H. Elizabeth Vickery - 1909

From the Photo Album

Here is an interesting photo of my grandmother, Harriet Elizabeth Vickery, take in September 1909 at Pushaw Lake in Glenburn. That would make her 2 years 9 months of age here.

The photo was printed as a post card. It was mailed to Miss Marcia Parker, 330 Center St, Bangor, Maine.  Marcia was my grandmother's aunt, a sister to her mother Harriet Bain (Parker) Vickery. The note reads (if I have it correct):
Marcia are you still living or have you gone to the other side. Why dont you come out some time Aunt Hattie is coming out some time this week. And it's signed Hattie.

I only have two Harriet/Hattie's on this branch of my family tree (I think). My great-grandmother nee Harriet Bain Parker who went by Hattie. And my grandmother nee Harriet Elizabeth Vickery who went by H., always using her middle name or Lizzie.

I would assume the Hattie sending the note is my great-grandmother, jotting off this note to her sister. But then who is the Aunt Hattie referenced as coming out? 

If any relatives or friends are able to shed some light, I am all ears.

1940 Fire at the George Mower farm

From the Scrapbook

Credit to Bangor Daily News

For many of us, the current barn at the former Mower homestead on Pushaw Road is the only one we know, but it was not the original barn.  On 31 March 1940, every farmer's nightmare played out the Mower farm - a raging fire.  It had been just a little over a decade since my grandfather had taken over the farm following his father's death, and now he faced this catastrophic setback.

It was mid-morning. An overheated stove in the milk room seems to have caused the fire as it was reported as originating nearby.  The fire consumed the barn, while also devouring 30 tons of hay, 10 tons of straw, 6 tons of lime, 60 bushels of oats and a ton of fertilizer.  Various pieces of modern dairy and farming equipment were also lost.  All total, the damage was placed at $15,000 (about $275,000 in today's dollar).

A brook flows behind the buildings, providing water and allowing the fire department to have three hoses pumping.

Fortunately the house was saved, despite a strong wind that was blowing in that direction.  The house was connected via a small shed to the milk room and the barn beyond. It was reported in the local newspaper that "fireman placed boards in front of themselves to shield them from the terrific heat and chopped the shed." By good fortune, this saved the house.

George R. Mower, Mail Carrier

From the Archives

My grandfather was well known for many years as a dependable and well-respected mail carrier in addition to his farming responsibilities. The timing of this appointment comes shortly after the early death of his father at the age of 52 and a little over a year before his marriage. So at a time when he would have been needed to help carry on the family farm, perhaps it is an indication that farming was not his first choice of a career. A life of farming may have been pursued more out of a sense of family duty than intention.  Even with the burden of carrying on with the farm, my grandfather served as mail carrier for over 30 years, retiring in 1958.  The added income would surely have been welcomed to support his growing family.

The appointment letter from H. R. Nichols, Acting Fourth Assistant Postmaster General, dated August 4, 1927, was among the paperwork long held at the farm. It provides an interesting glimpse into this time of my grandfather's life.

The appointment to Route No. 4 was effective August 1, 1927, carried a six month probationary term.  The annual salary was $1,950 (that would be equivalent to about $28,000 in today's dollar).

It was the carrier's duty to provide himself with an appropriate vehicle "to enable you to handle all mail that may be intrusted to you and protect it from adverse weather conditions."

Dr. Ralph Almeran Parker

Out On A Limb - Meet a Member of My Family Tree

3^rd Cousin Twice Removed

Line of Descent: Richard Mower¹, Samuel Mower², Samuel Mower³, Jonathan Mower⁴ John Mower⁵, Pamelia Mower⁶, Sarah Parker⁷, Eliza Ann Howe⁸, Ralph Almeran Parker⁹

Photo Credit to Lewiston Evening Journal

Ralph Almeran Parker was born in Greene, Maine, on 7 January 1861, the first of four children born to Almeran Bodge Parker and Eliza Ann Howe. The Parker and Mower families were close, there being a few marriages between the families. In fact, Almeran and Eliza were 1^st cousins once removed.

Ralph grew up in Greene. The Parker homestead was a historic house, home to a tavern, located on the main road leading from Greene to Lewiston. After attending the public schools in Greene, Ralph attended Bates College, graduating in 1888, one of a class of thirty completing the four-year program that year. Like many of those graduates, Ralph entered the teaching profession. Throughout Maine he held several positions as either teacher or principal for the next twelve years –in West Lebanon, East Corinth, Westbrook and South Portland. He even held a position at the high school in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Throughout his career however, he had a yearning to enter the medical profession, cultivated from both a strong human sympathy and a sense of community service. The developing pull eventually won out. Ralph Parker attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick for his medical training, receiving his M.D. in 1904. He settled in Auburn, Maine, locating his office at the corner of Turner Street and the River Road, where he would remain for the next 10 years. He was a very popular and well-respected physician, known for his conscientiousness, honesty and compassion. He loved this profession because of the good works he could do. His work reflected this. Dr. Parker belonged to various medical societies and served on the staff of Central Maine General Hospital in Lewiston, Maine.

