Workday Wednesday ~ Henry Copeland, Lumberman

The "Maine" reference in the title of my blog comes from Copeland and allied families.

A: Norridgewock --> B. Calais

Great great grandfather, Henry Clay Copeland was born January 7, 1832, in Norridgewock, Somerset County, Maine, to Thomas Jefferson Copeland and Julia Elvira Townsend, the oldest of their four children. In 1843, the family moved about 155 miles east to Calais, Washington County, Maine. [note 1] (This Calais is pronounced to rhyme with palace.)

In the 1850 Federal Census, Henry C. is listed with his parents and siblings with that catch-all occupation of "Clerk."

He married Sarah Lowell on December 15, 1858. [note 2]

In the 1860 U.S. Federal Census, Henry and Sarah were living with her 65-year-old widowed mother Sarah (Smith) Lowell as Head of Household.

Ancestry.com, database online. Year: 1860; Census Place: Calais Ward 4, Washington, Maine; Roll: M653_454; Page 17B; Record for Sarah Lowell [and Henry C. Copeland]

Reuben B. Lowell, 32, a Livery Stable Keeper, is Sarah (Lowell) Copeland's brother; Elizabeth is his wife and Minerva is their daughter. Henry C. Copeland, 26, is listed with another one of those catch-all occupations, Merchant, as he is in his Civil War Draft Record. Although in this census record,  their son is listed as Henry Copeland (age 6/12), his name in all other records that I have found is Charles Townsend Copeland. 19-year-old Jane McDougall is possibly a household servant. Although not displayed above, they were all born in Maine.

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In 1870, the Henry C. Copeland family was in Calais, with Henry's name misidentified as Chas. H. Copeland. His occupation is Lumbering. He and wife, Sarah, live with two sons, Charles, age 10, and Lowell, age 7, who both attended school during the previous year. Also in the household is Henry's (presumably) widowed father, Thomas J. Copeland and Sarah's widowed mother, Sarah (Smith) Lowell. Despite many attempts, I have not yet found a death record for Thomas' wife, Julia (Townsend) Copeland. January 2013 update: a gravestone for Julia E. Copeland in Calais, Maine, indicates that she died on October 19, 1868.

Ancestry.com, online database. Year: 1870; Census Place: Calais Ward 3, Washington, Maine;
Roll: M593_562; Page 68; Record for Chas. H. [sic] Copeland.

Henry's father is a Lumber Manufacturer with a value of real estate at $15,000 and value of personal estate at $20,000. According to the Copeland Genealogy [note 1], Henry is in the family business, Copeland, Duren & Co. They have two servants living with them, Jane Killman and Marshall McAlpine, (no relation that I know of to my McAlpins).

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In 1880, the Copelands are living on Main Street in Calais with his wife, three children, two servants and his 84-year-old mother-in-law, Sarah (Smith) Lowell. At age 48, he is listed as a Retired Lumberman.

Ancestry.com, online database. Year: 1880; Census Place: Calais, Washington, Maine;
Roll: T9_489; E. D. 169; Page 113.3; Record for Henry C. Copeland

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In 1900, Henry and his wife are still living on Main Street in Calais. His occupation is with Customs.

Ancestry.com, online database. Year: 1900; Census Place: Calais, Washington, Maine;
Roll: T623_601; E.D. 198; Page: 20A; Record for Henry C. Copeland

I have enlarged the space listing his occupation below.

Detail of Henry C. Copeland's occupation

Possibly Dep. Collector Customs? Let me know in the comments what you think it might be.

In 1910, Henry Clay Copeland is listed as H. C. Copeland on Main Street in Calais.

Ancestry.com, online database. Year: 1910; Census Place: Calais, Washington, Maine;
Roll: T624_547; E.D. 276; Page: 1A; E.D. 276; lines 26-27.

Henry (age 78) and Sarah (age 76) have been married for 50 (actually 51) years and all three children she has given birth to are still living. His occupation is listed as "own income."

He died on November 7, 1912 in Calais, a couple of months shy of turning 81 years old. This death record has lots of great information.

Ancestry.com, database online, Maine Death Records, 1617-1922,
Maine State Archives, Record for Henry C. Copeland

His occupation is listed as Lumbering and Customs. Based on census records, it looks like he worked in the family business of lumbering for much of his life then spent some of his later years working for Customs, which likely was a significant employer in the Calais area, as it is across the St. Croix River from St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada.

My descent from Henry Clay Copeland > Lowell Copeland > Lowell Townsend Copeland > my mother > me.

[1] Much of my knowledge of the Copeland Family history from the nineteenth century and before comes from The Copeland Family: A Copeland Genealogy by Warren Turner Copeland, published by The Tuttle Publishing Company, Rutland, Vt. in 1937.

[2] Much of my knowledge of the Lowell Family history from the nineteenth century and before comes from The Historic Genealogy of the Lowells of America from 1639 to 1899 by Delmar R. Lowell, published by The Tuttle Publishing Company, Rutland, Vt. in 1899. 

Workday Wednesday is a daily blogging prompt from GeneaBloggers, the genealogy community’s resource for blogging. It is used by many genealogy bloggers to help them tell stories of their ancestors.