Cumberland County, Maine - Frederick Augustus Motley
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Biography
Frederick Augustus Motley
Biographical Review
Cumberland County, Maine
Boston
Biographical Review Publishing Company
1896
Page 683-684


Frederick Augustus Motley, well known as a fruit and produce dealer and a
manufacturer of novelties and electrical supplies, has been a resident of
Portland, Me., since 1852. His birth occurred in Gardiner, Kennebec County, on
April 29, 1847. His parents, Nathaniel and Rachel (Horton) Motley, were
descendants of old and highly respected Portland families. It was a paternal
ancestor who conducted the old Motley tavern that formerly occupied the site of
the Motley Block on Congress Street above Brown, which was without doubt the
first public house established in the city.

Rufus Horton, the maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born
in the town of Milton, Mass., on May 23, 1759. Though but sixteen years of age
at the opening of the Revolutionary War, he enlisted at the time of the
Lexington alarm, April 17, 1775 and he afterward served in ten different
commands, taking part in the siege of Boston and the battles of Rhode Island. He
was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major during his service, from which he
retired on December 3, 1781, on account of a wound received in his wrist. As
early as 1792 he was engaged in trade in Portland, where he subsequently formed
a partnership with his brother John, under the firm name of John & Rufus Horton,
and continued in business for several years. In 1802 he erected the two brick
stores on the north corner of Congress and Green Streets. The building was one
of the first brick blocks built in Portland, and is still owned by the
grandchildren. Mr. Horton was a French claimant, having had property captured by
the French, among which was the schooner "Hunter," bound from Portland to
Martinico.

His marriage with Miss Abigail Lord, a sister of William Lord, who served as
City Treasurer from 1832 to 1841, and 1843 to 1849, took place in Ipswich,
Mass., on October 14, 1792. She was born there, May 26, 1772, and died in
Portland, September 23, 1871, at the advanced age of ninety-nine years and four
months. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Horton were: Nabby, who married Dummer
Bean, and died in 1884, at the age of ninety-nine years and four months; Rufus,
Jr., a well-known, merchant of Portland, Director of the Manufacturers' and
Traders' Bank for thirty. years, and for fifteen years its President, who
married Sarah Winslow; Hannah, the wife of Moses Little, of Windham, Me.; Lydia,
who married Joshua Dunn, the Postmaster from 1849 to 1853; Rachel, born in
February, 1804, who became the wife of Nathaniel Motley; and Mary and Isabella,
who never married. The living grandchildren are as follows: Rufus D. and Ann
Maria Bean, of Portland; Moses H. Little, of Windham; Mrs. W. H. Motley, George
and W. H. Motley, of Deering; and Frederick A. Motley, of Portland. Rufus Horton
was an esteemed citizen and a prominent member of the Quaker Society, familiarly
known as Quaker Horton. He died at his home on Green Street, Portland, on
September 6, 1840, aged eighty-one years.

Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Motley were the parents of twelve children, all of whom
attained years of discretion. The three now living are: George H. Motley, of
Deering, Me.; William H. Motley, a resident of the same place; and Frederick A.
Motley. Mrs. Motley's death occurred in 1893; at the advanced age of ninety
years, in the old Horton home at the corner of Green and Congress Streets, which
was her birthplace. She was an honored member of the Society of Friends.

Frederick Augustus Motley, who was but a year old at his father's death,
acquired a good practical education in the public schools of Portland. The Civil
War was then in progress; and at the early age of fifteen years he enlisted in
Company A of the Twenty-fifth Maine Volunteer Infantry, with which he was sent
to the defense of Washington, where he .remained during the term of his
enlistment, nine months. Re-enlisting for three years, or until the close of the
war, he entered Company I of the Thirtieth Maine Volunteer Infantry, which was
ordered to the Department of the Gulf; and he was an active participant in
General Banks's Red River campaign. Later his regiment was sent to the
Shenandoah Valley, where they were under the command of General Sheridan ; and
during Sheridan's raid, at the time of General Lee's surrender, it was stationed
as a guard to the wagon trains. His regiment was afterward ordered to Savannah;
and be received his discharge there in August, 1865, as Sergeant, to which rank
he was promoted on April 17, 1864. Though he had spent over three years in the
service, he was then but eighteen years old, being one of the youngest to carry
arms. He bad four brothers in the army, and during his last term of service
William H. Motley was a member of the same regiment.

After his return to Portland Mr. Motley obtained a situation as clerk in a
wholesale grocery store; and later he engaged in the wholesale fruit and produce
business on Commercial Street, which he successfully conducted for twelve years.
He then sold out in order to accompany his wife to Florida, whither it was
deemed advisable that they should go for a time on account of her health. Since
April, 1895, he has engaged in the manufacture of novelties and electrical
supplies, and at the present time he is Treasurer of the Jordan Manufacturing
Company. His office is in the Canal Bank Building, and the factory is also
located in the city of Portland. In September, 1878, Mr. Motley was joined in
marriage with Miss Clara Flagg, of Topsham, Me. They are the parents of one
child, Helen M. Motley.

Mr. Motley is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, but has never served in
official position. He is a prominent member of Bosworth Post, Grand Army of the
Republic, of which he is Past Commander, and by virtue of holding that position
is a member of the State Encampment. He has also served on the National Council
of Administration and attended various National Encampments. Mrs. Motley is a
communicant of the Baptist church. They have a pleasant home at 120 Emery
Street, which has been their residence since their marriage.