About

A son of Moses Averill (1776-1862), one of the earlier settlers of Old Town and longtime town clerk, Moses Jr. was born in Upper Stillwater on June 31, 1825. Nothing much is known about his earlier life. He first shows up in the 1850 census for Bangor, in which he is listed as a clerk (and living at the house of Bushrod Wellington, "RR agent," who would later become the Bangor "roadmaster" for E&NAR) and in February 1856, he made the Bangor Daily Whig & Courier (BDWC) for being viciously attacked on the street while escorting two women out of a Bangor bookstore. At the time, he was part of Averill & Moore, a Bangor-based stable keepers business. In October 1860, he and his bride, Albra Getchell, exchanged vows in Bangor, although they were both from Old Town and living there by then (and exchanged vows there too). Indeed, in the 1860 census (dated June 2), Moses is listed as an "artist" living at the "inn" run by Old Town postmaster Orpealyer Pearson. The first reference to Averill as a photographer appeared in 1869, when the BDWC very much approved of a photo he had made in the aftermath of the Black Island Railroad Bridge collapse on September 1. In line with this, he is listed as a photographer in the 1870 census. Yet, it is not clear for how long he had been a photographer at this point, nor is it clear how much longer he remained in business. The final printed reference to his career as a photographer is in November 1873, when the BDWC mentions his "Photograph Saloon." Two month prior, however, the same newspaper had reported that Averill was going to be appointed station agent at the Maine Central Railroad depot in Bangor. This appointment may have marked the end of Moses' career as a photographer, especially since two years later he is reported to have been appointed station agent in Abbot. Again, his new career did not last very long. By 1880, he worked for the Monson Quarry per the 1880 census. In fact, he is listed both in Monson (as a boarder and a quarry agent) and Old Town (with his family and as clerk in Slate Co.), indicating perhaps that he divided his time between the two towns. In the late 1880s, he appears to be in financial trouble and in 1889 he is declared bankrupt. In the last couple of years before his death, he seems to have recovered from this and is working as Old Town agent for the New York-based Brown Brothers Co. (a major investment bank at the time). From a photo of Averill's store (probably a stereographic view, see Stowell, p.29), it is clear that he used the same location on the East side of North Main Street as Buker and Gilmore. The only (externally) documented photo made by Averill is the one mentioned above. In 1924, his daughter Greta organized an exhibit with 46 of his photos in her possession---all displaying Old Town landmarks and probably all stereographic views. However, there is no description of the individual photos. In 1914, the Old Town Enterprise also mentions a set of 40-year old photos of Old Town in the possession of W.E. Hellenbrand (including one of the Veazie Block). Likely, these were Averill photos as well. At least three stereographic views by Averill of scenes outside of Old Town (in Abbot, Bucksport, and Northport) have been preserved in various collections.