Radio Script #142
Little Talks On Common Things
March 30, 1952
Did you ever hear how the administration of Andrew Jackson had such a treasury surp I us that they actua Ily d Istri buted the left-over among the severa I states? In 1952, when the national debt is mounting rapidly toward 300 bl I lion dollars, it seems fantastic to think that our federal government ever had an accumulated surplus, and even more fantastic to believe that Congressmen found no way to spend it, wisely or foolishly, but voted to distribute it among the states.
That happened 116 years ago, In 1836, and the State of Maine decided to distribute Its share of the surplus to its taxpaying citizens, on an equal basis, in the form of silver coins.
Thanks again to Steve Wing, who has so often helped us with material for these programs, we know what some of our Maine citizens did with their share of the federal distribution. For in Mr. Wing’s possession is a si Iver serving spoon, on the back of whose bowl is inscribed: “Property of John H. Quimby.
Belfast, Maine. Made from coin paid him by the UAited States under the Act of Congress, 1836, d i stri but,j rig the surp I us revenue”.
I suspected there were other omissions besides those called to my attention. immediately after the broadcast three weeks ago, when I mentioned names of present business firms that were In business under the same name in 1909. I assure you none of those omissions were intentional, nor were they due to carelessness.
Some of them happened because for no known reason the 1909 Maine Register does not list the name. In other instances my own ignorance was the cause. I simply did not recognize certain names in the 1909 Register as present firms, But whatever the reason for previous omission, we are now glad to make two notab Ie add i ti ons to the I 1st. The firm of GI deon Piche r, now on Water Street, was doing business in 1909 at No.8 Main Street, and George A. Oaviau operated what is sti II Daviau’s Drug Store at the corner of Water and Gray Streets.
Mr. Horace Goodwin of Benton has shown me a Civil War letter written to his grandfather, Charles Goodwin, by a friend, Charles Pratt, in the first months of the war in 1861. The letter was written, In fact, when the war had scarce~y begun. It is dated CI;Duds Mi lis, Fairfax County, Virginia, July 13, 1 861. I treads:
“Friend Charles. I received your favor of the 7th last Tuesday, and was very glad to hear from you. have it pretty hot here, but am hearty and rugged and right on my musc Ie. We guess it Is not much hotter than you have it at home. Henry Rideout writes me that the thermometer ranges from 80 to 100. That is full as hot as we have had it here. It is quite cool today. We had a fine shower last night, and it cleared the air from all impurities. What a shower is like here you can judge when I tell you that last Tuesday it rained two and a half inches in half an hour. We have had three just such showers since we came into Washington. The country is 50 rough and hi /ly that the streets are a perfect brook. It rained the day we marched up here from the City to our first encampment 1 and in some p I aces in the road the water was knee deep, and down one hi I I that we marched It was running in the road to a depth of four inches, over our shoes for more than twenty rods.
“A couple of prisoners were taken last night. The New York Zouaves took one and lost one of their own. We are in the enemy’s country now, within ten mil es of Fa I rfax Court House I and next Monday we sha II move up three miles nearer, from our brigade, and then go on to the courthouse. I expect we shall then have some pretty hot work, but one good thing is we sha II not have to march there. They have got the cars to runn ing on the road to Rt chmond. Yes … terday they bui It a bridge over a stream about four mi les from here. In fact ‘-}L they built” two bridges, one for the railroad and one for teams. The picket has just come in and reports that three more prisoners were taken last night, but I cannot vouch for the truth of the report. We are continua Ily hearing stories of some kind; some are true and others are not. I t has been repo rted that some of our men have been pardoned (probab Iy the wri ter meant paroled), but I t Is no such thing. We have not lost a man yet in any way, but some of ours have been fired upon when out on picket guard, but not hurt.
”We I ive high here, I tell you. We have plenty of pork and beef, wIth rice and beans once a week each, and tea and coffee in any quantity. There is any quantity of blackberrIes here. Whenever we can get out of camp, we can always get three or four quarts. Then we persuade the cook to let us have a kett Ie to stew them in. He always lets us have the kettle, but swears we shan’t have any ]// sugar to sweeten them with, but as soon as his back is turned one of us slips in with a dipper, supposedly to get a little water. He fi lis It with sugar, and we can’t find that the cook is any worse off for It. We are the poorest peop Ie you ever saw wi th regard to money. I’ll bet there is not twenty-f I ve dollars in the whole regiment, officers and all. You see I myself am pretTy low. have to use this official government paper for the want of a few cents to buy some better. I should not have this paper if the wind had not blown the adjutant’s tent over, and this piece got wet and spoilt for their use. I hope we shall get some money soon. now find it Is true abou+ those last three prisoners being taken. Some of our 4th Regiment” pickets took them first, but they got away. Then some of the Zouaves saw them and took after them-. There were only four of the Zouaves, and only one of them had his gun. The others had only kn i ves • They fo I lowed the Rebs a I mos t to the I r camp, go i ng some ways ins f de the Rebel pickets without getting hurt. There is nothing in this world that those Zouaves fear. The Rebe Is cat I them the red devils. The i r un I form Is a red jacket and cap, wi th blue pants. They go just where theyp lease. I f a guard stops them, they just hit him over the eye and pass. They say they are going on to Richmond with us as an advance guard to clear the way.
