Arranged and described by Brenda Howitson Steeves
Raymond H. Fogler Library Special Collections Department
February 2005
Introduction and Summary Information
Collection Title: Roscoe C. Emery Papers.
Dates of the Collection: 1830-1969 (inclusive); 1930-1968 (bulk).
Provenance: Gift of Joyce Emery Kinney in August, 1989.
Collection Number: MS 166.
Box Numbers: 1-28 (formerly Boxes 516-539f).
Size and Arrangement: The collection consists of 26 archival record cartons and two document boxes of material (27 cubic feet) + two linear feet of ledgers.
Conservation Note: The collection has been re-housed in acid-free folders and boxes. Documents have been surface cleaned as needed and metal fasteners removed. Photographs have been housed in polypropylene sleeves and remain with the relevant documents.
Preferred Citation: Roscoe C. Emery Papers, Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine.
Restrictions on Access and Use: Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.
Biography
The collection contains the personal papers and business records of Roscoe C. Emery, a politician, newspaper editor, and real estate and insurance agent from Eastport, Maine. Emery was also an active promoter of the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Development Project.
Roscoe Emery was born on a farm in Eastport in 1886, the youngest of eleven children of Oliver and Josephine Holmes Emery. He was involved in the sardine and papermaking industries as a day worker while still in school. He graduated from Boynton High School in Eastport in 1903 and from Colby College in 1907. While at Colby he participated in numerous student activities and was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa. After college he taught at Lubec High School and later was principal of the high school in Waterville, Maine. He returned to Eastport in 1911, forming Emery Brothers, a partnership with his brothers William and Robert. The brothers sold fish of all kinds, especially herring, as well as grain, groceries, tobacco, candy and gasoline. Roscoe Emery also owned a weir in Eastport.
In 1914, Emery purchased the Eastport Sentinel, a newspaper first published in 1818. He was the editor until he sold the paper in 1946. It ceased publication in 1953. He also owned the Sentinel Agency, a real estate and insurance business in Eastport. He sold the insurance business in 1964 but continued to sell real estate until his death in 1969.
Emery was active in Republican politics in Maine, serving as a member of the Maine Senate from 1920 to 1924, and as mayor of Eastport from 1928 to 1932 and from 1934 to 1936. In both 1940 and 1951 he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for Representative to Congress from the Third Maine District.
A great booster of Eastport and Washington County, he helped found the Washington County Chamber of Commerce in 1938. Through the years, he served as publicity chairman, corresponding secretary, executive secretary, and president before resigning from office in 1969. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias for over 50 years, serving as Grand Chancellor in 1933. He was also a member of the Elks and Knights Templar.
In the 1930’s, he became very active in the drive which brought about the approval and start of the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Development Project, designed to use the high range of tides in the vicinity of Passamaquoddy Bay to generate electric power. Both Passamaquoddy Bay, located partly in Canada, and Cobscook Bay, located totally within the boundaries of the United States, were to be included in the project, giving it an international tenor. A series of dams, filling gates and a navigation lock plus a power plant were planned. In 1935 the U.S. government appropriated $7,000,000 for the project out of an estimated cost of between $37,000,000 to $38,000,000. Quoddy Village, built in 1935-1936, was to provide housing for workers on the project; it and two small dams were the only structures actually built. Emery and other residents of Washington County continued to push for completion of the project at every opportunity, seeking to revive it as an international project on a larger scale than originally planned. The project was finally abandoned in the 1970’s.
Roscoe Emery and his wife, Vera Leonard Emery, had two children, Walter L. Emery and Joyce Emery Kinney, an Eastport historian and author.
Roscoe Emery died on December 14, 1969.
Scope and Content Note
The collection is divided into two series:
I. Personal papers and
II. Business records.
Series I is further divided into seven sub-series:
1. General civic correspondence;
2. Civic subject files;
3. Knights of Pythias;
4. Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Development Project;
5. Political papers;
6. Records of Washington County Chamber of Commerce; and
7. Family papers.
Series II includes records of the Eastport Sentinel and records of the Sentinel Agency.
The papers had been re-foldered sometime after their arrival at the Library. Folder headings used here are those assigned during that project but the order was imposed by the processing archivist.
