\nMartin Blaisdell, whom I mentioned last week, a prominent citizen of Waterville half a century ago, gained quite a reputation as a settler of estates. In 1910 he was called upon to settle the estate of Lizzie Gifford of Fairfield. It proved to be complicated, because the heirs were widely scattered, some of them as far away as Oklahoma and Nevada. Finally Blaisdell persuaded them all to allow one relative, Mrs. Reta Eaton to act as their attorney. Altogether there were ten heirs. Some of them took furniture or other articles in partial payment of their shares. So it fell to Blaisdell to see that every household item was individually appraised and properly charged to whomever took it. There were 45 such sold items. The top prices were $10 for a Clarion stove and $12 for 230 books. Six dining chairs went for $3, a clock for $2, and a haircloth rocker for $1. Seventeen sofa pillows brought $2, a cot bed and mattress $1.50, and a rattan rocker 50 cents. All the tableware was valued at $5.<\/p>\n
Several unusual items on Blaisdell’s list were a cobler-seat rocker, a nurse-rocker, and a fox skin. Not a lot of money was involved. The heir who was credited with the largest lot had a total of only $20, including the range. Although there was no auction, several items were sold outside the family. A.L. Laurence paid $3 for a refrigerator and 50 cents for a wash boiler and its contents. It would be interesting to know what those contents were. Some of the heirs got no money because they already owed too much to Mrs. Gifford. One such heir settled his full claim to a share in the estate for the cancellation of notes he owed her totaling $425. The entire distribution of that estate amounted to $2219.<\/p>\n
Some of the expenses noted in Blaisdell’s final account were Mrs. Berry, for cleaning the house, $3.50; Fairfield Publishing Co., for notice, 50 cents; George Richardson, for removing rubbish, 50 cents. For medical services Dr. Walters got $8.50 and Dr. Downs $3.65. Six dollars was paid to the appraisers. Lawry’s funeral charges were $100; a gravestone cost $25, and $100 was paid for perpetual care of the cemetery lot. For several months’ work and a lot of trouble, Blaisdell got $44.39, his 2% commission on the estate.<\/p>\n
By the way, the man who supplied that gravestone was appropriately named E.W. Marble.<\/p>\n
When it was allover, Blaisdell wrote a thank-you letter to Mrs. Eaton. He said: “I do not know how I could ever have settled this estate without your help. You will see that my receipts cover both the cash and the household goods taken by each heir. I originally charged the goods that you took all to your children. You have had more trouble in this matter than all the other heirs, and I think that half the goods you took should come from Will’s share instead of all from your children. If you will send me your power of attorney. I will send you a check, and I will return the power of attorney as soon as I have made final settlement with the judge of probate.”<\/p>\n
It is interesting to note how an undertaker itemized his expenses half a century ago. In Mrs. Gifford’s case, it had cost $60 for casket and box, $3 for engraved plate, $1.25 for flowers for the door, $1.50 for use of chairs, $5 for the minister, $5 for the hearse, and $2.50 for a team for the bearers.<\/p>\n
In another instance Blaisdell was concerned with foreclosure on a Sidney Road farm, a small place of only 20 acres. The owner had failed to pay even interest on the mortgage and the holder had engaged Blaisdell to attend to foreclosure. The farm occupant wrote Blaisdell as follows: “I thought I would drop you a line and see if you and I could fix things up on the place. I would like to sell the farm and fix things with you. Now, if you can find a customer, I would like it. I am in Hallowell. Let me know if there is any chance.”<\/p>\n
Let us see how Blaisdell replied: “I received your letter and proceeded at once to see what legal claims there were against the place, but was unable to determine. I did not start the business and did nothing about it until others brought claims. Since I was one mortgage holder, I thought I might as well have my money as the others. I cannot get an offer of any kind until things are straightened out, but if you know just what legal claims there are besides ours, I will take my chance to advance the balance at a reasonable price. The claims have been left with an attorney and I have talked with him. It appears that your former wife has some sort of rights, but I do not know what they are. All I want personally is just what my note calls for, and I will do all that I can to assist you that will be safe for me.”<\/p>\n
In another case, Blaisdell was handling the property of Evaline Bacon, and he wrote to her nephew, a Boston broker, as follows: “I sold the Liberty bond for $440. I enclose check for $103 as you requested and have put the balance in Evaline’s trust account in the Waterville Savings Bank, together with $55 in coupons on Bangor and Aroostook bonds. The flush closet has now been installed. Evaline says she is going to pay the bill herself and doesn’t want you even to know what it costs.”<\/p>\n
