New & Noteworthy
 




















Original Copies of 1980 History of Hanover, Maine, Available from BHS
Available again from our Museum Shop — a limited number of first edition copies of A History of Hanover, Maine, 1774-1980, with Associated Historical Events by Alfred F. Howard.  Long unobtainable except through antiquarian book sellers, a limited number of original 1980 copies of this exhaustive and authoritative study of the town of Hanover have been made available to the Bethel Historical Society through the generosity of the late author's daughter and granddaughter.  Incorporated in 1843, the town of Hanover was formed by combining the 3,000-acre "Howard Gore" and that part of Bethel lying north of the Androscoggin River from Newry Corner Village to Rumford line.  Nathaniel Segar, famous as one of those captured and taken to Canada in 1781 during New England's "Last Indian Raid," is considered the first white settler of what is now Hanover.  Like Bethel, of which it was once a part, Hanover was a community whose citizens depended on farming and logging, though water-powered milling on the Howard Pond outlet stream provided a livelihood for many people until about 1950.  After World War II, Hanover became a bedroom community of nearby Rumford, with its paper manufacturing complex.  Since 1888, when the first cottage was constructed on the shore of 109-acre Howard Pond, the town of Hanover has also been a summer resort.  A History of Hanover, Maine, contains detailed chapters on town records, education, mills, ferries, veterans, and other subjects too numerous to mention.  A large section of the book is devoted to the genealogies of local families, and numerous photographs, maps, charts and diagrams appear throughout.  As an added bonus, a 75-page every-name index, compiled by BHS staff member Agnes H. Haines and not included in the original book, will be provided with each copy.  576 pages, hardcover.  $39.95

Civil War Book Based On BHS Papers Published by Society
"Write Quick": War and a Woman's Life in Letters, 1835–1867, published by the Bethel Historical Society, is now available from the Society's Museum Shop.  Edited by Bethel native Roberta Gibson Pevear of Exeter, New Hampshire—a descendant of Eliza Bean Foster, the main character of this book—and poet and author Ann Chandonnet of Vale, North Carolina, this volume is based on Civil War era documents, letters and diaries donated to the Bethel Historical Society by Mrs. Pevear in 2005.  Over 570 pages in length, with more than 50 photographs, illustrations, maps, and index, the book tells of one New England family's daily experiences on the Civil War home front and battlefield.

A New England native and longtime Alaska resident, Ann Fox Chandonnet is the author of numerous books, including Alaska’s Inside Passage (Fodor’s, 2009).  Her food history, Gold Rush Grub (University of Alaska Press, 2005), won an Outstanding Book award from the American Association of School Librarians. She currently resides in the Hickory, North Carolina, area.  Roberta Gibson Pevear, who spent thirty-five years in business administration and law before serving as a New Hampshire state representative, grew up in Eliza Bean Foster’s hometown of Bethel, Maine, and attended Gould Academy. She lives in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Amid the gathering clouds of war, far from the nation’s centers of power, two American families felt the first ripples on the breeze. Andrew Bean, a teacher and farmer from Bethel, Maine, answered the call to the Union infantry. His younger sister, Eliza, having found both employment and a suitable marriage in the bustling mill city of Lowell, Massachusetts, soon saw her husband, Henry C. Foster (photo, left), enlist as well

In more than 150 revealing letters dispatched from camp and field and home front, as well as Eliza Bean Foster’s own diary, the honors and horrors of war play out on an intimate stage.  Seldom does a surviving cache of documents illuminate the full span of the antebellum and war years in such close detail, from so many different angles.  While Andrew wrote from the eastern battlefields of Bull Run and South Mountain, Henry posted lines from New Orleans, Fort Monroe, and Sabine Pass in the Western Theater. Eliza’s replies describe children and family—and sometimes desperate circumstances. “I have a good mind to send this [money] right back,” wrote Eliza to her brother near war’s end. “I shant use it untill I hear from you. Write quick.”

