Oren Mower, A Vickery Connection

It is only a couple generations back in time where my Mower line merges with the Vickery family, thanks to my grandparents, George Richardson Mower and Harriet Elizabeth Vickery, who were married on 27 October 1928.  But as it turns out, this wasn't the first time these two families celebrated a marriage together - as my grandfather's great-uncle had married my grandmother's great-aunt almost 87 years before.

Martin Mower Family Monument,

Maple Grove Cemetery

Bangor, Maine

Oren Mower was born on 23 April 1817 in New Vineyard, Maine, the second of thirteen children born to Martin and Mary (Underhill) Mower.  He died at the young age of 26 on 3 October 1843.  He was a farmer, but not much is known of his life beyond that.  During his short life, he did not leave much of a paper trail, his life pretty much memorialized only in the dates etched on the Mower family monument in Maple Grove Cemetery, just down the road from the Mower homestead, in Bangor.

We do know that Oren married Lydia B. Vickery on 22 December 1841 in Bangor, united in matrimony by Rev. John Maltby of the Hammond Street Congregational Church.  Lydia Vickery had been born in Thorndike, Maine, on 9 January 1816, the ninth of ten children born to Jonathan and Ruhamah (Gould) Vickery.  The Vickery family later settled in Glenburn, Maine.  Oren and Lydia had one child, Oren Mower Jr., who was born on 22 March 1843.

A death record has not been located for Oren Mower.  He may have died in either Bangor or Glenburn, of what cause, we just don't know.

Lydia remarried on 25 June 1849 in Bangor.  Rev. Maltby joined her in marriage to James Conner, an Irish immigrant.  James was a farmer, owning 42 acres of land in 1870.  James and Lydia had at least one child, Charles, in 1854.  Lydia died in Bangor at the age of 51 on 1 February 1867.  Her gravesite has not been located.

Line of Descent:  1-Richard Mower, 2-Samuel Mower, 3-Samuel Mower, 4-Jonathan Mower, 5-John Mower, 6-Martin Mower
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Sources available upon reques

Samuel Mower, Patriot

Samuel Mower (my fourth great granduncle) was born 17 May 1761, in Charlton, Massachusetts.  He was the fourth of ten children born to Jonathan and Elizabeth (Bemis) Mower.

In Aug 1777, at the age of 16, Samuel enlisted to fight in the "war of the revolution," joining the Company of Capt. Abijah Lamb in Col. Cushing's Regiment, for a period of 4 months.  He marched to Bennington, Vermont, arriving there a few days after the Battle of Bennington (16 Aug 1777).  The Company then marched to Manchester, Vermont, before continuing on to the American camp at Stillwater, New York.  Samuel Mower was at the Battles of Saratoga (19 Sep1777 and 7 Oct 1777) when British General John Burgoyne was captured, and he witnessed the General surrendering his sword.  The Company next marched to Albany, and thereafter Samuel was discharged about mid-December in the vicinity of New York City, having fulfilled his enlistment term.  At the beginning of Apr 1778, Samuel enlisted again as a private for a period of nine months in Capt. Samuel Lamb's Company, Col. Nathaniel Wade's Regiment of the Massachusetts line.  He served his term and was honorably and verbally discharged near Greenwich, Rhode Island, on 1 Jan 1779.  He subsequently re-enlisted for a third term, this time for three months, to serve under Capt. Clark, stationed for much of that time in Rhode Island, where he again was verbally discharged at the end of his enlistment term.  His final enlistment was in Aug 1779, when for a period of two months he enlisted in Capt. Abijah Lamb's Company, Col. Davis' Regiment, marching again to Rhode Island.  His final discharge occurring after 5-6 weeks of service in this Company; Samuel having served a total of 16 months and 6 weeks fighting for the Patriotic cause.

After the war, Samuel moved to Oxford, New Hampshire, where he plied the trades of stone cutter and blacksmith.  Of note, according to the Mower Family History, Samuel furnished some of the granite that was used in the construction of Dartmouth College buildings.  About 1781, he married Deidama Morey of Oxford.  She was the daughter of Ephraim and Abigail (Daniels) Morey, born 20 Jul 1762.  They must have returned to Charlton, Massachusetts, as the births of their first two children are recorded there.  They then moved to Greene, Maine, joining Samuel's older brothers who had already journeyed north.  There he continued to carry out his trade as a blacksmith, reportedly being a fine workman, as well as raise a large family.  Physically, Walter Mower states in the Mower Family History that Samuel was a man of only medium height, thick set and very muscular.