In 1906 Blaisdell settled the small estate of a woman in Sidney whose total assets amounted to only $1,211. Her real estate consisted of one-fourth interest in a Sidney lot valued at $200 and half interest in a lot in Pine Grove Cemetery, of which her share amounted to $25. Among $250 worth of what were called “goods and chattels”, were a three-year old mare, a wagon, a sleigh, a driving harness and a gold watch.<\/p>\n
A few months later Blaisdell handled the estate of a man worth about $5,000. Among the assets were a mortgage for $1,300 that he had taken from a man to whom he had sold his farm, four savings bank accounts, and three shares in the Peoples National Bank. Among expenses of Blaisdell in settling that estate were two meals in the Adams House in Boston, supper for $1.50 and breakfast for 80 cents.<\/p>\n
Among Blaisdell’s records was the estate settlement of a relative in 1885, much too early for Blaisdell to have handled it personally; but it is interesting as showing the difference in prices between 1885 and 1910. For casket, box, robe, plate and burial the expense was $36 and it cost $1.00 to supply a team for the minister.<\/p>\n
In 1898, however, Blaisdell did settle another family estate totaling about $3,000. To Rev. H.R. Mitchell he paid for the funeral sermon $5, and a hack for the funeral cost $3. One expense item reads: “Team to go to Rome for witness, $3.”<\/p>\n
In 1913 Blaisdell was treasurer of the Central Maine Fair. That year it had a deficit of $727 on total expenses of $11,800. Some of the expenditures were $230 for the Waterville Bank, $318 for a wild west show, $235 for fireworks, and $3,000 for racing horses. It also cost $540 for rental of tents.<\/p>\n
The Fairgrounds property was owned by a public stock corporation called the Central Maine Realty Co. In 1913 it listed 30 stockholders, of whom the largest was W. J. Lanigan with 24 shares. L.H. Soper and George Fred Terry each had 20 shares; Martin Bartlett had 14, and there were four with ten shares each: Everett Wardwell, Edwin Noyes, Horace Purinton and Martin Blaisdell himself. Some of those who held a single share were George K. Boutelle, Josiah Bassett, Charles Davis, Edgar Brown and Edward Heath.<\/p>\n
Despite the deficit, the officers of the Fair urged patience. They told the stockholders: “We are deeply impressed with the value of the fair to the business interests of Waterville. Located in the central part of the state, easily reached by rail, Waterville draws people to the fair in such crowds that they will fill our stores for several days.”<\/p>\n
Martin Blaisdell was also at one time treasurer of Coburn Classical Institute. He noted that in 1916 the school held real estate valued at $100,000. It consisted of the big building and its contents, Hanson Hall, Coburn Cottage and Libby Field. At the same time the school had unpaid liabilities of $30,000. There were $12,000 of notes to Colby College, a $10,000 note at the Ticonic Bank, and one for $5,500 at the Waterville Savings Bank. The deficit in operation during 1915-16 had totaled $2,300.<\/p>\n
Martin Blaisdell had a very high opinion of Waterville’s prominent citizen, William T. Haines, who at one time was Governor of Maine. Blaisdell wrote a long appreciation of Haines, in which he said in part: “Perhaps no man in public life had a more unique start than Gov. Haines. I remember him from the time he left the home farm in Levant to come to the Kennebec. He says he was dropped off a passenger train here in 1879 with $35 in his pocket, diplomas from the State College and the Albany School of Law, but with no law library. He was 25 years old.<\/p>\n
“Within two weeks, after his settling in Oakland, Haines had all Waterville Republicans up in arms against him. There had been an election, and Charles Gilman was prosecuting his opponent, Edwin Noyes, for buying votes. Because of Noyes’ popularity, no judge in Waterville would issue a warrant and no Waterville lawyer would act as Gilman’s attorney. Haines, looking for his first client, took Gilman’s case. He knew neither Gilman nor Noyes personally. Although Haines lost the case, it made him well known, because he made it hot for the Republican machine in Waterville.<\/p>\n
“When in 1882 Haines ran for county attorney against the popular Judge Speer of Gardiner, few people thought he had any chance, but on election day he led the ticket. As County Attorney, he sent many rum sellers to jail. By that time he had moved from Oakland to Waterville.<\/p>\n
“In 1889 Haines was elected to the Maine Senate. There he fostered the 2 cent mileage bill for railroad fares. He also proposed what later became the Public Utilities Commission. Reversing the practice of many other legislators, Haines changed from the Senate to the House. As usual he was out of time with the party bosses when he championed woman’s suffrage. Much interested in Maine lakes and streams, he declared: “An acre of water ;s worth as much as an acre of land.” He started the organization that became the influential Maine Sportsman’s Association. He introduced the bill that created the State Highway Commission. Then he was elected Governor.<\/p>\n
“Mr. Haines is now Waterville’ s largest real estate owner and its largest taxpayer. He earned his money in Waterville. It is only right that he should spend it here to build up our city.”<\/p>\n
Year: 1971<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #895, Broadcast on May 30, 1971<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42946,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}