General civic correspondence and civic subject files primarily document Roscoe Emery’s activities in promoting economic development in Eastport and Washington County. Included also are some materials from his service as the mayor of Eastport.
Correspondence from his membership in the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization founded in 1864 “to promote friendship among men and to relieve suffering,” outlines activities of the group, its past chancellors, and its relief fund.
The materials documenting Emery’s involvement with the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Development Project range from 1924 to the 1960’s. The correspondence, arranged chronologically, includes that with many political figures, outlining Emery’s attempts to move this project forward. The subject files maintained by Emery are arranged by topic and include several scrapbooks of clippings he kept through his many years of work on the project.
Roscoe Emery corresponded throughout his career with many political figures in Maine and nation-wide. This correspondence is arranged alphabetically in Sub-series 5 and includes letters from various Maine governors and members of Congress. One of the most frequent correspondents was Ralph Owen Brewster, a Maine governor, member of Congress and U.S. Senator. Other correspondents included William Hathaway, Edmund Muskie, and Margaret Chase Smith. This sub-series also contains some material about Emery’s own political campaigns and a scrapbook of clippings about his unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1940.
Records of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce include correspondence from the 1930’s to 1969, as well as membership information and files and press releases on activities of the group.
Family papers include essays and memorabilia from Emery’s studies at Colby College, family correspondence, and a collection of photographs of Emery and other family members. Included here are correspondence and business records from the 1830’s through the 1890’s from residents of Dennysville, Maine, and other Washington County communities. The family names Kilby and Lincoln are prominent in these papers. Their relation to Roscoe Emery is unclear.
Series II, Business records, contains a small amount of financial information about Emery Brothers from 1912-1914, as well as information about the Emery weir. A second part of the series concerns the Eastport Sentinel and contains correspondence and financial information as well as the last issue of the paper published during Emery’s time as owner and the last issue of the paper ever published.
The records of the insurance business conducted by the Sentinel Agency include correspondence, copies of insurance policies, and reports of business conducted with various insurance companies. The records documenting the real estate business of the agency contain primarily individual client files with descriptions and photographs of properties for sale, mainly in Washington County, as well as correspondence with sellers and potential buyers.
