The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1866-05-31
John Purinton.

The tall form and genial countenance of this
aged citizen, which for more than half a CEN
fury has passed steadily through our streets,
will meet us no more. After lifes fitful fever,
he sleeps well; he died on Wednesday morn
ing, in the 10th year of his age. Mr.. Purinton
was the son of Abraham and grandson of
Elisha Purinton. His grandfather came from
Massachusetts,, and took up farm near Duck
pond in Falmouth, where the subject of this
notice was born, October Be, 1857 They were
Quakers, and his grandfather, in addition to
his farming, exercised the gift of preaching
when the spirit moved him, which was quite
often. He may have been one of whom DR..
Deane in his diary speaks under date of May
6, 1779: "Four Quakers at our meeting sat
with hats on all the forenoon service, and then
harangued.'' ~
Mr.. Purinton worked on the farm until he
was twenty-one years old, when feeling the
necessity of better education than he had
been able to obtain, he put his pack on his
back and trudged a-foot to Hebron to enter
the academy which had recently been opened
there. Here he remained three years, having
among his fellow students the late Preceptor
Cushman, VIM. Barrows and DIR. Allen, who
have long gone before him to the grave. ON
leaving the academy, he took charge of
school in North Yarmouth, which he retained
for four years, then came to Portland and be-
came clerk for Nathan Winslow. who kept
what was then called variety store, common
in former times before the division took place
which established stores for special branches
of trade. At that period, fifty years ago, the
traders were accustomed to embrace in their
stocks of goods every species of merchandise
from salt fish, New England rum and iron
ware, to nutmegs, fancy and dry goods.
After brief apprenticeship with Mr.. Wins
low, Mr. Purinton, in 1916, formed partner
ship with his relative, Moses Hall, and took
the brick store on Middle street, which stands
next below Gilson's stable, and next to which
stood the old stage tavern, which survived the
revolution, and had been kept by Marston.
GRAHAM, Paine, Folsom, Boston and others,
and which was removed in 1888 for modern
improvements. Here the firm pursued, for
many years, a very successful business, which
after the death of Mr.. Hall was carried
on by Mr.. Purrinton alone, in other parts OF
the city, until July, 1866, when, alter fifty
years of active business, he shut up his shop
and retired from the busy scenes Of trade
He was the last but one of those who had
been his early contemporaries, to leave the
field of his halfcentury occupation. That
one is our esteemed fellow-citizen Luther Da-
ma, who entered into the grocery business
with his brother Nathaniel the year before
Mr.. Purinton, and still continues an uninter-
rupted career of active, faithful, upright and
honorable mercantile life, amidst all the fuc-
tuations of trade, all the vicissitudes in the
social habits and commercial transactions of
our enterprising community. And he has
hved to see these enormously extended from
Inc humble dimensions of our very limited
.raue' and a population in 1914 of only 5000,
.ne'r present high standard of prosperity
a a,iu wealth Long may he continue bright
oNample OF commercial integrity.
me tnere are other survivors of persons
"Ao were IN trade at that period, yet Mr.. Da-
Ia ana MIR. Purinton were the only two who
Aept The doors of their warehouses omen to
'i'e busy life about them to the close of the
nan century from the peace of 1916.