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Family of Samuel (Gen.) VEAZIE and Mary CLEWLY / CLEWLEY
Samuel (Gen.) VEAZIE b. 1787 Apr 222988 at Portland, ME388. d. 1868 Mar 122988. bd. Mt Hope Cem., Bangor, ME2988.
Mary CLEWLY / CLEWLEY b. 1807 Jan 10840 at (prob) Stockton, ME388. d. 1886 Jan 7636 at at home of son-in-law, John R Mullen, Boston, MA388. bd. Mt Hope Cem., Bangor, ME636.
Married388 1859 May 17388. BHM388 has "[Samuel Veazie] married second, Mrs Mary C Blanchard, of Stockton, May 17, 1859."
Gen. Samuel Veazie died2988 Mar 12, 1868, at the age of 80y 10m 19d. His birth date is calculated from that information, and is the same as Wheeler179. He was buried in Mt Hope Cem., Bangor, ME, on Mar 15, 1868.
His marriage to Susan Walker was reported in the Freeman's Friend (Portland, ME, genealogybank.com), Jul 15, 1809: "In Topsham, Mr Samuel Veazie, of Portland, to Miss Susan Walker, of the former place."
There are numerous references mentioning Samuel Veazie. Perhaps the easiest and most appropriate read4274 is Hamilton's 'History of Veazie, Maine." The information provided therein regarding Samuel Veazie is easily corroborated and, for simplicity, his story is based primarily on that work.
Samuel Veazie was born Apr 22, 1787, in Portland, Maine, the son of John Veazie and Rachel Jones. Early in life, he became a sailor, and managed to purchase a vessel which he operated for several years. He then settled in Topsham, Maine, where he pursued several vocations such as tobacco manufacturing and store-keeping. He then purchased the Androscoggin boom, which caught logs from upstream logging camps on the river. Logs were then sorted by owner and sold to lumber mills. It was a monopoly but Veazie apparently approached his advantage with moderation, and it became a successful business.
He joined the local militia, and, during the War of 1812, enlisted as an ensign, rising to the rank of general. He used that prefix the rest of his life.
Veazie bought several lumber mills in the area, eventually owning or controlling more than 50 of them. In the middle 1800s, he lived in Bangor and Veazie, a town founded and named for him.
Bangor had become a relatively large city, and had grown by 1853 to a population of 15,000. Veazie, largely to escape the town taxes, managed to get the state legislature to approve a charter, and the town of Veazie was incorporated June 27, 1853.
He continued to buy log booms and became a true lumber baron. He became more dominant in his business, and was taken to court several times for various reasons, mostly regarding his business practices.
General Veazie purchased the Bangor, Old Town and Milford Railroad, soon thereafter the "Veazie" railroad.
Among the more famous (or infamous) of his transactions was the purchase of the Bank of Bangor, soon thereafter the Veazie Bank. He contested provisions of the national bank system, primarily a Congressional Act of July 13, 1866, which imposed a tax on notes issued by private persons and state banks. His court case, Veazie Bank vs Fenno, continued through the system to the Supreme Court, where Chief Justice Salmon P Chase held that Congress had the power to enforce that tax.
Veazie died in 1868 but his children and their spouses inherited his numerous holdings and continued to influence activities in that area of Maine for many years.
Mary's maiden name is assumed from the coincidence and corroboration of several references. Bangor Hist Mag388 has Samuel Veazie "He married second, Mrs. Mary C. Blanchard, of Stockton, May 17, 1859." In 1850, Mary C Blanchard resided346 in Bangor, ME. Residing with her were several children named Blanchard, among them were: "Cadelia," age 19; Adalaid B, age 13; and Albert L, age 11. In 1860, Cordelia H Blanchard, age 22, resided516 in the household of Samuel and Mary C Veazie. The presence of Cordelia Blanchard in 1850 and 1860 indicates the probability that Samuel's wife Mary C Blanchard is the Mary Blanchard of the 1850 census. The headstone840 for Mary C Veazie in Mt Hope Cem., Bangor, ME, reads: "Mary C Veazie / Born Jan 10 1807 / Married Capt Loring Blanchard Dec 29? 1825 / Married Gen Samuel Veazie / May 18 1859 / Passed on in --- life / Jan 7, 1886."
The 1909 marriage record4009 of Albert Loring Blanchard, age 70, born Stockton, Me, lists his parents as Loring Blanchard and Mary "Clewly." That marriage record indicates Albert was born ~1839 in Maine, as was the Albert L Blanchard of the 1850 census, apparently the child of Mary C Blanchard.
The 1907 death certificate3271 for Almeda S (Blanchard) Chase lists her parents as Loring Blanchard and (no first name given) Clewley. Almeda was born in Prospect, Maine, and died at age 75y 10m 1d. She was the widow of Benjamin C Chase. In 1870, Mary Veazie resided344 in Bangor, Maine. Residing with her were Almeda Chase, age 41, born Maine, and (apparently) Almeda's children, among them: Benj. C. Chase.
From that information, it is assumed that Mary's maiden name was Clewly or Clewley.
Following Samuel Veazie's death, Mary Veazie resided344 in Bangor, ME, in 1870.
Of Mary's death, Bangor Hist Mag388 has: "She died in Boston at the residence of her son-in-law, John R. Mullen, Jan. 7, 1886." In 1880, John R Mullen and wife Addie B resided770 in Boston. In that record Addie B Mullen is listed as age 37, born Maine. Addie is the Adelaid Blanchard residing346 with her mother in 1850. Further corroboration is indicated by the name of her son listed in the 1880 census: Loring B Mullen, age 12, likely named after Addie's father, and likely the Loring Blanchard Mullen, born 1868 in Massachusetts.