John A. Poor, 1808 - 1871 (Obituary from the Eastern Argus, Portland, September 6, 1871)

  Another of our best men has been called away.

  John A. Poor died this morning, at his own home, surrounded by his family, without notice and without suffering, about three o'clock - the physician says of rheumatism of the heart.

  The death of such a man is a great public calamity, and just now, when one of his grandest schemes was fast ripening to fulfillment, a loss, not only to Portland, a city which his foresight and sagacity have so largely contributed to build up, but the country at large, and we might say without extravagance to the world; for his magnificent undertakings have been so vast and comprehensive, and hitherto so successful, that the business world, both at home and abroad must feel the bereavement as among the heaviest blows of our day.

  Mr. Poor - John Alfred Poor - was born in Andover , Maine , January 8th, 1808 , and was consequently in his sixty-fourth year. [He was the son of Silvanus and Mary (Merrill) Poor]

  He leaves a widow and one child only.

  To no man of Portland are we so largely indebted for the prosperity we now enjoy; and we know not where to look for another to supply his place.

  A Memoir will be prepared and issued as soon as it may be done with accuracy.

  It happens that he has left materials, carefully arranged for the Historical Society, and prepared within the last few weeks.
 

  Here is a later Government Resolution from the Eastern Argus, Portland , September 13, 1871

The Late John A. Poor

The following are the resolutions passed by the [ Portland ] City Government in respect to the memory of the late Hon. John A. Poor:

Resolved, that among the many laborious, energetic and far-seeing business men of Portland , to whom we are indebted for the consideration we now enjoy, both at home and abroad, the Honorable John A. Poor, who called away on Tuesday morning last, stood foremost - head and shoulders above the rest.

As not merely a business man, but as a statesman, large-hearted, sagacious, indefatigable and self sacrificing, it was not for the present, but for the future, that he underwent such labor for nearly thirty years, as resulted in sudden death at the age of sixty-three, when the grandest of all his magnificent undertaking wanted but a few days of completion.

Resolved, That to his labor, knowledge and foresight, we are indebted for the Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railway, now the Grand Trunk, whereby our valuation has nearly quadrupled since 1842, the season of our greatest depression and discouragement;

For the opening of Commercial Street now lined on both sides with large business houses and resulting in the Marginal Way, one hundred feet in width, around our whole city, front and back, and over three miles in length, giving us an uninterrupted water front, worth million to us, in connection with out unrivaled harbor;

For the opening of our Portland Works, where engines and cars of the best workmanship have been built, year after year in large numbers not only for the railroads of Maine, but for other and very distant regions, during the last twenty years;

For the establishment of our Gas Works, after they had come to a full stop; And for much that has been done first and last for the flourishing Rochester Road, now on its way to New York;

For the original movement, which resulted in the hydrographic survey of our state by that able and conscientious engineer, Walter Wells, whereby our whole country has been brought acquainted with the astonishing accumulation of water power within our territory for manufacturing purposes.

Resolved, That to John A. Poor we are indebted for the project of out European and North American Railway, now nearly completed - as part of the Trans-continental and Inter-oceanic railway through Portland, Rutland, Oswego, and Chicago - which, had he lived, would soon be in successful operation, a great highway for the nations, opening the West, by a direct line, the nearest, safest and cheapest transportation, for five hundred million bushels of wheat which Baring Brothers have already provided a market for, and for whatever else the overflowing West may desire to be rid of; enriching the farmers and connecting the Old World with the New, China, Japan, and the East with all Europe, through our territory, leaving us to take toll both ways, and bringing the commercial world acquainted with our magnificent harbor, and our unequaled facilities for a large business; all the other enterprises mentioned, though successful, being but preliminary and subordinate to this, now so near its consummation.

Resolved, That while we desire to bear sad testimony to the world of the departed, we cannot withhold our sympathy from his wife and child, thought we are aware that, for a season, their loss will be but aggravated by such evidence, because we believe that after a time it may be among the greatest of their earthly consolations.