Mar. 
 
 Verrill, Samuel 
 
 White, Arthur 36 H 14 "Slav. 
 
 Wallace, Augustine 18....G....14....S 
 
 Waterman, Tillson, Jr 21 . . . .C . . . .17. . . .S. . . .Aug. 
 
 Woodward, Wm. H 21 . . . .C . . . .17. . . .S . . Aug. 
 
 Walker, Phineas 32.. .G . 23.... M Sept. 
 
 Whitman, (xeo. L 29. . . .G. . . .23. . . .M.. . .Sept. 
 
 Woodsome, Edwin 1 8 .... G .... 23 .... S ... . Sept 
 
 18, 
 
 Woodsome, David 21 , 
 
 Weston, Richard 18. 
 
 Walker, Wm. H 22. 
 
 Waterhouse, Charles W. . . .21. 
 Walker, Geo. W 18. 
 
 .(i 
 .A. 
 .B. 
 .H. 
 
 .23 M... .Sept. 
 
 . 30. . . .S. . . Jan. 
 , 9. . . .S. . . .Sept. 
 g. . . .S. . . .Sept. 
 
 . Unasg'd .... S ... . Apr. 
 
 .Living 
 . Living 
 
 Living 
 
 . Living 
 . Living 
 
 Living 
 . Living 
 
 Living 
 . Living 
 Living 
 
 .Living 
 
 . Living 
 . Living 
 . Living 
 
 65. 
 
 . Living 
 .Living 
 
 .Living 
 .Living 
 .Living 
 
 .Living 
 
POLA ND CEN IFNNI A I. 
 
 117 
 
 SUBSTITUTES. 
 
 Name of Principal 
 
 Residence of 
 
 Principal. 
 
 Archibald, Moses Poland 
 
 Bailey, Willard ." Poland . . 
 
 Hray, Daniel J Poland 
 
 Bnrnham, O. W Poland . 
 
 Chandler, Ezra I) Poland . . 
 
 Cobb, Benj. F Poland .. 
 
 Cobb, Charles H Poland .. 
 
 Danforth, Francis A Poland .. 
 
 Davis, John C Poland . 
 
 Dennison, Adna T Poland .. 
 
 Dunn, John S . . . ... Poland . . 
 
 Dunn, Jonas W Poland .. 
 
 Edwards, Jonas Poland .. 
 
 Gerry, William Poland .. 
 
 Hoyt, Frederick A Poland .. 
 
 Jordan, Henry N Poland . . 
 
 Jordan, John W Poland... 
 
 Jordan, Reuben B.. .. ...l^oland .. 
 
 Keene. Amaziah A Poland . . 
 
 Keene. William Poland 
 
 Lane, Charles Poland .. 
 
 Mason, Joseph S Poland .. 
 
 McCann, Isaac F Poland . . 
 
 Megquier, Wm. M Poland . . 
 
 Mumford Augustus I Poland . . . 
 
 Muzzy, Julius Poland... 
 
 Nash, Wm. S. Poland . . 
 
 Parsons, Fred. H Poland .. 
 
 Pierce, Charles A Poland .. 
 
 Pulsifer, John R Poland . 
 
 Rounds, David Poland... 
 
 Russell, Samuel W Poland... 
 
 Spurr, Samuel G Poland . . . 
 
 Stanton, James H.. Poland 
 
 Strout, George E Poland 
 
 Thurston, Edward E Poland 
 
 True, Henry Poland 
 
 Waterhouse, Hannibal H. .Poland. . . 
 
 Waterhouse, .Solon S Poland 
 
 Wight. Tolman Poland . 
 
 York, Wm F Poland .. 
 
 Name of Substitute. 
 
 Army or 
 Navy. 
 
 Daniel McKay Army. 
 
 Otis Thompson Army. 
 
 John McDonald Army. 
 
 Henry D. Bean Armj'. 
 
 Henry Jordan Army. 
 
 .Joseph C. Bray Army. 
 
 .Gandon Louis Army. 
 
 .William Greenwood ... .Army. 
 
 Abel Mahomet Army. 
 
 .(ieorge Brooks ... .. Army. 
 
 . Henry Farrand Army 
 
 .Joseph Burton. .... Army. 
 .Florentine Butler Army. 
 
 James F. Gerry Army. 
 
 . Adolphus P. Milsnn Army . 
 
 Ellis A. Briggs Army 
 
 .Chase N. Harris Army. 
 
 Jeremiah Tripp Army. 
 
 .Oliver P. Dudley Army. 
 
 Lewis Morrin Army. 
 
 .Lemuel T. Marshall. . Army. 
 
 Henry Hutchins Army. 
 
 . William Mclntyre Army. 
 
 .Harper C. McKeene Army. 
 
 .Charles McGowan Army. 
 
 .James Curry Army. 
 
 Frank McCann Army. 
 
 . Euseb Degreeney. Army. 
 
 .Gilbert Simons Army 
 
 Joshua S. Spiller.. .Army. 
 
 .Isaac P. Davis Army. 
 
 . Cornelius Harrington Army. 
 
 .Oscar P. Hughes Army. 
 
 John J. Marston Army 
 
 John Sullivan Navy. 
 
 John L. Lippencott Army. 
 
 John Cotton Army . 
 
 .John Hanrahan Army. 
 
 John Smith . Army. 
 
 John Colbert Army. 
 
 John Williams Army. 
 
 Date of 
 MusteripE 
 
 Feb. 
 
 24l ' 
 
 65 .. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 I, 
 
 64 .. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 5, 
 
 (3... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 22, 
 
 64... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 27. 
 
 64 .. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 27- 
 
 64... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 6, 
 
 65 . . . 
 
 Aug. 
 
 8, 
 
 63... 
 
 Dec. 
 
 27. 
 
 64... 
 
 Jan., 
 
 
 0=,.. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 27. 
 
 65... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 27. 
 
 65... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 27. 
 
 64 
 
 Sept. 
 
 22, 
 
 64... 
 
 Aug. 
 
 5. 
 
 63 - 
 
 Aug. 
 
 S. 
 
 63 .. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 3. 
 
 6s ■• 
 
 Aug. 
 
 5. 
 
 63... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 27, 
 
 64... 
 
 Feb. 
 
 14. 
 
 65... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 4. 
 
 64... 
 
 Aug. 
 
 21, 
 
 63... 
 
 Feb. 
 
 17, 
 
 65. . 
 
 Feb. 
 
 14. 
 
 65 
 
 Aug. 
 
 3. 
 
 63... 
 
 Aug. 
 
 7, 
 
 63 •- 
 
 Oct. 
 
 8, 
 
 64 . 
 
 Oct. 
 
 6, 
 
 64... 
 
 Aug. 
 
 5. 
 
 63... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 16, 
 
 64... 
 
 Aug. 
 
 4. 
 
 63 .. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 I7i 
 
 64... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 27> 
 
 64... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 18, 
 
 63... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 23. 
 
 64... 
 
 Aug. 
 
 7. 
 
 63 .. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 JS. 
 
 64... 
 
 Feb. 
 
 17. 
 
 05... 
 
 Feb. 
 
 10, 
 
 65... 
 
 Feb. 
 
 18, 
 
 65... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 9, 
 
 65 
 
I 
 
^ 
 
 m^ 
 
 M 
 
 
 tV> -fe? 
 
 >.. :i 
 
m 
 

 013 996 780 A ,