The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-01-05

Uazette or May 9Th, 1888:
On the 1st instant, assembled at the house
OF the Rev. Samuel Deane, of this town, more
than one hundred of the fair sex, married and
single ladies, most of whom were skilled in
lhe important art of spinning. An emulous in
dustry was never more apparent than in this
beautiful assembly. The majority of fair
nandS gave motion to not less than sixty
Wneels. Many were occupied in preparing
tne materials, besides those who attended to
the entertainment of the rest, provision for
winch was mostly presented by the guests
themselves, or sent in by other generous pro-
moters OF the exhibition, as were also the
materials for the work. Near the close of the
Day Mrs. Deane was presented by the company
with two hundred and thirty-six seven knotted
sKeins OF excellent cotton and linen yarn, the
wHiHh wHiS o. tne day, except about dozen skens,
Wnlch some of the company brought in ready
spun. some had spun six and many not less
IMAM hVe skeins apiece She takes this oppor-
tunlty OF returning thanks to each, which the
nurry OF the day rendered mpracticable at the
time 70 conclude, and crown the day, a nu-
merous band of the best singers attended in
the evening, and performed an agreeable varie-
". V. ct excellent pieces in psalmody.
Lne price OF ylrtuous woman is far above
rnDies. She layeth her hands TO the
spindle, and her hands hold the distaff."
Mr.. Deane's residence in the country awak-
ened in him new interest in agriculture, the
result of which was the thorough and scien-r
tific culture of his town lots. He EVIDENTLY
entertained the then popular belief that the
moon had much to do with vegetation. He
records, u planted short beans, eaulfowers,S
apple seeds, corn and potatoes, being ease
OF the moon" The results of his experiments
in farming he embodied in an octave volumef
OF $50 pages which he published by subscripI
ton IN 1880 This was the first work on agri$l
culture published on this side of the At
lantlc Its title was The New England Far
mer, or Georgical Dictionary. This was a
standard work for many years, and was re-.
published in Boston within thirty years. Tn.
same year of its publication he was honored
oy Brown University with the degree of d. d.
Ihe DOCTORS garden contained the best fruit
trees IN town, and Notwithstanding they were
protected by brick wall with a timber cap,
and row of long sharp iron spikes on top
they were often robbed by the boys of their
tempting fruit. Several white-haired gentle
men have explained to me how, when boys,
they scaled the wall by placing piece of wood
on the pointed spikes. The love of forbidden
fruit seems to have been inherent in the race
from our first parents to the present time The
Doctors diary of 1891 contains the following
memorandum of the products of bis home
lot; 20 bushels potatoes, so bushels French tur-
nips, bushels English turnips, bushels peas,
bushels buckwheat. 800 cabbages 20 bushels
carrots, 3 bushels beets; bushels parsnips.
The venerable Parson Smith died in 1898
leaving DIR. Deane sole pastor. They had stood
side by side ministering at the altar more than
thirty years. DR.. Deane's salary was now in
creased and he had prospered in his farming
and in the sale of his book, so that in 1903 his
receipts we're about $1,000. For two or three
years previous he had been investing in bank
and insurance stocks. He was getting old and
Dr. Nichols was settled as his colleague in
1909.
Mrs. Deane died in 1872, aged So. The Doc.
tor continued to oficiate occasionally until a
few months before his death which took place
on the 18th of November, 1914, at the age of
81, and in the ifty-first year of his ministry.
They never had any children. Joseph Dudley
who married the widow of Capt. james Brooks,
the father of James and Erastus, lived with DIR.
Deane from boy up.
The time had now come when the home of the
scholarly Dr. Deane must pass to and be iu-
habited by strangers. DR.. Stephen Cummings,
physician of celebrity, was its first occupant
and at the public sale of Dr. Deane's effects
he bought many relics, some of which are in
the possession of his son, the Hon. Nathan
Cummings, to whom 1 am indebted for many
facts.
May 18th, 1917, the heirs of Dr. Deane, in
cluding his brother John Of Standish, number
ing eighteen, and comprising residents of every
New England state, decided the homestead to
William Chadwick of Portland for the consid-
Grafton OF S2730-the lot is descri bed as being
eight rods wide on back (Congress) street,
Cumberland street had been cut through the
lot in 1901, and the lot sold to Mr.. Chadwick
extended no farther than that street. Sept. 25.
1918, Chadwick sold the same property to Isaac
Lord of Ehingham, n. H. for 5000. Lord
took off the original roof of the house, which
would now be fashionable, added third story
and put on low hipped roof with balustrade
at the caves, making it plain square house,
ptinted white with green blinds, and moved
toit. Lord was man Of considerable wealth.
but he was not contented. in his new home,
which he continued to occupy four years, and in
Dec. 1872. he decided the estate back to Chad
wick for the sum of $4,000, and moved back to
Efingham, giving as a reason that he preferred
to "be king among hogs rather than hog
among kings" conveying the idea that
his money was not as much respected in
Portland as it was in his New Hampshire
town. This has been the conclusion of MANY
others, similarly situated, who did not so
frankly admit it. The next occupant of this
ancient house was Dexter Dana, who had failed
in Boston. His wife was Miss Winship of
that town. They opened the Deane house as
n Gr-to ola hOar
transient customers of the better class, who
regularly visited the town, among them Gov.
King of Bath. John Holmes of Alfred, Robert
I'll. Gardiner, of Gardiner. Judge Ether Shepley
who was then lawyer in York county. Some OF
the regular boarders were Thomas A. Deblois
who had just come to town from Windham
Judge Ware, who was then bachelor, John d.
Gardner commission merchant, Luther Dana
brother of the landlord, Martin Gore who had
just come here from Boston, aud DIR. Harwood,
dentist, who afterward married daughter of
Dexter Dana. OF all these, Messrs ShepIy,
Gore and Harwood only survive. Three other
transient patrons of this house come to my
mind, Robert P. Dunlap of Brunswick, after
wand governor, aud Joseph E. Foxcroft of
New Gloucester who was sheriff of the county,
1921, had been an officer in the revolutionary
army, and had worn the ancient Massachus-
etts costume of otfice-cocked hat, with cock
ade, gold loop and button, buff coat and
breeches 1t would not do to lay aside all this
in sigma of Office at once so Foxcroft com.
promised the matter as sheriff under the new
state government, retaining the straight dress
sword, blue coat with gilt buttons, the buff
vest and cockade, with the long white staff EN-.
blazoned with the state arms in gold. Clad in
these official trappiugs the sheriff issued forth
from this spacious front entrance, staff in hand
with the presiding judge whom he guarded to
the court house, without uttering word.
Judge Ezekiel Whitman lived on Cumber-
land street, and when going to the court house,
he started a little early-came up Elm street
and went into Dana's to have a social chat. On
the ringing of the bell, the sheriff proceeded
him to the court house, mute as fish. but the
judge always seemed to be ashamed of his
company.
Mr.. Dana died in 1920 and his widow CON-