Illustrated with original documents and never-before-published photographs, the book traces Eliza’s life from New England mill girl, to young married woman and mother, to war widow and victim of consumption. Write Quick presents a valuable case history and a poignant story of one Northern woman through her own pen and the lens of her contemporaries.  To order, click here.

Read here about Write Quick co-editor Ann Chandonnet's November 2011 visit to the Old Mint in New Orleans, where Civil War soldier Henry C. Foster wrote many letters to his wife, Eliza Bean Foster, the book's major character.

Collections Software Upgraded Thanks to Generous Gift
A generous financial gift from Bethel Historical Society members Ned and Susan Robertson of Solon, Ohio, has allowed the purchase more than $1000 worth of computer software and hardware to greatly enhance our ability to catalog collections and share them online.  Recognizing that the Society owns or has access to a wealth of historical artifacts, photographs, archives and books, the Robertsons offered to fund a major upgrade to the PastPerfect software already in use by staff and volunteers.  “Besides providing us with the latest version of the PastPerfect program, the Robertsons’ extraordinary gift has encouraged us to buy software that will enable the Society to post online exhibits and individual collection records on the Internet," stated Randall Bennett, BHS Executive Director and Curator of Collections.  Under the direction of Society Registrar Jacalyn Bell, the organization’s collection records continue to be transferred from paper to digital form.  “With the upgraded software, we’ll be able to expand our descriptions of items in the collection,” said Bennett.  “And for the first time, we’ll also be adding photographs of individual objects and scans of old photographs to our computerized records.”  Since the Society’s collections focus heavily on western Maine and the White Mountain region of Maine and New Hampshire, the possibilities for research and study will be wide-ranging.

Campaign for "Internship Endowment" Launched
The Bethel Historical Society's "High School History Internship Program" was started in 2007 to provide valuable historical education experiences for qualified students in grades 9-12.  During July and August, interns participate in a variety of activities, including period house museum interpretation, historical walking tours, exhibit research and preparation, programming and special event development, and collections management.  This educational opportunity, which includes a $1000 stipend for the two-month period, offers important public history experiences and numerous insights into the preservation and interpretation of local and regional history.

For some time, the Society has been aware of the need to secure long-term funding for this worthwhile project.  In this regard, we are delighted to announce that long-time BHS members Don and Karen Bean of Bethel have recently made a generous financial donation as an incentive for us to move forward with the establishment of an "Internship Endowment," whose goal is $20,000.  Once achieved and wisely invested, this special fund should provide enough annual income to maintain the internship program for years to come.  Needless to say, we are extremely grateful to the Karen and Don Bean for their generous gift and enthusiastic support!

Society Establishes "Goddard/Folsom Fund"
In response to the generosity of the Payne family—Dr. John, Jane, David, and Kimball—of Rumford Center and Baltimore—the Board of Trustees of the Bethel Historical Society at its September 26 meeting officially established the “Goddard/Folsom Fund for Archival Preservation and Access.”  As explained by William Andrews, President of the Society’s Board, “Income from this Fund will support projects that enhance the preservation of and access to archival materials in the Bethel Historical Society’s collections.”  Among the organizations extensive archival holdings are diaries, business records, manuscript genealogies and hand-drawn maps—among other rare, one-of-a-kind items.  Plans are already in place to make some of these materials available online in the near future so that researchers unable to visit the Society in person will have easy access to them.

Regarding the naming of this new Fund, donor Jane Champe Payne explains, “Thalia Goddard was born on the Goddard Farm in Rumford Center and was orphaned after her father (a Civil War veteran) fell in front of his team on Farmer’s Hill, and her mother died of tuberculosis like much of her family in Rumford Point.  Thalia and her brother, Thatcher, were raised on this farm by their grandmother, Mary Ann Kimball Goddard, and their aunt, Mary Bryent.  Thalia went to Gould Academy and Kent’s Hill, but could only afford one year of college at Radcliffe.  She taught school in the Boston area.  She married Clyde Hallett Folsom, whose father ran a general store in Oakland, Maine.  He went to Westbrook Seminary (now part of the University of New England) and was dead set on working on Wall Street.  He arrived in New York in the early 1900s and soon lost his job in one of the economic calamities of that era.  He travelled around the US and gathered clients from his defunct investment employer and opened his own investment firm, 'Folsom & Adams,' on Wall Street.  Having concluded that there were Depressions in the US every 20 years, he retired in the mid 1920s.  My mother, Mary Folsom Champe, was their only child.  They both had died before mother married so we never knew them.”

