History of Parsonsfield, (York County) Maine United States of America

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Biographies:

Luther Orlando Emerson, composer, was born in Parsonsfield, Maine, Aug. 8, 1820; son of Luther and Elizabeth Usher (Parsons) Emerson; grandson of Joseph and Lydia (Durde) Emerson and of Thomas and Lucy (Bradbury) Parsons; and a descendant of Thomas Emerson who came from Durham, England, about 1635 and settled in Ipswich, Mass. Luther was educated at the common schools and the Parsonsfield seminary and Effingham academy. He then entered Dracut academy near Lowell, Mass., intending to qualify for the medical profession, but finally decided to devote his whole time to music. He studied in Boston and in 1845 began to teach music in Salem, Mass., where he also took charge of a church choir. He composed much of the music sung by the choir and in 1853 published "The Romberg Collection" of church music. The book was not a financial success, but one of the 'tunes contained in it, "Sessions," became very popular. He was organist at the Bulfinch street church, Boston, 1853-57; director of music in the Second Congregational church, Greenfield, Mass., 1857-65, and in Powers' institute, Bernardston, Mass., 1858-65. During his musical career he conducted over 350 musical festivals in the United States and Canada, the flint being in Keene, N.H., in 1862. For several years he was associated with Conductor Carl Zerrahn at the famous Worcester festivals, and in 1866 he declined to become the associate of Dr. Lowell Mason. His flint successful church music book, "The Harp of Judah," was published in 1863, and 30,000 copies were sold in the first three months. "The Golden Wreath" (1856) was the initial volume in a long and successful series issued by Oliver Ditson & Company, with which firm he formed a connection in 1857, all of his works with one exception being published by them. He was married, March 4, 1847, to Mary J., daughter of John and Mary (Burgess) Gore, of Boston, Mass. He received the degree of Mus. Doc. from Findlay college in 1892. Besides his separate compositions he published nearly seventy works, including church music books, singing-school books, glee books and instruction books.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

James Ware Bradbury, senator, was born in Parsonsfield, Maine, June 10, 1802, son of Dr. James and Ann (Moulton), grandson of Cotton and Ruth (Ware), great-grandson of Judge John and Abigail (Young), great, great grandson of Wymond and Maria (Cotton), great, great, great grandson of Wymond and Sarah (Pike), and great, great, great, great grandson of Thomas Bradbury who was baptized in Essex county, England, Feb. 28, 1610, emigrated to New England in 1634 as agent for Gorges, proprietor of the original province of Maine, and was married in May, 1636, to Mary Perkins. James Ware studied and taught school by turns and was graduated at Bowdoin in 1825. He was principal of Hallowell academy and of the first normal school in New England, which he established at Effingham, N.H. He was admitted to the bar in 1830 and practised in Augusta, Maine, at the same time editing a Democratic newspaper. In 1844 he was a delegate to the Democratic national convention at Baltimore where, after several days' balloting, he presented the name of James K. Polk who was unanimously nominated. Mr. Bradbury, as chairman of the Democratic state committee, took an active part in the campaign, the first in which "Stump speaking" became general in Maine, and the state was carried on the issue of the annexation of Texas. He was an elector-at-large, and when the electors met to cast their votes he was made president of the board. In June, 1846, he was elected United States senator, and gave hearty support to President Polk's administration in all its measures to strengthen and support the army, and for the ratification of the treaty of peace with Mexico. He opposed the bill reported by Senator Clayton, in 1848, for the government of Oregon and California, and when the legislature of Maine instructed her senators to vote in favor of the "Wilmot Proviso" upon all bills for the government of the territories, he obeyed this instruction. At the next session the state legislature instructed the senators to vote against all bills that did not have the proviso incorporated in them, and this he declined to do, on the ground that he did not feel authorized to leave the people of a territory without any government for such a reason. In 1850 he acted with the conservatives, and vigorously supported Clay's compromise. Early in 1849 he introduced a resolution for the appointment of a board of commissioners on claims. He was on a special committee and had charge of the bill to indemnify the sufferers by French spoliations. He served on the judiciary committee from the commencement of his term to the end. He was also chairman of the committees on printing and on retrenchment, but President Taylor's systematic and wholesale removals of the Democrats in most of the departments at Washington, and largely throughout the country, called from Mr. Bradbury a resolution that the president be requested to lay before the senate all the charges filed in any of the departments against individuals who had been removed from office since the previous 4th of March, and the records disclosed that there had been much less proscription under Democratic administrations than under the administrations of their opponents. He declined to be a candidate for re-election to the senate. He served as an overseer of Bowdoin college from 1846 to 1851, when he was elected one of the trustees; and from 1872 was chairman of the finance committee, and made the annual reports without an exception. In 1872 the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the college. He became a member of the Maine historical society in 1846, and was successful in obtaining from the state the grant of half a township of timber land. In 1874 he was elected president of the society, and was annually re-elected for fifteen years. He was a corporate member of the American board of commissioners for foreign missions, a bank director, a railroad director, and chairman of the building committee of the Augusta public library, actively filling these onerous positions. He died in Augusta, Maine, Jan. 6, 1901.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor