While we have been researching the lives of several sea captains, my friend Jackie Dunham came across an interesting article that is related to the growth of the temperance movement in Ferry Village. There were many temperance-related organizations across America in the mid- to late-1800s. If you recall, we previously wrote about the Seaside Lodge of Good Templars that formed in South Portland (then known as Cape Elizabeth) in 1864 on Preble Street. That lodge was still in existence in the early-1870s when troubles were festering in Ferry Village that helped to give the temperance movement a growing popularity here.

Captain Robert M. York was a well-respected sea captain who lived on the corner of Sawyer and High streets (after Robert’s death, his son James would later build the large building block there at 124 Sawyer St.).

In an article in the Portland Daily Press in December 1871, we learn that residents had been dealing for several months with disorderly conduct – primarily men who were drinking and brawling in the village. This all came to a head on Thanksgiving Day when a young man at a dance was assaulted by a young man named Cushing and several other neighborhood “roughs” who knocked him down a flight of stairs and fractured his jaw.

Already at the tipping point, the community was so outraged that they immediately held a neighborhood meeting. According to the article, “An agreement was drawn up and signed by fifty of the leading citizens constituting them a committee for the enforcement of order, and Captain Robert M. York, a well-known shipmaster, was made prosecuting officer. It is the duty of this officer to cause the arrest and trial of any person that a member of this committee may complain of for a breach of the peace.

“Trial Justice Henley will second the action of the citizens by prompt assistance. Two of the roughs that made the assault Thursday evening, George Tobey and Frank Turner, are now under arrest and will be arraigned before Justice Henley today. Cushing, who is a desperate character and neighborhood terror, has left. Rowdies had better keep away from Ferry Village, for the Committee of Fifty mean business, and are headed by a very determined man.”

Another article appeared in the newspaper about two weeks later with an update on how things were going:

“Ferry Village has caught the spirit of reform, which produces such splendid results, that citizens and strangers can now walk our streets with impunity. Justice Henley, backed by a committee of seventy, and headed by Capt. R.M. York, are doing their business most effectually. Union Hall (corner of School and Monroe streets) has been fitted up for a Court room, and for the past week Justice tempered with Mercy has been meted out to four of the leading spirits of midnight brawls and daily carousals … Order is fully restored in our village, our schools are in a flourishing condition, religious influence is being felt; real estate has advanced, tenements are in better demand, our ferry landing is slowly but sure progressing, and when completed we shall not only be the banner town in the State, but our village with its broad water-front, healthful location and natural resources is designed to be a model of thrift, temperance, morality and sobriety.”

About a month later, residents met and founded a new temperance group, one that followed the example of the Washingtonian movement.

In the 1800s, the Washingtonian movement was of a similar nature to the yet-to-be founded Alcoholics Anonymous. Washingtonians believed that people who had been using a lot of alcohol would have better chances of abstaining from it if they had the support of like-minded others. They also believed that creating social activities to replace the activities that people had sought in bar rooms would produce better results than just talking about temperance.

The group that formed in Ferry Village around January of 1872 was at first called the Washingtonian Association, and was headed by Capt. William Dyer. Dyer was well-known in the community as he had captained the steam ferry H.H. Day on the Cape Elizabeth ferry line. At the meeting, Capt. Robert M. York was in attendance and called the meeting to order. The following men were elected officers: Capt. William Dyer, president; Capt. Benjamin Henley, treasurer; and as vice presidents – Capt. William Turner, Edward Loan and J.E. Nason.

According to the article, 95 people in Ferry Village, “all of whom had been accustomed to use intoxicating liquors more or less,” had already signed a pledge to abstain from alcohol. At the meeting, many attendees made statements about the temperance movement, Capt. William Turner commented on how he had found it hard to abstain before signing the pledge, Mr. Tilton said that he “considered it unsafe to enter a grog shop,” and Capt. Benjamin Henley said that he had “followed the sea fifty-five years” and he told stories of several incidents that he had witnessed on his voyages.

At a meeting of the Washingtonian Association in May, speakers included Capt. Robert M. York, Capt. S. York, and Capt. Littlejohn, with a lecture by Capt. Samuel Dyer entitled “Forty Years Experience as a Shipmaster.”  Since women were not allowed to join their club, they proposed starting a “Female Branch of the Washingtonian Association of Ferry Village.”

As we see in an article related to a large parade on the Fourth of July that year, women had indeed formed a group, calling themselves the Martha Washingtonians. The temperance movement was so strong in Ferry Village that they also started a group for children, known as the Cold Water Templars.

The Washingtonians, led by Capt. William Dyer, remained active in Ferry Village through at least 1874. The group seemed to peter out around then, but a new group formed with the same agenda on Sept. 14, 1876, this time called the Ferry Village Temperance Reform Club. The new club also enjoyed regular meetings and had a large membership. The last record we have found of it so far is the club’s seventh anniversary celebration that took place at the Methodist Episcopal Church on High Street in December, 1883. The club’s president at that time was Noah B. Knight (who would serve as the town/city clerk in Cape Elizabeth/South Portland). At the anniversary celebration, a choir conducted by Stephen Hubbard provided music (we have written previously about Stephen Hubbard who was a leader in the Methodist church in Ferry Village and who served as the lighthouse keeper at Bug Light).

Note: South Portland Historical Society maintains an online museum that currently holds over 13,000 digital images and a significant amount of South Portland’s written history. To access the online museum, visit https://sphistory.pastperfectonline.com. The historical society is always seeking pieces of our community’s history. Those with items to share can contact the society by mail at 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106, by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com, by phone at 207-767-7299, or message us on Facebook.

Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society. She can be reached at sphistory04106@gmail.com.

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