Washburn Family Maine Cradle
Not often hear a locality spoken of as
the cradle of a race or family. The word cradle, except in this
sense, bids fair to become obsolete. If you look in your
dictionary you will see that the cradle means a rocking or
swinging bed for an infant. It is no longer the fashion to rock
babies in cradles. In fact it is considered unhygienic to rock
them at all. We seldom see cradles, except, perhaps, as exhibits
in a collection of antiques, or it may be, far back in the
country, some cradle has been brought down from the dust and
obscurity of the attic and restored to its original use.
I want to tell you about a certain
cradle. In appearance it is a very ordinary, wooden cradle, but
it has rocked many distinguished men, and it was the same mother
who rocked them all. Of this mother Hannibal Hamlin, himself a
famous Maine man, said: "Rome in all her glory never produced
such a mother as the mother of the Washburns." In this cradle
were rocked four members of Congress from four different states,
two foreign ministers, two governors of two different states,
one major-general in the United States Army during the Civil War
and one captain in the navy.
Did you ever hear of the War Governor of
Maine! Not the Governor who was in office when the World War
broke out, but the governor who held that position when the
Civil War was declared. His name was Israel Washburn. He was one
of the babies who was rocked in this cradle. His father's name,
too, was Israel Washburn, and his grandfather was a
Revolutionary soldier, a member of the convention that adopted
the first constitution of Massachusetts. At that time, as you
know, Maine and Massachusetts were one state.
Israel Washburn, as well as his
distinguished brothers, was born in the town of Livermore in
Oxford County, now Androscoggin. The district school that young
Israel attended was an old-fashioned, unpainted, wooden
building. It contained two enormous fire-places in which great
fires were kept burning in the winter. Wood, in those times,
cost nothing but for the hauling, and the boys took turns in
building the fires. It was in 1820, or thereabouts, that a
hurricane swept the roof off the schoolhouse and landed it in a
field nearby. So great had been the down-pour of rain that the
boys waded in the puddles up to their knees on the way home.
Israel did not have the privilege of
going to college, but he was a diligent student and fine
classical scholar. He afterward became a lawyer and a strong
opponent of slavery. He began his law practice in the town of
Orono, where the University of Maine now is, and married a
daughter of a prominent family in that town. In 1842 he was
elected to the State Legislature.
It was no wonder that the people of
Maine chose such a brilliant young man to represent them in
Congress, and so he was sent to Washington in 1850, where he
served five years. So well pleased were Maine people with his
record in Congress, where he stood always on the side of right
and justice, that they decided they wanted him for governor of
the State, and he was elected to that office in 1860, just as
the country was about to enter upon that terrible conflict, the
Civil War. The first gun was fired at Fort Sumter, April 12,
1861, and in two days' time Governor Washburn issued a
proclamation calling the Legislature together so that active
measures might be taken to crush the rebellion.
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Home of the Famous Washburn
Family at Livermore |
Governor Washburn served two terms, but
refused to serve a third. He was successful in guiding the
affairs of the State through one of its most critical periods.
At the close of his administration, President Lincoln, in
appreciation of his fine services, offered him the position of
Collector of the Port of Portland. He filled this office
honorably and with ability until he resigned in 1877. He spent
the remainder of his life in literary pursuits. For many years
he lived on the beautiful estate of the Washburns, called ''The
Norlands" in Livermore. The house was burned down twice, but was
rebuilt and is now a fine mansion.
We have more interest in Israel
Washburn, perhaps, than in his brothers, because he was one of
the governors of Maine, but several of his brothers were as
distinguished as himself. Cadwallader, who was a major-general
in the Civil War and who had removed to Wisconsin in 1841,
became governor of that state in 1871. Elihu, another brother,
settled in Illinois. He was Secretary of State during General
Grant's administration, and afterwards resigned that position to
become United States minister to France. Here he had a wonderful
experience, as he was in Paris during that terrible period, the
reign of the Commune, and the siege by the Prussians.
Charles A., after graduating from
Bowdoin College, went to California, where he published and
edited a newspaper. In 1861, he was appointed Minister to
Paraguay, where he lived for eight years. He wrote a history of
Paraguay in two volumes, and other books.
Samuel B. Washburn was a ship-master in
the merchant marine and a captain in the navy during the Civil
War. William David was also a Bowdoin graduate. He settled in
Minnesota and at one time was president of the Minneapolis and
St. Louis railroad and later a member of Congress. The remaining
brother, Algernon, was a merchant and banker of note.
Such is the story of the seven Washburn brothers. Of the sisters
of this remarkable galaxy we know little, but we may be sure
that they were women of character and ability.
The descendants of the Washburns still
live at "The Norlands. " Here is a beautiful little memorial
library containing many mementoes of the Washburn family, and
here is still to be seen the famous wooden cradle.
Rose D. Nealley
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