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Family of Samuel (Gen.) VEAZIE and Susannah Lydia? WALKER
Samuel (Gen.) VEAZIE b. 1787 Apr 222988 at Portland, ME388. d. 1868 Mar 122988. bd. Mt Hope Cem., Bangor, ME2988.
Susannah Lydia? WALKER b. 1792 Mar 295422 at Topsham, ME5422. d. 1852 Jun 275422 at Bangor, ME5422. bd. Mt Hope Cem., Bangor, ME840.
Married388 1809 Jul 25422 at Topsham, ME5422.
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.
The 1850 Census for Bangor lists Lydia Veazie, age 58, with Samuel Veazie, "Bank President."
Children of Samuel (Gen.) VEAZIE and Susannah Lydia? WALKER:
| 1. | Jones Perkins VEAZIE388 b. 1811 Jun 2388 at Topsham, ME388. d. 1875 Feb 162986 at Bangor, ME636. bd. Mt Hope Cem., Bangor, ME636. | ||||
| md. 1) Mary Jane WINSLOW | |||||
| md. 2) Susan B TOWNSEND | |||||
| 2. | John Walker VEAZIE388 b. 1812 Oct 30388 at Topsham, ME4389. d. 1891 Apr 154389 at Bangor, ME. | ||||
| md. 1) Ruth Maria BARTLETT | |||||
| md. 2) Amanda FROST | |||||
| 3. | Frances Augusta Hunt VEAZIE388 b. 1818 Jul 18388 at Topsham, ME388. d. 1866 Apr 21388. | ||||
| md. 1) Nathaniel LORD | |||||
| md. 2) William (Rev) M WILLIAN |