Series I: Personal Papers
Sub-series 1: General civic correspondence
Box 1
Folder
1-6 Correspondence, 1900-1930’s
7 Correspondence, Judge Saunders and Lubec, 1930’s
8 Correspondence, W.P.A., E.R.A., 1930’s
8a Correspondence, Emery-Eleanor Roosevelt, Aug. 1935
9 Correspondence, Bangor Hydro case, 1937
10 Correspondence, Fred Owens, Eastport, 1937-1938
11 Correspondence, Customs, immigration, Sen. Brewster & Smith, 1938-1962
12 Correspondence, Kalamazoo Stove Co., 1939
13 Correspondence, Stillman E. Woodman, highways, 1939-1941
14 Correspondence, 1930’s-1940’s
15 Correspondence, Lee Larrabee, 1940-1941
16 Correspondence, war prices, Office of Price Administration, 1942
17 Correspondence, James Jollotta, letters from England and France, 1942-1945
18 Correspondence, 1940’s-1950’s
19 Correspondence, Sears Roebuck, 1940’s-1960’s
20 Correspondence, miscellaneous, 1950
21 Correspondence, Jay Hinson, local newspapers, news clippings, etc., 1950’s
22 Correspondence, doctors contacted for possible practice in Eastport, 1950’s-1960’s
23 Correspondence, Old-timers reunion, Eastport, 1950’s-1960’s
24 Correspondence, Sons of the American Revolution, 1950’s-1960’s
25 Correspondence, Neil Bishop, 1950-1962
26 Correspondence, Agnew Foundation, 1953 (re creation of Washington County Recreation Authority)
27 Correspondence, search for dentist, 1955
28 Correspondence, business survey, Washington County, 1955
29-30 Correspondence, 1960’s
31 Correspondence, flooding of Allagash, 1960’s
32 Correspondence, Corps of Engineers, 1960
33 Correspondence, 1965
Box 2
Folder
1 Correspondence, landscaping, church in Eastport, 1965
2 Correspondence, Charles J. Kroupa, 1965-1969
3 Correspondence, boats, registration, taxation, 1967
4 Correspondence, Boston Globe write-up, 1968
5 Correspondence, Canadian, proposed ferry, 1966
6 Correspondence, East-West highway, economic development, 1960’s
7 Correspondence, Maine Dept. of Economic Development, 1960’s
8 Correspondence, etc., undated
9 Letters to editors, 1930-1960’s
Sub-series 2: Civic subject files
10 Allagash, 1965
11 Atlantic salmon, 1954
12 Development, population, 1951
13 Development: correspondence of Sumner Sewall, population changes, 1951
14 Development, 1950’s-1970’s
15 Down East Route 1 Assoc., 1950’s
16 Eastport: pamphlets, reports, etc.
17 Portrait of a declining town: Eastport, 1969
Scrapbook News clippings, 1946, re Eastport
18 Eastport: search for city manager
19 Eastport: Emergency Relief Administration, 1930’s
20 Re-financing Eastport
21-23 Eastport: U.S. Engineer Office, bids and acceptances, 1935-1937
24 Eastport: correspondence with Public Utilities Commission, 1936
25 Eastport Planning Board
26 Eastport School Dept.
27 Eastport: Bylaws of civic swimming pool assoc.
28 Eastport USO
29 Eastport: Accounts of Dr. Hugh Bigg, 1953
30 Elks account
31 Lincoln Club of Washington County
32 Machiasport: proposal by Gov. Curtis, 1968
33 Maine: brochures
Box 3
Folder
1 Maine: pamphlets, reports, etc.
2 Maine State Highway Commission: outline of construction, 1965-1967
3 Maine state legislature: resolves
4 Maine State Planning Board
5 Marineland of Maine, prospectus, 1965
6 Methodist Church accounts, 1929-1944
7 Miscellaneous articles, clippings, etc.
8 Natural resource conference: outline of speech by Gov. Muskie, 1957
9 New England-New York Inter-Agency Committee: minutes, 1951-1952
10 New England-New York Inter-Agency Committee: Report of testimony and statements, public hearing,
Montpelier, VT, Mar. 19, 1952
11 New England-New York Inter-Agency Committee: Report of testimony and statements, public hearing,
Augusta, ME, June 12, 1952
12 News releases, 1956-1964, Roscoe Emery
13 Publicity, 1960
14 Newsletter, Rural Electric Co-op News, 1964
15-16 Pamphlets, miscellaneous
17 Sales and use tax, 1966
18 Sardines
19 Shead High School drawing
20 Town meetings: clippings
21 Townsend Clubs, 1940
22 U.S. Senate diagram, 74th Congress
23 Washington County: correspondence, etc., 1930’s
24-25 Washington County: brochures, pamphlets
26 Washington County Extension Assoc., 1960’s
27 Washington County: A challenge to education, 1954
Sub-series 3: Knights of Pythias
28-29 Correspondence, 1930’s
Box 4
1 Correspondence re Knights’ building, 1920, 1930-1937
2-12 Correspondence, 1930’s-1960’s
13 Correspondence, prize speaking contest, 1967
14-15 Correspondence, Anchor Lodge #41
16 Correspondence, Past Chancellors, 1950’s-1960’s
17 Correspondence, Pythian relief fund, 1950’s-1960’s
18 Correspondence, operations on Clarence Townsend, 1933-1934
Box 5
Folder
1 Pythian relief fund auditor’s reports, 1961-1967
2 Receipts
3-4 Proceedings, Grand Lodge of Maine, 1932, 1933
5 Knights of Pythias: booklets, 1947-1969
6 Knights of Pythias: advance reports, 1955, 1956, 1966
Sub-series 4: Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Development Project
7 Correspondence re international projects, 1924-1937
8 Correspondence, 1920’s-1930’s
9 Magnetism of the moon (article) + correspondence, 1930’s
10 Correspondence from Senators and Congressmen, 1930-1950’s
10a Letter from Sen. John F. Kennedy, June 5, 1953
11 Correspondence, Philip Fleming, etc., 1934-1940
12 Correspondence, miscellaneous, 1934
13 Boston Herald correspondence, 1935
14 Correspondence, Sen. Wallace White, 1935-1943
15-16 Correspondence, 1940’s
17 Correspondence, naval base for Eastport, 1940-1941
18 Correspondence, May Craig, 1940-1964
19 Correspondence, 1941-1942
20 Letter from Emery to Eleanor Roosevelt re Quoddy Village, 1947
21 Correspondence, Owen Brewster, 1947-1953
22 Correspondence, Quoddy revival attempt, 1948-1962
23 Correspondence, publicity, 1948-1965
24-26 Correspondence, 1950’s
27 Correspondence, Rep. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., 1950
28 Copy of letter from White House to Sen. Brewster, 1952
29 Correspondence re International Joint Commission, 1956
30 Correspondence from Congress, 1956-1957
31 Correspondence, Canada and Quoddy, 1956-1958
32 Correspondence, Margaret Chase Smith, 1958-1960
Box 6
1 Correspondence, 1958-1961
2 Letters from Clifford McIntyre, 1959, and Stanley Tupper, 1963
3 Correspondence, dinner, Quoddy-Rankin Rapids project, 1959
4-8 Correspondence, 1960’s
9 Correspondence, Muskie on Rankin Rapids, 1961
10 Correspondence, John Reed on Rankin Rapids, 1961
11 Correspondence, Stewart Udall, 1961-1963
Box 6 cont.
Folder
12 Quoddy projects, 1960’s
13 Quoddy and Dickey Dam projects, 1963-1965
14 Passamaquoddy project comparisons, 1936
15 Cross Creek as opposed to Quoddy, 1965-1968
16 Electric co-ops, 1960’s
17 Emery press releases re Quoddy, etc.
18 Excerpt from “Secret diary of Walter Ickes,” (re Quoddy)
19 Federal Power Commission memorandum, 1949
20-21 Miscellaneous articles
22 Newspaper clippings
23 Notes re Quoddy
24 Pattangall, William R.: verbal war with Emery
25 Plea for funds for Quoddy
26 Ports and harbors
Scrapbooks Scrapbooks of clippings re Quoddy, 1933-1936, 1941-1942, 1948-1951, 1962-1963 (7 vols.)
27 Speeches from Congressional Record, etc., power, public utilities, 1943-1944
28-29 Miscellaneous articles re power projects
30 Quick freeze installation in Quoddy Village, 1944
31 Quoddy authority
32 Quoddy photos
Box 7
1-2 Quoddy-Rankin power project, 1959, 1960’s
3 Quoddy reports and briefs, 1957-1960
4-5 Quoddy Village, 1940’s
6 Quoddy revival, 1938-1939
7 Rankin, John: Congressional Record re waterpower & electricity, 1934-1940
8 Report to International Commission, 1956
9 Sale of Passamaquoddy Village, 1949-1950
10 Margaret Chase Smith on Quoddy, 1958?
11 Speech by Emery on Quoddy, 1960
12 Tidal power project, 1963
13 Tour of Passamaquoddy site, 1961
14-15 T.V.A.
16 Wilkinson, J.F.: marine power invention
Sub-series 5: Political papers
Box 7 cont.