The Bethel Historical Society is very grateful to Jane Champe Payne and her family for providing the financial resources to create this special archival preservation fund.

Non-Member Research Library User Fee Instituted
One of the ways the Bethel Historical Society raises the funds necessary to keep its research library open year round is through its membership program.  As a result, the Society provides its members with free use of the research library, plus discounts on photocopying and "research by mail" fees.  In order to encourage new memberships and to generate additional support income, a modest Non-Member User Fee of $5 per day will now be charged to those who do not yet belong to the Society.  Currently enrolled high school and college students will continue to receive free access to the library's facilities.  For information about additional Research Library member benefits, please click here.

Society Acquires Rare 1835 "Schoolgirl" Map of Oxford County
The Bethel Historical Society is currently engaged in an effort to survey, evaluate and re-catalog its extensive museum, library and archival collections.  To allow the time necessary to carry out this important work, and recognizing the need for additional storage space for the Society’s holdings, a temporary moratorium on new gifts—with allowance for “special” exceptions—has been authorized by the board of trustees.
Recently, the Society was made aware of the sale at auction of a rare, 1835 “schoolgirl” map of Oxford County, Maine, that was hand drawn by Lydia D. Carter of Bethel.  The daughter of Dr. Timothy Carter, the town’s first settled physician, Lydia was born in 1823 and was about 12 years of age when she drew the remarkably detailed and highly accurate 10 by 18 inch map of Oxford County as it then existed.  As it turned out, the map was acquired at the auction by someone who recognized its value as a significant local artifact that should be preserved in the Society’s collection.  Through the collaborative efforts of Norman & Sylvia Clanton and Auctioneer Joe Gaidis, the 1835 Oxford County map was purchased from the buyer and made available to the Bethel Historical Society, which was able to make use funds set aside for the occasional purchase of exceptional historic items to acquire the piece.   (click on map for a larger image)


Can't Visit Us?  Try Our "Research-By-Mail" Service
For a number of years, the Society has offered a “Research-By-Mail” service for those who cannot visit us in person.  For a prepaid, non-refundable hourly fee ($10 for members; $15 for non-members), staff and volunteers from our Research Library Committee will search for specific information in appropriate catalogs, genealogies, town histories, cemetery records, published vital records, microfilmed newspapers, and directories.  We regret that we cannot search in unindexed manuscript material.  We will be happy to give an estimate of the time required to research your topic; you may contact us at library@bethelhistorical.org or 207-824-2908.  For each hour of contracted research, we will provide photocopies of the most pertinent material and will advise you of the sources we've consulted.  In a letter (no emails, please), please describe what information you are seeking, list sources you have already checked, and include your remittance (made payable to the "Bethel Historical Society").  Our mailing address is Bethel Historical Society, P.O. Box 12, Bethel, ME 04217.  Requests will be answered (usually within 3 to 4 weeks) in the order in which they are received.

Improved Payments By Credit Card Instituted
For the convenience of Society members and friends who would like to use their credit cards to make Annual Fund donations, membership payments, or Museum Shop purchases, the Society has added special sections to several of the forms on this website where card information can be added and the forms mailed in.  In addition, those who prefer to phone in their card numbers may call the Society's local (207-824-2908) or toll-free (800-824-2910) numbers.  (For your security, we do not retain a record of your number after the transaction is processed.)  Finally, the home page on this website features a clickable "Donate" button that brings up a secure form for entering credit card numbers to make donations through PayPal; a message box is included in this feature so the donor can describe the purpose of the gift.

And more…


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