The Republican journal., 1917-05-17

Charles Albert Pilsbury was born in
Calais, Maine July 81, 1889, and died in
Belfast May Is, 1917. He was the only
son of the late Hon. Albert and Abigail
Porter Pilsbury He was a direct de-
scendant of William Pilsbury, who settled
in Newburyport in 1861. His grandfather,
Timothy Plsbury, was the first Represen-
tative to Congress from Texas, after that
State was admitted to the Union. His
father, Hon. Albert Pilsbury, a lawyer of
distinction, was defeated by one vote
when a candidate for the Governorship
of Maine. In his mothers family, his
great-grandfather was Samuel Cunning
ham, Revolutionary soldier who COM
manded a company in the battle of Ben
nington, and afterward repeatedly repre-
sented the town of Peterboro in the legis-
lature of New Hampshire. G.acheus Por
ter, his grandfather, also from Peterboro,
came to Belfast in 1912. In 1913, he enter
ed into law partnership with Hon. John
James Porter, a graduate of Williams
College, and a brother of Zacheus Porter,
was the first teacher in the old Academy,
where the Peirce school now stands His
grandfather's home was the house on
Primrose Hill now occupied by Mrs. G. c.
Kilgore. Thus it may be seen that certain
IF NJ dan-
titled with the history of Belfast MIR.
Pilsbury's mother was Abigail Cunning
ham Porter, daughter of Zacheus Porter
of Belfast. She died in 1899, the last OF
her generation of the Porter family.
Mr.. Albert Pilsbury moved his family
to Machias when his son Charles was
about ID years of age. Here the young
man in his early teens witnessed the
printing of the first number of the Ma
chias Union, which bore the date of May
25, 1853 This was his first introduction
to printers ink which was probably the
first step toward his sixty years of ex-
perience in newspaper work. From early
youth he had an Unsuitable thirst for
reading, choosing always the standard
works and serious authors and openly and
severely criticised the trashy volumes.
He always read many magazines and
practically all the newspapers of Maine.
He attended the public schools of Ma
chias, took a short course at the Bucks
port Seminary and attended the Lewiston
Falls Academy in 1856. His school life
Was cut short in 1857 by the offer to
become paymaster's clerk to his uncle,
Major Henry Prince of the U. S. A, then
stationed at San Antonio, Texas. His
first letters to the public press were writ
ten from there and appeared in the Ma
chias Union and the Democratic Advocate
of Auburn. Later he wrote from Leaven-
worth, Kansas, under the caption of
.'Utah Army Correspondence.
The winter of 1859 he spent in New
Orleans writing, among other things let
ters on music and drama to the Boston
Post, his first appearance in daily Journal
ism. Soon after, he settled down to regu-
lar editorial work without apprenticeship
to the case or experience as reporter,
except on special occasions. From 1867
79, he was engaged in newspaper work in
Washington, D. c., writing for the New
Orleans Times, the Baltimore Gazette,
Savannah News Macon Georgia. Mes
senger and prominent New York dailies.
May Is, 1879, he assumed editorial
charge of The Republican Journal, al
though the name of William H. Simpson
appeared as editor and proprietor until
October, 1880, when The Republican Jour-
nal Publishing Co. was organized. Since
then Mr.. Pilsbury has been its editor and
for practically all the time its business
manager. In the fall of 1901 he took a
six-weeks' trip to England and Scotland
and left the editorial columns of The Jour-
nal in charge of Howard Owen of Au-
gusta. This thirty-eight years of con-
tinuous service on one paper with %
years prior experience in other fields is a
fact worthy of note.
The journal has borne the imprint of it's
editor personality, man of high ideals,
decided views on all questions-political
and personal-and frank and fearless in
expressing them in terse and simple
words.
During his work in Washington he as
sociated with many of the then promi-
nent men, whose friendship he retained
for years. He always extended helping