Samuel and Deidama had 11 children, all but the first two born in Greene, Maine:

1. Sally, b. 10 Aug 1782
2. Lewis, b. 2 Jun 1784
3. Ruth, b. 28 Apr 1786
4. Deidama, b. 13 May 1788
5. Samuel, b. 10 Sep 1790
6. Luther, b. 6 Jul 1793
7. William, b. 22 Nov 1795
8. Pamelia, b. 22 Oct 1797
9. Mary, b. 28 Oct 1799
10. Temperance, b. 5 Dec 1803
11. Laura, b. 24 May 1805

In May 1818, Samuel applied to the Secretary of the Department of War of the United States for a military pension for his Revolutionary service.  Sadly, the application indicates that he has reduced circumstances and is in need of the assistance of his country for support.  In certifying his service, his older brothers add that Samuel's circumstances are "low by reason of a son who is now twenty two years old which is a non-compos person which has & now does cause him great expense."  This would be a reference to William, who as a child had a severe epileptic episode that left him in a demented condition that he never recovered from.  The cover of this pension file indicates it was rejected as Wade's Regiment was not a "Continental Establishment."  He did subsequently apply for a pension under the Revolutionary Claim Act of June 7, 1832, for which he was awarded an annual pension of $57.19.

Deidama died in Greene on 23 Mar 1826.  William married Mrs. Hannah (Johnson) Lord, the widow of John Lord of Gardiner, Maine, on 10 Nov 1826.  Samuel died on 21 May 1847 in Greene, Maine, and is buried in Old Valley Cemetery next to his first wife.  Hannah survived him, dying in Oct 1850.

Line of descent:  1-Richard Mower, 2-Samuel Mower, 3-Samuel Mower, 4-Jonathan Mower

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Sources available upon request.

Eugene Adelbert Mower

Eugene Adelbert Mower at age 34

Eugene Adelbert Mower, my great grand-uncle, has been sort of an enigma.  He’s the one child of George and Lizzie (Eastman) Mower that left the hometown of Bangor, Maine, and headed west to find his fortunes.  He surely could have relocated to Minnesota where a few aunts and uncles had migrated to, but he passed that by and resettled in California.  I’m not sure what the pull was, but it may just have been a spirit of adventure.

Eugene was born on 10 Jun 1862, the second of 7 children.  His older brother, Charles Martin Mower, lived only 3 months, so Eugene fulfilled the role of the eldest child.  He grew up on the family farm on the Pushaw Road in Bangor, Maine, the homestead established by his grandfather, Martin.  He attended public schools in Bangor and we find him in the 1880 census working as a driver for a team at the age of 17.   He then attended the Eastern State Normal School in Castine, Maine, where he graduated in 1882.

After graduating, Eugene’s employment bounces around a little bit while he was apparently trying to figure out life.  He taught school for a year, but then returned home to the farm where he labored for a couple years.  It was in 1885 when Eugene felt the pull of the west and moved to San Francisco.  His first job there was working in a wholesale produce commission house, William H. Rouse and Company.  In 1889, he accepted a new position as Superintendent of the California Fruit and Wine Land Company, located in Reedley, California.  After serving in that capacity for a few years, he tried his luck at mining in Tuolumne County. 

Classified Ad - The Herald (Los Angeles), 17 Jan 1895, p. 8.

He then finally settled in Fresno, where on 10 Jan 1899, County Auditor Horace E. Barnum appointed Eugene as his deputy.  He worked as Deputy County Auditor for the remainder of his career life, with a couple leaves for serving as County Expert for a couple years and a short stint as Deputy County Treasurer.   

While living in Fresno, Eugene boarded in the Barnum home.

Horace Barnum passed away in 1914.  His son, Charles Barnum, succeeded him in the position of County Auditor and Eugene continued working in the office as Chief Deputy.  Eugene obviously had developed a close relationship with the Barnum family and on 11 Nov 1915 married his late boss’s widow, Mary E. (Dearing) Barnum.  They had no children.

Eugene died on 10 Sep 1927 at the age of 65.  The cause of death according to his death certificate is arteriosclerosis of coronary arteries.  He is buried in an unmarked grave in Mountain View Cemetery in Fresno, California.  His widow passed away on 15 May 1954 and is buried with her first husband in the same cemetery.

Line of descent: 1-Richard Mower, 2-Samuel Mower, 3-Samuel Mower, 4-Jonathan Mower, 5-John Mower, 6-Martin Mower, 7-George Mower

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Sources: 

• Ancestry.com. Find-A-Grave. Database with digital images. www.findagrave.com : 2008.
• California. Fresno. Fresno Morning Republican. 11 January 1899.
• California. San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle. 16 November 1915.  
• County of Fresno. Bureau of Vital Statistics. California State Board of Health. Death certificate.
• United States. California. Fresno County. 1900 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. www.ancestry.com : 2017.
• United States. California. Fresno County. 1910 U.S. census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. www.ancestry.com : 2017.
• United States. Maine. Penobscot County. 1870 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. www.ancestry.com : 2017.
• United States. Penobscot County. 1880 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images. Ancestry.com. www.ancestry.com : 2017.
• Vandor, Paul E.. History of Fresno County, California: with Biographical Sketches of the leading men and women of the County who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present. Los Angeles, California: Historic Record Company, 1919. Digital images. Google Books. books.google.com : 2017.