GENERAL BUTLER ONCE A MAINE SCHOOL TEACHER Sprague's Journal of Maine History Volume 9, April, May, June, 1921 No. 2 Page 86 No less a personage than General Benjamin F. Butler taught two or more terms in the little schoolhouse in Cornville, Maine. Butler was a native of New Hampshire but studied for a time at Colby College. Being poor he worked his way thru college by teaching school. That is how he came to be a resident of Corn- ville. Ben was a picturesque character even in his youth with the same lop-eye he carried in older life, which gave an uncertain, quizzical expression in his facial landscape, and kept the college from being dull. Calvinism held full sway at Colby when he was a student, and absence from payers or sermons was a heinous offense. The faculty consisted of nine doctors of divinity and with the student body numbered about 100. The president on Sunday in preaching about the elect calculated that only about six of 100 souls could enter the kingdom of heaven, wherefore Butler petitioned to be excused from further attendance on divine ser- vice, because he said with the nine doctors of divinity in his 100 he stood no chance. Only the audacious sarcasm for which he was always noted saved him from expulsion for such sacrilege. --Lewiston Journal (c) 1998 Courtesy of the Androscoggin Historical Society ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.