Friday, October 23, 2015

1848 letter from Postmaster Asa Smith at Mattawamkeag, Maine, to E. P. Butler, Esq. at Orono, Maine - I.O.O.F. related


May 15, 1848 Letter from Mattawamkeag, Maine, from Asa Smith, Postmaster, to "Brother" E. P. Butler, Esq. at Orono, Maine.  The two men were both members of the International Order of Odd Fellows; this letter concerns a vacancy in the position of Vice Grand at Mattawamkeag.


Mattawamkeag, May 15, 1848
Bro. Butler, 
As the chair of our V. G. [Vice Grand] is vacant, and we are about to fill the vacancy, I write you for the purpose of inquiring whether we shall have to get a dispensation before we can proceed to install him into office, and also please inform me who the D.D.G.M. [District Deputy Grand Master] for this District is.
Yours truly
In F.L & Truth,  [Friendship, Love and Truth]
Asa Smith

From brief online research, hopefully correct:  [corrections and additions requested]

Asa Smith was born August 12, 1798 at Danville, Maine, son of Pelatiah Smith and Elizabeth (possibly Smith) Smith.  On February 19, 1826, Asa married Louisa L. Haynes of Passadumkeag, Maine; they eventually settled at Mattawamkeag, where Asa pursued a variety of interests.  I believe Asa and Louisa had five children, two of whom died young.  Asa died December 16, 1880 at Mattawamkeag.

Asa warranted a lengthy biography, complete with a likeness and an illustration of his home in the History of Penobscot County, Maine: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, published in 1882.




E. P. Butler, Esq., of Orono, Maine, was presumably Elvaton Parker Butler, also a Postmaster, as well as a long-serving bank cashier and town official.  He was born March 24, 1810 at Farmington, Maine, son of Solomon and Polly Butler.  On July 26, 1836, Elvaton married Abigail Treat, daughter of Joseph and Abigail (Ide) Treat of Frankfort, Maine.  They had four children, I believe.  Elvaton Parker Butler died April 4, 1884.

If you have corrections and/or additions to the information above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

See an 1853 letter from Lorenzo Leadbetter at Old Town, Maine, to Asa Smith at Mattawamkeag, Maine, here.



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