Folder
17-25 Correspondence re politics, 1926-1960’s
26 Correspondence: Politics, power blackout, 1963-1964
27 Christmas cards from Maine governors
28 Barrows, Lewis: correspondence, 1930’s
29 Baxter, Percival: correspondence, 1931-1934, 1951
30 Brann, Louis J.: correspondence, 1930’s
31 Brewster proposal, twilight customs zone: correspondence, 1926-1939
32 Brewster, Owen: correspondence, 1928-1934
Box 8
1-8 Brewster, Owen: correspondence, 1935-1958
8a Letter from Pres. Franklin Roosevelt to Brewster, Nov. 10, 1937
9 Telegrams, Brewster and Emery, undated
10 Condolence telegram to Mrs. Owen Brewster, 1961
11 Bridges, Thomas: correspondence, 1942
12 Cross, Burton M.: correspondence, 1950’s
13 Curtis, Gov. Kenneth: correspondence, 1967-1969
14 Fellows, Frank: correspondence, 1940’s
15 Gardner, Tudor: correspondence, 1929
16 Hale, Frederick: correspondence, 1930’s
17 Hathaway, William D. and Hildreth, Horace: correspondence, 1939-1948, 1966
18 McIntyre, Clifford: correspondence, etc., 1950’s-1960’s
19 Milliken, Carl E.: correspondence, 1918, undated
20 Muskie, Edmund: correspondence, 1955-1960’s
21 Oliver, James: correspondence, 1960’s
22 Payne, Frederick: correspondence, 1950’s
23 Reed, John H.: correspondence, 1960’s
24 Roosevelt, Eleanor: correspondence, 1944
25 Roosevelt, James: correspondence, 1936
26 Sewall, Sumner: correspondence, 1940’s
27-30 Smith, Margaret Chase: correspondence, 1940’s-1960’s
31 Utterback, John: correspondence, 1934
32 Wardell, Michael: correspondence, 1959-1960
33 Correspondence with White House, 1930’s
34 Emery political campaigns
Scrapbook Scrapbook, 1940, re Emery’s Congressional campaign
35 Miscellaneous political booklets, reports, etc.
Box 8 cont.
Sub-series 6: Records of Washington County Chamber of Commerce
Folder
36-38 Correspondence, 1930’s-1940’s
Box 9
1-26 Correspondence, 1940’s-1969
Box 10
1 Atlantic salmon, Washington County, 1963, 1967
2 Attack on Washington Co.; answered by Emery
3 Chamber of Commerce bylaws, etc.
4 Civil defense directors, 1968
5 Current business, 1961
6 Engineers’ dinner, 1952-1956
7 Hay fever survey, Washington County
8 Information
9 Lincoln defeat, 1965
10 Maine State Chamber of Commerce
11 Minutes of Executive Committee, WCCC, 1969
12 Outdoor advertising laws, 1950
13 Press releases, etc.
14-19 Receipt books, membership dues, etc., 1950’s
20 Verbal attack and reply, 1966
21 WCCC record, Cohen, Milton, 1950’s
Sub-series 7: Family papers
22 Birthday cards, 79th birthday
23 Certificates of membership; wallet
24 Christmas lists, personal
25 Church papers
26 Colby College cartoons
27 Colby College class day program, 1907
28 Colby Oracle, 1907
Box 11
Folder
1 College notes, scattered
2 College notes, American history
3 College notes, economics
4 College notes, English history
5 College essays
6 Zeta Psi fraternity
7 Colby College, campus
8 Emery family correspondence, including letters as Colby student
9-13 Correspondence, personal
14 Diary, 1930
15 Family history
16 Legal documents
17 Masonic document, 1910
18-19 Papers written in high school
20 Personal invitations
21 Poem [written by Emery]
22 Salutatory address and photograph of Boynton High School class of 1903
23 Scrapbooks
Scrapbook Scrapbook, 1946, re Eastport events
24 Soliloquy [poem by Emery read by Margaret Chase Smith at his death]; condolences, 1969
25 Sonotone
26 Stars and stripes: victory, 1945
27 Waterville High School records, 1908
Box 12
1 Waterville High School
2-3 Miscellaneous printed material
Photographs
4 Emery family: early photographs
5 Family of Oliver and Josephine Emery, 1900-1903? [Located in Box 28]
6 “Our island” schoolhouse, 1891 [Located in Box 28]
7 Sardine factory, Eastport
8 Colby College residence
9 Colby College graduating class, 1907 [Located in Box 28]
10 Waterville High School football team
11 Emery weir
12 Second Maine Regiment, William Emery [Located in Box 28]
Box 12 cont.
