Hidden History of Maine

by Harry Gratwick, David Tyler (Contribution by)

Overview

Discover 400 years of New England history you won’t find in guidebooks in this collection of true stories and colorful characters from The Pine Tree State.

Maine wouldn’t be the magical place it is today without the contributions of little-known individuals whose inspiring and adventuresome lives make up the story of Maine's "hidden history." Journalist and Maine historian Harry Gratwick presents vividly detailed portraits of these Mainers, from the controversial missionary Sebastien Rale to Woolwich native William Phips, whose seafaring attacks against French Canada earned him the first governorship of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 
 
Gratwick also profiles inventors such as Robert Benjamin Lewis, an African American from Gardiner who patented a hair growth product in the 1830s, and Margaret Knight, a York native who defied nineteenth-century sexism to earn the nickname "the female Edison." From soprano Lillian Nordica, who left Farmington to become the most glamorous American opera singer of her day, to slugger George "Piano Legs" Gore, the only Mainer to ever win a Major League Baseball batting championship, Hidden History of Maine reveals the men and women who made history without making it into history books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614231349
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/31/2020
Series:	Hidden History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	163
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Harry Gratwick is a lifelong summer resident of Vinalhaven Island in Penobscot Bay. Recently retired, Gratwick enjoyed a forty-six-year career as a secondary school history teacher, coach and administrator. He spent most of these years at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he chaired the History Department and coached the varsity baseball team. This book combines two of Harry's passions: his love of history and of the sea. He has cruised the Maine coast from Casco Bay to Mount Desert. He is an active member of the Vinalhaven Historical Society and has written extensively on maritime history for two Island Institute publications, the Working Waterfront and the Island Journal. Gratwick is a graduate of Williams College and has a master's degree from Columbia University. Harry and his wife, Tita, spend the winter months in Philadelphia. They have two grown sons, a Russian daughter-in-law and two grandsons. Hidden History of Maine is his second book.

Table of Contents

Foreword David Tyler 9

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction 13

Part I Colonial Maine

The Popham Colony: An Unfortunate Beginning 17

The Missionary: Father Sebastien Rale 21

The Fortune Hunter: William Phips 26

The Citizen Soldier: William Pepperrell 30

Part II Maine During the American Revolution

The First Sea Victory: Jeremiah O'Brien and the Battle of Machias 36

The Guide: Reuben Colburn and the Benedict Arnold Expedition 41

The Disaster: The Penobscot Expedition 47

The Commander: Edward Preble and USS Constitution 52

Part III Antebellum Maine

The Settler: Abraham Somes Moves to Mount Desert Island 59

The Governor: William King and the Fight for Statehood 64

The Canal Builders: Charles Barrett, Henry Knox and the Georges River Canal 70

The Activists: African Americans Robert Benjamin Lewis, Reuben Ruby and John Brown Russwurm 74

The Lumber Baron: Samuel Veazie 79

The "Deacon": George Thomas Builds the Clipper Red Facket 85

Part IV The Civil War and Beyond

The Admiral: James Alden and the Battle of Mobile Bay 91

The General: Thomas Hyde and the Bath Ironworks 95

The Inventors: Margaret Knight and Hiram Maxim 101

The Ballplayer: George "Piano Legs" Gore 107

The Diva: Lillian Nordica 110

The Author: Kenneth Roberts Revisited 116

Bibliography 123

About the Author 127