The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1913-09-18
Williamson's History of Belfast.
Volume End has been Published and is
now being Delivered in this City.

| 7
now being Delivered in this City.
Volume II of Williamsons History of Bel
fast was issued early in september from the
Riverside Press. by the Houghton, Mflin
Company, and copies are now being delivered
in town to persons who ordered them in ad-
vance. Others desiring to purchase the book,
will find it on sale at the Book Store of M. P.
Woodcock & Son, or at the store of James H.
Howes, Belfast. The price is $500.
Out of town purchasers Who have not al
ready received their copies should do SO with
in a few days by mail or express. Persons
not receiving them will confer a favor by
notifying Mr.. Alfred johnson, IA Arlington
street, Boston, Mass.
In connection with the sale of the book we
give the following review of its contents.
which has already appeared in part in these
columns.
The earlier volume, published in 1877, gave
complete history of the city of telfast from
Its hrst settlement in ITO. to the year 1875 1t
has for over third of century been consid.
cred by those most competent to Judge as one
of the best town histories in existence. and is
still referred to constantly in Belfast and else
where.
The Second Volume, just publ, he'd, carries
the history Of Belfast down to 1900. thus
completing over a century and quarter of
her annals.
The two volumes together give Belfast one
of the most complete records of any town of
similar size and age in this country. Through
their pages may be traced the DEVELOPMENT of
typical New England community from its
origin to our own times.
Judge Williamson died before the second
volume was entirely ready for the press. 1t
has been completed and edited by Alfred
Johnson, Lift. D., member of the Maine His
torlcal Society and the New England Historic
Genealogical Society, and publis ed under the
auspices of the Williamsons History Associa-
tion, composed of over one hundred present
and former residents of Belfast This second
volume is complete in itself, and is an accurate,
painstaking record of everything of import
ance connected with the history of the town,
during the last quarter of the last century.
Judge Williamson's scholarly attainments and
his position an historian are too well known
to require comment. and every effort has been
made to complete his work in the spirit in
which he had carried it on for half century
At the beginning of the volume is an intro
ductory note stating briefly how the publica.
tion of the history was brought about This
is followed by Memoir of Judge williamson
written shortly after his death by his brother
the late William Cross Williamson, and direct
/ ly before his demise. very full Table
of Contents, and a descriptive list of the H.
lustrations, Maps and Plans complete the thirty
odd pages of front matter
The opening chapters deal with Physical
Descriptive, and Municipal History; seven
chapters are then devoted to Religious His.
tory, each of the various churches being treat
ed separately. The next seven chapters XIII
XIX, treat of Educational History, loca
Bbliography, Newspapers, and the Public Lii.
brary. The three chapters which follow give
biographical sketches of all lawyers and ply.
sicians in any way connected with Belfast dur.
ing the period The remaining chapters XXIl
L, cover a great variety of subjects, nclud
ing Railroads, Steamboats,, Fire Department
Maritime History of Belfast. together witt
accounts of the Masonic bodies, Odd Fellows
and other associations
The Appendix of forty pages, contains full
records of the Municipal, County and State
officers, together with Minutes of the Early
Divisions of Lots in Belfast, never befor,
published and list of members of the Will
lamson's History Association.
Over seventy pages are devoted to the
indexes, which unusually complete, ane
include every name and place mentioned il
the book, with detailed references to subjects
arranged according to the most recent meth
DDS. For the convenience of the reader thes,
indexes, containing upwards of eleven thou
sand names, are divided into four parts as fol
lows: General Subject Index II-Index O.
names of persons in the book. III-Index O
Marriages.; and IV.-Index of Deaths TIL,
Births, being arranged alphabetically are no
indexed.
A particularly useful feature of the volum,
will be the Vital Records it contains of th
City of Belfast. giving the Births, Deaths an,
Marriages for a period of twenty five years
1Aese nave Deen carefully computed expressly
for this book, and put in the form most ap
proved by modern historians and genealogists
and with their publication, Belfast will posses
set of printed Vital Records of which sh
may be proud, and which in their complete
ness are equalled by very few towns, excep
in the few States where the Vital Records ar
required by law to be printed.
In this connection may be mentioned, also
the chapters on the Educational History o
Belfast. These have been carefully gon
over, revised and completed. with the addition
of many names of former pupils of the schools
Chapter XIV contains a complete list of all tn
students Belfast sent to higher institutions o
learning during the period. These three chap
ters taken as whole, will be of interest t
many Belfast families, giving as they do de
tailed information concerning the schools
their teachers, organization, etc. with fu
list of the graduates of the High School
AS many of the families of Waldo Count
have had members who have moved into Bel
fast and became residents, the book will thro1
side-lights on the family geneaoges of tn
entire county and the island districts of Pc
nobscot Bay. supplementary Necrolog
treats of persons who have died since 1900 u
to 1913, and contains, like the numerous bic
graphical notices throughout the book, fu