William Hutchinson Rowe

William Hutchinson Rowe (March 6, 1882''Maine Biographies'', Harrie B. Coe (before 1937), p. 135 – 1955) was an American author and historian who lived in Yarmouth, Maine. The town's elementary school, built the year he died, is now named for him. In 1937, he published '' Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636–1936: A History'', covering three centuries of the town's past.Yarmouth Historical Society
via the Yarmouth/North Yarmouth Community Guide, ''Portland Press Herald'', Summer 2007 As of the early 21st century, it was still in print.

Early life

Rowe was born on March 6, 1882, on his family's farm in Yarmouth, Maine, the first of two sons of Mary Jane (1859–1944), from Brunswick, and New Gloucester native Charles O. Rowe (1851–1928), a farmer. A brother, Sylvanus Charles, followed on November 1, 1885; he died in 1910, aged about 25, while employed at the Hollingsworth & Whitney Company, of Winslow, Maine.

Rowe grew up in a house, formerly owned by his grandparents, at today's 1841-built 20 Bridge Street, near its corner with Main Street.About William H. Rowe School
– William H. Rowe School official website

In 1902, he enrolled at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where he studied with a view to becoming a clergyman.''The Druggists Circular'', March 1910, p. 108 He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Career

After graduating from Colby, a throat ailment caused Rowe to return to the drug business, in which he gained some experience prior to college. Shortly after Rowe received his high-school diploma in 1899, Leone R. Cook, owner of a drug store in Yarmouth's Upper Village, offered him an apprenticeship. He remained there for two-and-a-half years, claiming his experience there was "among the best of his life".

From January 1904, Rowe ran a pharmacy in the brick building at today's 108 Main Street, at the corner of Portland Street. He had been deputizing for its previous owner, Burt L. Alden,''Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine'', Volume 2 – Henry Sweetser Burrage, Albert Roscoe Stubbs (1909), p. 985 during an illness, since October. He became a registered druggist in October 1904. He added the stock of William Richards' dry goods business after it closed at 82–84 Main Street.

In September 1904, Rowe fought with a robber in his store who drew a revolver on him. Rowe, who had $250 on the premises, knocked the gun aside and tussled with the assailant. After hearing voices, the robber ran away.

Rowe began serving on the Yarmouth School Committee in 1905, becoming its chairman from 1907, and continued in the role for the next 34 years. He was also a member of the Maine Historical Society.''Portland Evening Express'', January 11, 1930
– William Hutchinson Rowe Correspondence, November 2015, Maine State Library

Writing

"Rowe's propensity for writing manifested itself when he was too young to seek an outlet for his literary product through any medium other than the children's column in the household paper," wrote ''The Druggists Circular'' in March 1910, in an addendum to his column "Profit from the Advertising Section".''The Druggists Circular'', March 1910, p. 109 He wrote an article, titled "Problems and Opportunities of the Country Druggist", for the March 1909 edition of the circular. Further columns from Rowe included "Wooing the Summer Resort Trade" (June 1909) and "The Country Druggist: His Advertising" (December 1909).

Rowe also contributed paragraphs to magazines and religious publications.

The first recognized book Rowe wrote was the novel-style ''Shipbuilding Days and Tales of the Sea'' in 1924. He followed this up in 1929 with ''Shipbuilding Days in Casco Bay, 1727–1890''.

In 1923, Rowe announced that a history of Yarmouth was in the works. He posted an advertisement in the program for Yarmouth High School's production of ''Forest Acres'', asking if people would put forth any historical records in their possession. The project, titled '' Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636–1936: A History'', took fourteen more years to complete, covered 300 years of the town's history, and was "so thorough that it is still in print".''Images of America: Yarmouth'', Hall, Alan M., Arcadia (2002) The book contained 427 pages, fifteen chapters (plus a detailed appendix), was printed on antique book paper and bound in gold-stamped cloth. It was printed by Portland's Southworth–Anthoensen Press, based at 105 Middle Street. It was on sale for $5 at the time of its initial release.

Although Yarmouth's heyday as a shipbuilding town had largely ended by the time he was born, Rowe had an affinity for the sea, for he was also the author of books on the town's maritime history.

Selected bibliography

*''Yarmouth Personages, an Introduction. An Attempt to Revive the Memory of Individuals Whose Names Were Once Household Words in Old North Yarmouth and Yarmouth'' (1910)
*''Shipbuilding Days and Tales of the Sea, in Old North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine'' (1924)Rowe, William (1882 - 1955)
– Maine State Library
*''Shipbuilding Days in Casco Bay, 1727–1890: Being Footnotes to the Maritime History of Maine'' (1929)
*''Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine, 1636–1936: A History'' (1937)
*''The Maritime History of Maine: Three Centuries of Shipbuilding and Seafaring'' (1948)
*''The Yarmouth Poets'' (1955)

Personal life

On April 15, 1908, Rowe married Anna M. Dubois (1882–1964), of Nashua, New Hampshire,''Vital Records of Cumberland, Maine 1701–1892'' (2009) whom he described as "the one woman".

He was a member of Yarmouth's First Baptist Church, which moved to a new (the current) building at today's 346 Main Street in 1889. Up until the age of seven, he attended the North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse on Hillside Street. He was a deacon at the Main Street church, and was also a member of the Free and Accepted Masons (both Blue Lodge and Chapter). He was 32nd-degree and a Past Master and Past High Priest. In addition, he was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

In 1940, Rowe was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Maine.

Death

Rowe died in 1955, aged about 73. He is interred in Yarmouth's Riverside Cemetery. His wife of 47 years survived him by nine years, and is buried alongside him.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, William Hutchinson
1882 births
1955 deaths
People from Yarmouth, Maine
Historians from Maine
Writers from Maine
19th-century American historians
20th-century American historians
Colby College alumni
American Freemasons
Historians of Maine
Burials at Riverside Cemetery (Yarmouth, Maine)