“While I have been writing this, the Zouaves have just come down on the railroad with ten more prisoners. They are snaking them right in, and say they have two more coming on behind.
“It is now after drill, and I wi II try to finish this letter. There Is another shower right upon us. I have learned the full particulars of the capture of the Rebe Is today. I t appears they were a party of scouts that were led by a spy, one that has been a II through our camps. He had no un i form, and of course he could pass the guards. But finally they caught him napping. A party of Zouaves were out on a scout and came upon an old negro bui Iding fence. He had on a mi I I tary jacket, and they sme It a rat. They asked the negro I f he was a lone. He said ‘No, there was 15 more close by’. The major told him to show them where the 15 were. He said he would as soon as he fixed his fence. They asked what he was bu II ding fence for. He sa Id there were some cows ins I de, and un less he fixed It, the cows would run away. Soon the negro led them right to where the Rebs were hiding. The Rebs took to their heels like foxes before hounds. They were armed with rifles, revolvers and Bowie knIves, whi Ie the Zouaves had only the I r bayonets and kn I ves. The Zouaves chased the Rebs about ha I f a mi Ie when the Rebels ran into a party of Maine boys that had just been relieved from picket duty. Jumping up, these Maine boys stopped the Rebs, who threw away their arms. Up came the Red Devils and claimed the prisoners. They only got four be~ sides the old negro. But hearing that the other ten had somehow got away, they put after them full chase and finally rounded up all but three.
“I have written about enough. One word for Frank and then I will close. (Frank was Charles Goodwin’s wife Frances.) Tell her that, if she misses my morning calls any I’IDre than I do, she must have thought a great deal of them. I dare not a II ow myse I f to th ink of such past enjoyments for fear It w III make me homesick. must close now, for the drum has beat for dri II again. Give my love to all the folks. Goodby for this time. Yours as ever, Chas. H. Pratt”
Thanks to that very helpful listener, Emery Hegarty, I have seen the assessment book for the town of Watervll Ie for the year 1847. As most of you know that is one of my favorite years in local history, a year into whose records I keep digging so that some day I hope to have a clear picture of what was going on in business, industry, education, religion and social life in that year, a hundred and five years ago, when Dr. Valorus Cool rdge murdered Edward Mathews.
Quite by accident I found the records of the town liquor agent in 1847, for it was that record book in which had later been pasted the first prescriptions of the old drug store that is now Dexter’s. Now we add to these interesting items the Waterville Assessors’ records for 1847. The first name in the book is Waterville’s famous doctor, Moses Appleton, who is down for $5,500. In respect to real estate, Watervi lie’s richest man was Nathaniel Gilman, whose real property was assessed at $20,550. Timothy Boutelle, at one time reputed to be nearly as wealthy as Gilman, had land and buildings assessed at only $9,400. Both V. p. 0001 idge and Ed Mathews, the man he murdered, have their names in this book, but neither owned any real estate. C. S. Hathaway, founder of one of Watervil Ie’s great industries, was then a young man. He was down for only a thousand dollars The Moors (spelled “MOOR”) were lawyers and mi.ll owners. Daniel Moor was assessed $4,000 and W. B. Moor $3,850. Esty and Kimbal I, other mi I I owners, were put “down for $4,900. The Marstons owned a lot of property in 1847. Joseph paid a tax on $4,250, Oliver on $3,000, Isaiah on $3,500, Thomas on $2,550. Ed Mathews was a descendent of Watervi I Ie’s patri arch, Simeon Mathews, who had built a big house on Sliver Street. Simeon. had died before 1847, but the assessment book lists the Simeon Mathews estate at· $6,700. Char les, the bookseller and stationer, owned no real estate, but John was put down for more than his dead father’s whole estate, $6,825.