Around 1915, Dr. Parker and his wife (the former Marietta Merrill) moved back to his childhood home in Greene. His parents were getting along in years and could not carry on with the farm and the upkeep of the homestead without assistance. Along with farming, Dr. Parker was able to continue offering medical services in Auburn and Lewiston, as well as adding some business in Greene. In February 1918, a fire of unknown origin destroyed the home.  Dr. Parker’s aging parents moved to New York to reside with their son, Horatio. Dr. Parker and his wife began rebuilding a new home, which unfortunately he would not live to enjoy, dying a few days before they planned to move in.

On Saturday, 13 October 1918, Dr. Ralph A. Parker died suddenly of acute dilation of heart due to angina pectoris at the age of 57 in his native Greene, Maine. He is interred in the new Valley Cemetery in that town.

Ralph and his wife had two children, both born in South Portland: a stillborn boy on 31 Dec 1897 and a second son, Miles Robinson Parker on 17 August 1900. His wife survived him, passing away in 1935.

George R. & H. Elizabeth Mower

From the Photo Album



Here is a photo of my paternal grandparents, George Richardson Mower & H. Elizabeth (Vickery) Mower. 

The photo is undated, but I'm thinking in the 1970s.

If anyone has a better date, please let me know so I can update.

Frank L. Mower Property Insurance

From The Archives

Some time ago my dad gave me a shoe box filled with a variety of documents.  Among them was the insurance policy covering the Frank Lester Mower farm on Pushaw Road.  It's an interesting piece of history, particularly when looking at the values listed.

Policy No. 2541 issued by Providence Washington Insurance Company was obtained through L. C. Tyler & Sons Co., a local independent insurance agent located in Bangor, Maine.  The farm property policy had a three-year term (23 March 1915 - 23 March 1918), provided coverage for a total amount of $2,000. The premium for the term was $36.

The location of the farm owned by my great-grandfather, Frank L. Mower, of which he was the occupant, was "on the westerly side of the road leading from Bangor, Maine to Pushaw Lake known as the Glenburn Road in Bangor, Maine."

The policy is interesting as it breaks down the total coverage amount as follows:

• $400 on the 1 1/2 story, shingled roof, frame building while occupied as a private residence.
• $250 on household furniture and utensils of every description, "useful and ornamental."
• $700 on the barn.
• $100 on wagons, carriages, sleighs, and harnesses.
• $150 on horses, mules, and colts
• Nothing on sheep
• $400 on cows, heifers, oxen, bulls and calves.

It is also interesting to note that a stamp tax of eighteen cents was imposed on the premium.

Frank Lester Mower, Milkman

Frank Lester Mower, my great-grandfather, was born in Bangor, Maine, on 17 September 1874, the son of George and Elizabeth (Eastman) Mower, the youngest of their seven children.

He was married to Mildred Mae Richardson in Bangor on 24 October 1900, with the Rev. E. F. Pember officiating the ceremony. Mildred was born in Corinth, Maine, on 22 January 1878, daughter of Charles O. and Josephine (Dexter) Richardson. They had two children: George Richardson Mower and June Elizabeth Mower (an interesting aside, although parents of only 2 children, they were grandparents to 25).

Frank owned a dairy farm on the Pushaw Road in Bangor.  He had a preference for the Ayshire breed (a preference he shared with the afore-mentioned Rev. Pember). He delivered milk in Bangor.  At a time when individual dairy farms had their own glass bottles, the Frank Mower bottle was a simple, plain glass bottle embossed with "F. L. Mower Bangor, Me." circling a big "M." Below is an advertisement that appeared in the 1926 Directory of Bangor, Brewer, Old Town and Orono.

Even though farming was a demanding job, Frank found time to serve on the Bangor City Council.  He was also a valuable and active member of the Queen City Grange and the East Bangor Congregational Church, where he performed duties in the Sunday school.  It is said that he had a fine character and disposition, making many friends through his life.

Frank died in Bangor at the young age of 52 on 15 July 1927 due to nephritis following endocarditis.  His death record also lists infection from bad teeth as a contributory cause. His wife survived him my many years, dying on 31 January 1963.  They are buried in Maple Grove Cemetery on Pushaw Road, directly behind the East Bangor Congregational Church that has been such an important part in the Mower history.