The Republican journal., 1906-01-25

Has had three wives and brought up 40
ch;,a,en. Now Living Alone.


An ;ta,, recently went the rounds of the
nrass to the effect that William N. Crosby
IF Books now IS years old, had had three
w;yas and brought up 20 children and was
now living alone on the old homestead
| The Brooks correspondent OF the Bangor
Daily News, thinking there might be more
| of story to tell, called on IT. crosby re-
| CroShv was born in Swanville July IL,
| 1890 and will he 81 years old next July. He
work cd hard upon the farm until he was q
and then struck out for himself without a
dollar, Feb %, 1913, he married Abbie L.
Marden of Swanvilie, VINO pore MIN eleven
Syouid not appear very encouraging to our
hovs today and illustrate the kind of times
tbev we're having then. His first contract
was to cut thirty cords of wood at two Shil-
| ling cord and board himself, and he did
it. too He then hired with MS father for
one year and got his board and % acres of
wild land in Swanville. He has never been
ont Of real estate since. He then went with
his hrother-in-law and built a Sawmill and
in three wears was $500 worse OF than moth
ing. He was sued four times in one day
for debt and his enemies SAID ne was done
for and that his father would have to take
him home and keep him off the town. He
| hacked up his buds and went to Lowell,
and they said he had run away and would
never come back.
He hired with carpenter at Is cents
| day and boarded himself. 10 show that he
stuck to business, just remember that in
six months he had used every working day
and gained two days time
: In 1886 he returned to Swanville and
| started in the carpenter business for him
self. In four years he had paid every dol
| lar of his old debts, with costs and interest,
and supported his increasing family. He
then went to Searsport where he lived
eight years and worked in the shipyard. He
| b0ught farm there for 5000 and when he
| left he sold it for $500, his first money
gained in any way, except by hard labor.
| His wife had died, and with a family OF
| eleven children he had a hard time
| In 1857 he married the widow Felker, who
had seven children of her own, and came to
| Brooks and lived on her farm. She bore
| him one child, making 10 that they to-
| gether had and it came pretty near making
| a houseful.
| C. Dustin of Prospect, who had two children
| of her own. At her death her daughter
| Fanny, then a widow, became his house
keeper and he brought up her children.
| When the railroad was being constructed
| through Brooks he received $4,000 for board
| paid for The farm on which he lives today.
| Capt. CroSby's military record began in
| 1912 when he was elected First Lieutenant
| of the Swanville Light Infantry and the
| following year, the captain OF the company
| having resigned, he commanded the com
pany as captain. And speaking OF ls42, that
| is the date that used to put the men of
Capt Crosby'S age into reminiscent mood.
1t was the date of the breaking up of the
old militia system. The regular organiZa-
ton was assembled for the annual muster
on the Thorndike field $50 called them in
Brooks, now known as the Woodbury. Ed
wards place Gen. Robert Sargent of Mon
roe was in command with Asa Thurlough
as a special aid 1t was a September day
and brave military evolutOnS were in prog
reSs when a big company of ragmuffin In
dams and what not, composed principally
of Brooks men, put in an appearance and
paraded in anything but military style over
and around the grounds.
Gen Sargent ordered CrOSbyS company
to charge upon the crowd, and brave Thur
Tough, vaiantly jumping his horse over the
wall with drawn sword, leaving his support
far in the rear, was nearly overpoWered and
was obliged to retreat back to his men. The
whole affair broke up in disorder and it was
the end of the annual muster in Maine. The
next wear Capt. Crosby and forty other Of
ficers were summoned to Belfast, court mar
tailed and fined for not bringing out their
men to the annual muster. But the end had
o)me, and the next legislature repealed the
law requiring that service.
In war time MIR. Crosby was an orderly
sergeant and assisted materially in bring
ing in recruits and hunting up deserters,
but did not go to the front. And by the
way Capt. Crosby thinks that he and A. S.
Forbes, who is the oldest man now living IN
Brooks, are the only two men alive who
were on the muster field in Brooks in Sep
TENDER, 1912.
Some years ago they wanted collector in
Brooks who would collect and Capt. Crosby
was promptly elected and the next year was
reelected. And the taxes were collected on
time too. without slip. The poll tax fell
lows didn't love him much. They were
glad to get out of his way.
The writer happened to be in the shoe
shop in Belfast talking with young chap
from Brooks who was running one of the
machines when Crosby came and told him
he wanted his poll tax. The fellow demur-
red said he would see about it later Mr.
/ Crosby promptly put his hand on the young
mans shoulder, said, 'you can take walk
with me up to the jail In about five min
utes the tax was paid and receipted for, and
| Crosby was after some one else. When
| Constable Crosby got after chap, the chap
usually squealed.
| For many years Capt. Crosby lived in the
homestead in the east part of Brooks, fol
| lowing the occupation of a farmer, carpen-
ter and blacksmith. Some of the numerous
| family that formerly made life busy there
| are dead, but most of them are scattered
here and there with families of their own
| And so it happens that after rearing fam
lily of over twenty children he is alone, and
from Nov. 18th last to January 18th he has
kept house for himself at the homestead
On the last date, which was that of our visit
we found a bnxom widow who had come II
that day to assist him in his househo!C
duties. The captain denies that he viii
marry again.
Grizzly, burly, rough and solid, with
vitality shining from his small grey eyes
he is factor to be reckoned with yet. He
can have home with some of his children
| if he wishes, but he has hustled for himsel
so far through life and will continue to d.
| it while he is able to do so.