Charles Oliver Gerrish was born on March 19, 1834, in Portland, Maine, to Oliver and Sarah Gerrish. His father was a jeweler who owned $5,000 of real estate by 1850. He grew up and attended school in Portland, Maine, and by 1850, he was working as an apprentice jeweler. He moved to Saco, Maine, in the 1850s, and earned a living as a jeweler. He married Julia Jordan, and they had at least two children: William, born around 1868; and Clara, born around 1879. They lived in Saco, and by 1870, he owned $3,000 of personal property.

 

According to a local writer, he had a “manifest antipathy for canines of all sorts, and he seldom passes one—especially if it is a small dog—without administering a vigorous kick.” When dog owner Charles Prince confronted him in 1890, the two men reportedly “indulged in quite a war of words.” The men met again several days later, and Prince punched him in the face. As Prince explained, “I may be arrested, and if I am I shall probably be fined. But in that event I shall endeavor to show Mr. Gerrish that there is a law against cruelty to animals.” He fought another dog owner three years later, and a local writer observed that a “complaint [was] made out against Gerrish for assault and battery.”

 

In 1892, his brother Frederick and his son William attempted to commit him to a mental health institution. According to one reporter, they alleged “that he was demented and abusive of his wife.” In response, Gerrish “brought suit in the sum of $5000 each” against his brother and son. By 1896, he and his wife were reportedly living separately. He died in Saco on January 24, 1896.

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