Rackley Deane Leavitt (1842-1910)

From the Maine Legislature composite photo, 1903.

  Prominent in the workings of the Maine State Grange, Rackley Deane Leavitt was for eight years a member of the Maine Grange executive committee and was a founder of the Norland Grange of East Livermore. Additionally, Leavitt was politically active in his native town of Turner, serving as its first selectman, and in 1902 was a successful candidate for the Maine House of Representatives. The son of Arch and Polly (Deane) Leavitt, Rackley Deane Leavitt was born in Turner on November 7, 1842. In preparation for this article, some confusion arose as to Leavitt's first name, which is given by nearly every source as "Rackley". However, his obituaries from two area newspapers in 1910 denote it as "Rackliffe." After searching through census records dating back to the 1860s, finding his marriage certificate (where the spelling is Rackley), his death certificate, and Leavitt's own gravestone (again, Rackley), I am comfortable in assuming Rackliffe was a mistake on the part of the newspaper editors, as all other period sources give Rackley as his first name. All in all, very confusing!

  A student in schools local to Turner, Leavitt later graduated from Edward Little High School in Auburn. He followed a teaching career during his youth and married in 1867 to Ada Bicknell (1844-1921), to who he was wed until his death. The couple had three children, Arch Deane (born 1869), Warren Rackley (born 1871), and Julia Agnes (born 1877).

  In the years following their marriage, the Leavitts resided in Turner on a 400-acre farm, one of the largest in Androscoggin County. Their farm was noted for its "highly productive land" and provided food and income for the family until its destruction by fire in the early 1900s. 

 Beginning in the late 1890s, Leavitt was named chair of the board of trustees of the Leavitt Institute in Turner, a school endowed and established by his wealthy cousin, James Madison Leavitt, and proved to be "very influential in its management." Other business pursuits included a directorship in the North Turner Cheese Co. in the mid-1870s, as well as being a founder and director of the Patrons Androscoggin Mutual Fire Insurance Co.

  Long active in the Granger movement in his state, Leavitt was a founder of the Noland Grange of East Livermore, an early member of the Turner Grange, and a past master of the Androscoggin Pomona Grange. In the position of state deputy in the Maine State Grange, he was a sought-after public speaker on agricultural topics and later served several years on the executive committee of the Maine Grange, including a term as chairman in 1902-03.

From the Lewiston Daily Sun, August 5, 1902.

  Rackley Leavitt began his political career as first selectman for Turner, and in 1899 was the town agent for the settlement of Howe's Corner, located in Turner. In 1902 he was a delegate from Turner to the Androscoggin County Republican Convention, and in that year was nominated for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives. He won the election and from 1903-05 held seats on the committees on Agriculture and Salaries. Although he served just one term, Leavitt's service was favorably remembered by the Lewiston Sun-Journal, which noted that he:

"Served with conspicuous ability. His unerring judgement was often sought by legislators who were more in the public eye than himself."

  Following his term, Leavitt remained a force in the state grange and with his insurance company. After the fire that destroyed his family's home, he moved to Auburn, where he would be named a city assessor in the early 1900s. He was struck by a lengthy illness during his last years, and on July 1, 1910, was admitted to a Boston, Massachusetts hospital. He underwent an operation shortly after, and although he survived, his health continued to fail. Rackley Dean Leavitt died in Boston on August 7, 1910, aged 68.  He was survived by his wife and children and was returned to Turner for burial at the East Burial Grounds. Months following his death Leavitt was memorialized in the proceedings of the state grange as an "esteemed and honored brother", and as:

" A man of broad ideas, with a concientious regard for call of duty; of fearless courage in standing for and advocating what he believed to be right; a man of kindly heart, whose sympathy was deeply stirred by any real call of distress and whose many good deeds, unrecorded, were known only to himself and the angels above, and we will ever cherish in memory the noble influence upon us and the world."

From the Lewiston Daily Sun, August 9, 1910.