I opened up my 1891 edition of “The History of Androscoggin County” in search of material for a column.

It’s a very large book, and its covers are falling off. The pages are packed with names and statistics, but it doesn’t take long to spot some fascinating facts that were worth only a few paragraphs in the old book, but which may stir imaginations today.

It was in the section about Lisbon where I came across a short description of a resident and merchant of that town. While the majority of this area’s settlers and residents through the 1800s came from other parts of New England, some had histories that undoubtedly deserved a full book if their stories were to be completely told.

Harris Ginsburg is one such person. He was born in 1859 in Kowno, Russia, a town on the border with Germany. When he was just 16 years old, he came to Boston.

The history said Ginsburg, “soon began his remarkable mercantile life by peddling notions, his stock being carried in a small box.”

He made his way to Maine in the second year of his life in this country, and he made Portland his headquarters. First with his pack and later with a wagon, the young man traveled regularly between Sabattus and Kennebunk.

In the fall of 1880, he opened a small store in Lisbon Falls. The success of his trade led to the need for more space, and he built the Ginsburg Block on Main Street in 1889. His business occupied two floors and he employed two clerks.

That modest start selling small everyday goods, known as notions, from a box had become an extensive establishment of dry goods, clothing and furnishing goods, watches and jewelry, carpets, furniture and many other items in just 15 years.

On the next page of the history book’s Lisbon section, there are a few lines about Elijah Littlefield and his sons. In the same way the brief description of Harris Ginsburg’s enterprising life in Lisbon sparks imagination, a short description of Littlefield’s life draws an intriguing sketch of the man.

It said, “He was a Free Will Baptist, a Democrat, lived to be 84, never used spectacles, and had a remarkable memory.”

Thus, Elijah Littlefield, made his mark on the history of Lisbon. There are similar sketches of the residents of Androscoggin County throughout the book. Some are long and boring, and others give just a hint of an interesting life.

The book’s pages always yield an unexpected bit of information every time I leaf through them. The town of Leeds section says that community was the first of the valley’s communities to hold a “town fair” or a “show.” That was in the early 1800s, and the history says, “the display was magnificent, all the people exerting themselves to make each annual exhibition a success.

The fairs were discontinued for several decades, but revived in 1885, thanks to renewed attention to them with the birth of the Grange.

Those are just a few of the snippets of information I find when I look into some old books. I am always amazed at the detail the writers and editors of the “History of Androscoggin County” put into that volume.

Dave Sargent is a native of Auburn and a freelance writer. He can be reached by sending e-mail to [email protected].