As part of a larger project to move and rehouse portions of the Mansion’s archives, Director of Education Stacia Hanscom recently happened upon an article written around 1967 by Maine Historian and long-time friend and supporter of the Mansion, Earle Shettleworth Jr.
The short article documents the reminiscence of Alice Libby Brown, the youngest daughter of the Mansion’s second owner, J.R. Libby. Along with fond memories of her father reading the Bible to the family after breakfast and making fudge with her friends in the Mansion kitchen, Alice, (who was 88 at the time the article was written), also remembers a somber detail of her wedding day.
Alice recalls that when she married Merle Brown on April 12, 1917*, they held the ceremony upstairs in the Mansion’s Sitting Room, as her father was confined to the second floor of the house due to illness. J.R. passed away in the Mansion at the age of 72 of natural causes later that year on November 5, 1917.
Of her days living at the Mansion, Alice recalled, “it was a wonderful life […] But after all, how could I take care of such a large house now?” Even with the overwhelming support of our members and friends, we still ponder this question today, Alice!
*Though it was previously thought they married in 1915, Alice and Merle’s marriage license with the date April 12, 1917 was found upon recent genealogical research.
