The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-11-21
MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Quarterly Meeting Held at aax-
ter Hall Yesterday.
Rev. Or. carruthers's Mission In
the Russias.

Lapham, G. r. Talbot, j. III. Drummond. w.
NJ Sargent, 81. S. Burrage. Fl. Ingalls,, G. G.
Moses, B. Thurston, W. B. Haven, E. P.
Burnham, E. E. Bourne, E. c. Cummings, j.
Williamson, G. E. b. jackson, j. W. Brad
bury, Asa Dalton, and John Marshall
Brswn.
fne afternoon session was called to order
at 2.30 p. M, the president, James r. BAKER
in the chair. The following papers were
read:
Report on the Library and Cabinet, by H.
Contamination concerning Fort Richmond
on the Kennebec, by DR.. j. f. Pratt of Chel-
sea. read with predatory remarks by Mr..
Bryant.
:. A tribute to the memory of the late Will
liam IL. Smith, by Rev. VIM. B. Hayden,
Some accounts of Sir John Moore at Cas-
tine during the Revolution, by Joseph Will
hanson, Esq.
A Biographical Sketch of the late George
". Dyer, native Of Calais, by Llewellyn
Deane, was read by Mr. Williamson.
A sketch of the life Of Major Samuel Den
Mr.. Sargent. $3.50
A communication from the Maine Genoa
logical Society relative to the destroyed book
of town record from 1773 to 1856. was read by
Geo. 9. Burgess
At the suggestion of the president, S. T.
Pickard was requested to prepare memori-
al of the late E. Fl. Elwell.
Mrs. Abba Goold Woolson was requested
to prepare a memorial of her father, the late
William Goold.
George f. Emery was not able to be pres
ent, but promised to read his biography of
the late Ron John Appleton, United States
minister to Russia, at the December meeting
of the society.
very elegant oaken cabinet was present
ed by Edward Woodman, Esq, in memory Of
his late father, to be known as the Cyrus
Woodman cabinet, and to be used for the
preservation of manuscript collections, past
and future, of the town of Buxton.
A biography of deceased members Of the
society was handed in by the society biogra-
pher, Joseph Williamson.
A communication was received and read
from Leighton Brothers, of the Isles of
Shoals. asking the aid and endorsement of
the society in an attempt to have the name
Of bog Island changed to that of Appledore
Island.
This called forth spirited discussion by
Messrs. Williamson, Sargent Brown, Talbot
and Burnham, and the matter of the request
was referred to a committee consisting of
Messrs. Joseph Williamson, VIM. M. Sargent
and John M. Brown.
A committee consisting of Rev. DR.. I'll. S.
Burrage. Josiah 81. Drummond and Il. W.
Bryant, were appointed to cooperate with
the committee of the Genealogical Society in
attempting to restore so much as NAV be
possible of the lost book of Falmouth Town
Records
SONS OF MAINE IN THE REVOLUTION.
Rev. DR.. Burrage called attention to the
formation of societies of Sons of the Rev olu-
ton in other parts of the country and stated
that he had received authority from the gen.
eral society to organize such society In this
state of the descendants from any officer or
soldier or sailor who rived in the Revolu-
ton, and called upon any present thus quail
fed to meet Immediately after adjournment,
and there assembled from among those pres
ent nine members, who effected a temporary
organization by choice of Rev. DR.. Henry S.
Burrage as chairman, and William M. Sar-
gent as secretary. Intending members and
all qualified to join are requested to address
the secretary and notice will be given of
subsequent meetings..
The papers were all exceedingly interest
ing and the authors received the thanks of
the society.
Rev. Mr.. Hayden's paper on the late VIM.
Ill. Smith was thoughtful and feeling
tribute to the man who had been so prom
inent In Maine for many years and whose
work in the Historical Society had been ex
ceedingly prolific and valuable. He was a
man of energy and action with an immense
capacity for work and an untiring zeal for
everything he undertook.
Some accounts of Sir John Moore at Cas-
tine, collected by Mr.. Williams were valu-
able addition to the historical literature of
the town.
W. Dyer was feeling and well prepared.
Mr.. Reeds paper on Major Samuel
Dewey was equally interesting.
FALMOUTH TOWN RECORDS.
In the beginning of his paper Mr.. Burgess
refers to the lack of valuable town history
found In early town records, and also of the
laxity with which in many cases they were
kept, and the want of care in storing them.
This is particularly true of the early vital
statistics of his own office. After referring
to the loss of the Falmouth town records
from May 30th. 1773,sto July 4tb, 1856, Mr..
Burgess says:
"The question which confronts US now is,
Can any part of this gap be filled from any
source? Undoubtedly. if the matter had
been taken up at the time of the loss of this
volume, since that was fifty years ago, much
might have been done, and it seems to me
properly directed, much which constituted
the public action of The time, the names of
the public officers, and births, marriages and
deaths with other correlative matter can
still be collected and preserved. If the
members of this society and the Ienealogi-
cal Society will lend their aid, very much
can be done in securing the cooperation of
the oldest families in the city, whose assist
ance would be necessary In the work. Smith
and Deans journal, and Willis History, of
course would be prOftably consulted, as also
might files of contemporaneous newspapers,
old letters published and unpublished, the
county records and family records and col
lecticns of papers. Much that might at first
sight seem worthless, would be valuable, and
in fact would not decline to receive any
scrap of written or printed paper which re-
ferred to purely local events between the
dates which have given.
Ii any concerted action is agreed upon
toward the forwarding of this work, | shall
be very glad to be the custodian of any
papers which might be submitted for exam
ination, or in any other way to assist in fill
ing up the gap which so unfortunately ex.
lists In our city's records.
have an offer of assistance from DIR.
Thomas B. Drew, curator at Pilgrim hall,
Plymouth, who will search his file of old
papers for us, and hope that concerted ac-
tion may be taken by the members of this
ty to fill up the missing records of old Fal-
mouth"
DIR. CARRUTHERs IN RUSSIA.
In the evening at Baxter Hall Rev. Eph.
rain Chamberlain Cummings read very in
teresting paper on the late Rev. DR.. Car
ruthers. The paper will occupy about forty
pages in the next Historical Society quar-
terly. The late Hon. William Goods obitu- |
uary Of DIR. Carruthers, published in the |
PRESS, covered the main facts in the doc |
tors life. In it he spoke Of DR.. Carruthers's |
in Russia as a missionary,
and from Mrs. Carruthers's diary interesting
accounts of that Russian experience were
given by Mr.. Cummings paper. 1t was in |
1919 that Mr.. and Mrs. Carruthers went to
st. Petersburg under the auspices of the |
Scottish Missionary Society. Mrs. Carruth- |
ers's gives but little account of the stay in !
st. Petersburg, where Mr.. Carruthers acted |
as chaplain, but gives some description of |
'he voyage down the Volga to Astrachan, |
and illusions to the residence in the Crlmea. |
ot' petersburg was Russia In 1919. Alexan- |
der l. was devout man. DR.. Calruthers |
retained cordial remembrance of this fact |
10 MS latest years. The impressive manner |
is wildly recalled with which the doctor
once told of his visiting the winter naIaoe
and coming into an apartment wbere tbn
enAn