Charles Roberts 1804-1896
Photo from Carmichael Collection



Much of the following came from news clippings saved by my Roberts family, including items of interest from old diaries. Life in the latter part of the nineteenth century was very different indeed. The families were very much tied to the land. The land was their sustenance. 
                 I read with interest about William Roberts, of Saco Street [1843-1923] walking his livestock over to John Best’s slaughterhouse to slaughter his pigs, and sometimes a cow, or bull. I believe the slaughterhouse was located across from present day Ed’s Batteries in Westbrook, on Spring Street. It was written in a publication dated 1906 (Trade Journal) that John Best’s slaughterhouse was quite prosperous, sometimes slaughtering over 50 head of cattle each day. 
                 Other items of interest came from the printed text at the beginning of each yearly diary. Much of it was useful formulas, antidotes, and important information for the farmer. The following is from a circa 1872 diary. Antidotes for poison included: FIRST-call doctor, SECOND- Induce Vomiting-by tickling the throat with a feather or finger, drink hot water or strong mustard and water, swallow sweet oil or whites of eggs. For example: arsenic poisoning, rat poison or Paris green could be alleviated by drinking milk, raw eggs, sweet oil, lime water, flour and water. I think the antidote sounds worse than the poisoning!
                Drowning warned the rescuer NOT TO GIVE UP. People have been saved after hours of vigorous effort. Being struck by lightening, warranted an interesting response. Dash cold water over a person struck. I thought the most interesting item on the list was the one about Tests of Death. Hold mirror to mouth. If living, moisture will gather. Push pin into flesh. If dead the hole will remain, if alive it will close up.
                 Also of interest was the antidote for smallpox & scarlet fever which was from an old newspaper clipping saved by my family. It reads: A Small Pox Remedy. Mr. John Roberts Hands in a Very Timely Cure. Mr. John Roberts, the well known and prosperous farmer on the Saco Road, was a caller at the Chronicle office today and he brought in the following old newspaper clipping which has been saved for many years. He used it in his own family for scarlet fever and other kindred diseases. The readers should cut it out and save it. A Small Pox Remedy- A correspondent of the Stockton {California} Herald writes as follows- “I here unto append a recipe which has been used to my knowledge in hundreds of cases. It will prevent or cure the small pox though the pittings are filling. When Jenner discovered the cow pox in England the world of science hurled an avalanche upon his head, but when the most scientific school in the world- that of Paris- published this recipe as a panacea for small pox, it passed unheeded. It is as unfailing as fate, and conquers in every instance. It is harmless when taken by a well person. It will also cure scarlet fever. Here is the recipe as I have used it, and cured my children of scarlet fever.-Here it is as I have used it to cure small pox: When learned physicians said the patient must die, it cured. Sulphate of zinc one grain, fox glove {digitalis} one grain: half a teaspoon of sugar: mix with two tablespoons of water. When thoroughly mixed, add four ounces of water. Take a teaspoonful every hour. Either disease will disappear in twelve hours. For a child, smaller doses according to age .If countries would compel their physicians to use this; there would be no need of pest houses. If you value advice and experience, use this for that terrible disease.”
                 They say that in three generations we are forgotten by our descendants. I find this amazing so I try to keep these old stories alive. In reading an article about my 3rd gr. Grandfather, Charles Roberts, also of Saco Street, I am struck by the content of the story. He is the father of the above mentioned John and William. The title is “Young at Ninety”. The man worked nearly up until he died, with many stories about him in William Roberts’ diaries. Being born in 1804, his first vote was for Andrew Jackson as he was a few months shy of voting age when John Quincy Adams was President. It states that there are many more men now in their nineties than there were in the ‘Good old Rum Times”, but very few retain all of their faculties unimpaired at that age. He does a man’s work every day. His farm consists of 300 acres, field, pasture and forest, having between three and four miles of fence to be kept in repair, and most of it he attended personally. Any farmer, who has fenced field and pasture against cattle with board fence, can appreciate the labor that involves. He works as many hours in the day in the hay field as any of his men. He has driven his mowing machine thirty four years almost entirely. One of his men rode the machine part of the last hay season, but it was too rough work for him, so Mr. Roberts took his place and finished the mowing himself. In his younger days, his father and he frequently took contracts building county roads and a section of the Cumberland & Oxford Canal, doing the work at intervals of the farm work. When he was fifteen years old, he drove four and six ox teams “Carting board from Saccarappa to Portland Pier” for Mr. Warren, grandfather of the Warrens now living in Saccarappa. When he was eighteen, he worked in the logging swamp in winter. He is an expert axe man and used to cut split and pile up three cords of wood four feet long in a day. The father of Senator Frye, General John M. Frye, who was a native of Westbrook, was one of his boyhood chums. Among their pranks, he relates a horseback ride. They captured one of his father’s horses, and mounted him in the pasture with the usual equipments and started. The pasture was rough and the horse at his best speed, stepped into a hole, nearly turning a somersault. The horse and boys picked themselves up in three different parts of the pasture, all in nearly good condition. Mr. Roberts attributes his health and strength in great measure to his temperance habits. While working in the woods, when other men got thirsty and took their customary toddy, he would say, “Water is good enough for me when I am dry” He is an advocate in temperance of everything, eating and drinking. He claims that a man has no excuse for being bilious anymore than he has for being drunk. At this age, the article stated that he still walked sometimes seven miles a day. No need for a membership to the gym back then. Every day life was all that was needed to keep one fit.
                  I thought it would be fitting to mention the funeral bill for Charles Roberts which was saved all these years by family members. The undertaker was Hodsden and Schwartz in 1896 which was located on Main Street. I believe the undertaker was a relative of the Roberts family. A handwritten itemized list of services provided included: Cedar casket Round End Broadcloth [80.00], Box for Casket [3.00], Broadcloth Suit [12.00], Embalming Body [5.00],Use of Hearse [4.00], 3 horses [12.00]., 3 horses from Portland [18.00], carriage for Minister [1.00] , Preparing Grave [3.00] Total 138.00
                  Though these are only bits and pieces of  Westbrook life of long ago, I thought it would be of interest.