Folder
13 Studio photographs of Roscoe Emery
14 Photographs of Roscoe Emery
15 Roscoe Emery and family
Miscellaneous material
16 Dennysville correspondence and business records, 1830’s-1890’s
17 Kilby family papers, 1830’s-1870’s
18 Washington County diaries, memo books, etc., 1867-1895
19-20 Miscellaneous correspondence, business records, Washington County, 1830’s-1860’s
21 Diary of Thomas C. Batson, 1904
Series II: Business records
Sub-series 1: General
22 Emery Bros.: customer memo book, 1912?
Ledger Journal, Emery Bros., 1913-1914
Ledger Ledger, Emery Bros.?, undated
23-24 Emery weir: correspondence, etc., 1930’s-1940’s
Sub-series 2: Records of Eastport Sentinel
Box 13
1 Correspondence, 1930’s-1960’s
2 Correspondence, May Bros. newspaper brokers, 1945-1946
3-4 Sentinel editorials, 1914-1945; typescripts of editorials, 1916-1945 (located in Box 29)
5 Monthly reports, 1929-1935
Ledger Job books, 1917-1932 (2 vols.)
6 Bills for printing done by Sentinel, 1936-1937
Ledger Cashbooks, 1914-1924, 1931-1940, 1948-1953 (6 vols.)
Ledger Journals, 1914-1946 (6 vols.)
Ledger Account book, 1952
7 Accounts payable and receivable, 1940
8-9 Bills and receipts
10-12 Cancelled checks, 1916-1940’s
13-16 Check registers, 1914-1933
Box 14
Folder
1 Check register, 1933-1934; deposit record, 1944-1945
2 Last issue of Sentinel under Roscoe Emery [Apr. 24, 1946]
3 Sentinel’s last issue, July 23, 1953
Sub-series 3: Records of Sentinel Agency (insurance)
4-19 Correspondence, 1940-1965
Box 15
1 Bids, quotes, etc.
2 Blue Cross
3 Cashbook, 1923-1941
4-5 Check registers, 1923-1930
6-7 Claims, 1940-1950
8 Contract for association in business, 1955
9 Journal, 1959-1962
10 Miscellaneous forms, etc., 1950’s
11 Moran, E.C. Co., bulletins
12 New agencies, 1940’s
13 Reports, 1940’s-1950’s
14-19 Insurance policies, 1940’s-1958
Box 16
1-6 Insurance policies, 1959-1960’s
7 Agricultural Insurance Co., 1940’s
8-11 Albany Insurance Co.: policies, etc., 1940’s-1950’s
12-14 Firemen’s Insurance Co.: policies, etc., 1957-1959
Box 17
1-6 Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co.: correspondence, etc., 1950’s
7 Hartford: daily reports, 1957
8-14 Hartford: policies, etc., 1957-1959
15 London Assurance Co., Loyalty Group: reports, 1940’s-1950’s
16 Phoenix Insurance Co.: policies, etc., 1959
Box 18
Folder
1-3 United Firemen’s Insurance Co.: policies, etc., 1940-1958
4-6 United Mutual Insurance Co.: policies, reports, etc., 1955-1959
7 Washington National Insurance: policies, etc., 1950’s
Sub-series 4: Records of Sentinel Agency (real estate)
8-14 Correspondence, 1930’s-1960’s
15-16 Photographs of properties
Box 19
1-3 Photographs of properties
Scrapbook Advertising copy
4 Advertising copy
5 Appraisal
6 Coastal Courier, 1967-1968
7 Current rates
8 Deeds, miscellaneous correspondence
9 Federal Housing Administration
10 Homeowners’ Loan Corp.
11 Housing, rent control, 1940’s
12 Listings, 1930-1940’s
13-14 Listings
15-16 Washington County, 1952-1958
Files for individual clients
17-22 A
23-31 B
Box 20
1-20 B
21-48 C
Box 21
1-16 C
17-37 D
38-41 E
42-49 F
Box 22
Folder
1-2 F
3-22 G
23-52 H
Box 23
1-4 I
5-18 J
19-36 K
37-65 L
66 M
Box 24
1-50 M
Box 25
1-4 M
5-10 N
11-16 O
17-38 P
39 Q
40-51 R
Box 26
1-7 R
8-48 S
49-64 T
Box 27
1-2 U
3-12 V
13-23 W
Box 28
Oversized photographs
Box 29
Typescripts of editorials, 1916-1945 (received from Joyce Emery Kinney in 2007)
Finding Aids for selected manuscript collections in the Special Collections Department at Fogler Library are accessible online in URSUS, in a browsable Guide to Manuscript Collections. Please contact Special Collections at spc@umit.maine.edu or (207) 581-1686 for further information.