The Merrills, too, had property. Jediah was listed at $5,950, Josiah at $4,300, and Ephraim at $2,400, while the younger Morrills — Jediah Jr., Josiah, Jr., Abraham and Nathan — were assessed respectively for $1,100, $700, $1,450 and $750. The only Morses listed in 1847 were Horatio and Eben, neither for any real estate. McKechnles stili lived In Waterville in 1847. The founder of the famIly, John McKechnie, who had made the famous survey to which most Waterville real estate titles go back, was long since dead, but two of his thirteen children owned Watervi lie rea I est~te in 1847. A lexander was It sted for $1,600 and Obadiah for $200. John’s grandson and Alexander’s son, Erastus, was living on a farm on the Oakland road when the Centennial History of Waterville was pubI i shed just fifty years ago. That h I story a Iso says that Obadiah was burled In the same cemetery with his father, in Watervi lie’s first burying ground on the south side of Mi” Street, now Western Avenue.
The only Colby faculty member who is listed as owning property was Professor Loomis, the chemist who examined the stomach of the murdered Mathews and found the prussic acid. His house was assessed at $400. Three of the Percivals — Homer, Sumner and Joseph — had among them property assessed at $5,600. Of the Redingtons, only Samuel was In the upper :1:’::,’ brackets, with $9,925, although Si las had a comfortable $4,000. Isaac was down for $2,850. Asa, who was then a young man, scarcely starting on his commendable road to fortune, was I isted for $650, only $150 more than Harriet’s $500. Next to Nathan ie I Gi I man, Watervi lie’s biggest taxpayer in 1847 was James stackpole, whose many holdings amounted to an assessment of $12,800.
One of the group of doctors who performed the autopsy on Ed Mathews’ body was Dr. Stephen Thayer. His property was set at $3,7QO, and three other Thayers had together $6,800. The Gatchel Is were substantial citizens. William and Walter, in business together, paid a tax on $10,000, whi Ie Nehemiah’s property was listed at $4,500 and Homer’s at $2,800. The Phi Ibrlcks, too, had become prominent, John befng assessed for $7,250. Well In the running were the Prays and the Plaisteds -Robert P;ray for $5,800 and Samuel Plaisted for $4,150. In the whole book, with Its 708 listed taxpayers, there were no surnames beginning with O,.Q, U, V, X or Z. And get this, among the 708 there is not a single French-Canadian name. The French had not come in 1847, at least not In any numbers to be property holders and tax payers. Today French names appear In any list of Waterv! lie’s substantial citizens.
What other property was taxed In 1847 besides real estate? Cows were uniformly assessed at $20. Horses ranged from $20 to $60, oxen from $60 to $80 a pair, young cattle for $10. Sheep were listed at $2, hogs at $6, hay at $7 a ton. Either the goods stocked by Watervl lie merchants In 1847 we re few, or the assessors overlooked a lot. The largest stock assessed was Daniel lord’s for $2,000. Charles Thayer and Johnson Woodbury each were dOltn for stock ,of $1,500, John Bradbury for $1,000, Steves and Clark for $400, James West and P. Hi II for $200 each, and Clark Stanley for $50. Those are all the merchants whose stock was taxed In Waterville in 1847 — just eight of them. Only four citizens paid taxes on carriages. Harrison Smith and Hiram Crowell had vehicles listed at $100 each; 01 iver Marston!s was $50; and K. Marston was put down for a chaise at $25. After the name of Wi II lam Coombs appears this notation: lip r I vate p rope rty to be taken from the cows by request. House r.lt the Village near the Penstock assessed to Wi II iam Coombs Is owned by his wife.” Set down as Joseph Smith’s property was one-half the old printing office and one-half of the pool. William Ellis is assessed $100 for a loft in the Boutelle Block. Alfred Wins low had to pay a tax on $157 for hoi ding 45 cords of bark; seven men were taxed for debts due, ranging from $100 to $500; and Nathan Freeman’s stored oats were hit for $500.
Getting Interested In the re latlve number of horses and oxen owned In Waterville in 1847, I went through the whole book,page by page, carefully counting the listed horses and oxen. Horses were owned by 48 different taxpayers, none of whom owned more than two horses, and on Iy nine of the 48 owners had more than one. The tota I number of taxed horses In Watervi I Ie In 1847 was on Iy 57. Oxen were not as numerous as I would have guessed. They were owned by 72 men, none of whom owned more than two yoke, but 12 men did own two yoke each. The total number of oxen was 84 yoke, or 168 oxen. Certainly, with only 57 horses and 168 oxen, Waterville was not noted for its beasts of burden a hundred years ago.
Year: 1952