USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Our country and its people; a descriptive and biographical record of Bristol County, Massachusetts > Part 107
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Ralph, Charles W., was born in North Attleborough, May 19, 1850. His father, Daniel Ralph, was a native of Rhode Island and came to Attleborough in 1848. He married Sally F. Warner and through life was a carpenter; he died in 1896. Charles W. Ralph was educated in North Attleborough, and learned the jewelry trade with Jacobs & Pratt, where he remained four years, and then entered the employ of R. F. Simmons & Co., remaining there twenty-three years. In 1891 he established the pres- ent business of dealer in fine cigars and smoker's materials. In 1882 he married Clara E., daughter of Samuel Somers.
Rankin, James, was born in Scotland, December 20, 1831, a son of William and
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Isabella Rankin. His father was superintendent of a farm for several years and afterwards became a farmer. James Rankin was educated in the common school and academy of Rochester, Mass., and in early life worked at farming with his father and afterward for fifteen years was employed by J. S. Fay, of Boston, as manager of the estate. He afterward bought one hundred and twenty-five acres of land in South Easton, Mass., and began the manufacture of "Improved Monarch Incuba- tors" of various sizes, and the culture of ducks, which industry under his careful management has grown to enormous proportions. He has from ten to twelve thou- sand ducks and chickens that he raises each season and ships to Boston and New York markets. He also has three magnificent barns, wherein he has accommoda- tions for sixty or more choice horses, and his stalls are of the very latest modern style, having now about forty horses sent from all points in New England for the winter, some of the horses being valued at $1,500. Mr. Rankin married, in 1856, Harriet Coe, daughter of Joseph and Julia Coe, and they have two children : Julia Rankin, who married Edgar Belcher, and James H. Rankin. He was on the School Committee for several years and he takes a general interest in school and church in- stitutions, and his town and town's people.
Read, E. R., was born in Attleborough, October 30, 1827. His father, Elijah R. Read, was also a native of Attleborough, and the family trace their descent from Nathan Read of Rehoboth. Elijah R. married Lucinda Carpenter and through life was a contractor and builder and deputy sheriff for eighteen years; he died in 1879, in his seventy-seventh year. E. R. Read was educated in Attleborough and fol- lowed the sea for five years; was engaged in contracting and building for thirty years; and at the present time is engaged in the insurance business. In 1852 he married Harriet A. Thurber, who died in 1857; later he married Lydia E. Lee, who died in 1861; then he married Ellen E. Colber. In 1861 Mr. Read enlisted in Co. I, 24th Mass., and took part in the Burnside expedition, siege of Fort Wagner, and was under General Grant in the Army of the James. He received an honorable discharge in 1864, but remained until the close of the war, then returned to Attleborough. Mr. Read is one of the self-made men of his town, serving as deputy sheriff eight years, justice of the peace, secretary of the Attleborough Fire Insurance Co., and has ever advanced the best interests of his town and townspeople.
Read, Edmund V , was born in Fall River, Mass., December 11, 1843, a son of George W. and Eveline (Borden) Read, and was educated in the common schools of the vicinity. When twenty years of age he went to Taunton and learned the ma- chinist's trade with the Mason Machine Co., where he remained five years, at which time he returned to Fall River and engaged with Kilburn & Lincoln, in whose em- ploy he remained, with the exception of a few years at different times in other shops, until embarking in his present business, which he established in 1893 at 61 Turner street. He does all kinds of mill work and the repairing of mill machinery, many of the large concerns in Fall River being among his regular customers. In 1870 Mr. Read married Harriet Peckham, daughter of Josiah Peckham of Fall River, and their children are Edmund, Ada, Louis, all deceased, and Caroline, who resides at home.
Reed, Hon. E. M., was born in Taunton, Mass., July 23, 1832, and is a son of William and Mary (Dennis) Reed. His father was a prominent merchant of Taunton
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and a deacon in the Winslow church of that city up to the time of his death. He was one of the early abolitionists and furnished aid and comfort to fugitive slaves who escaped from the South by underground railroad. His house was a rendezvous for ministers, missionaries, and of all those who needed help in olden times. He was prominent in the early growth of Taunton and traced his ancestry to William Reed of Weymouth in 1636. E. M. Reed was educated in the public schools and Bristol Academy of Taunton, and soon after went into the office of Bassett & Reed, prominent lawyers of Taunton. In 1856 he was admitted to the Supreme Court sit- ting at Taunton, and soon afterwards opened an office in Mansfield, in the old meet- ing house on the common. He was trial justice from 1861 to 1870, then appointed a justice of the First District Court of Bristol county, and in 1877 the Legislature passed an act that a court should be held in Attleborough and he has presided there daily ever since. In 1861 he was chosen town clerk and treasurer of Mansfield, which office he held for many years. He was enrolling officer during the Civil war. He was a member of the Legislature in 1866 and 1867; has been trustee of Bristol County Savings Bank, Taunton, for twenty-five years; director of Mansfield Co-op- erative Bank since its organization; commissioner of the sinking fund three years, was one of the building committee of the town hall and fire department house, also executor and administrator of many estates, and clerk of the orthodox parish for thirty years. In August, 1857, he married Sarah J., daughter of John W. and Mary Crockett of Middletown, Conn., and they have one daughter, Bertha H. Mrs. Reed died in 1887. Mr. Reed is the author of the Mansfield (Bristol county) History of 1883, and has written much for local papers.
Remington, Clinton V. S., son of Hale and Catharine (Van Sanvort) Remington, was born in Fall River, October 15, 1839. His father was born at Cranston, R. I., a son of Jeremiah and Dorcas (Knight) Remington, grandson of Joseph and Elizabeth Remington, and descended from the Remingtons of England, who came to Virginia in 1643. Hale Remington, father of Clinton V. S. Remington, was a prominent business man and largely interested in cotton manufacturing in Fall River. He was one of the chief promoters of the Union Mills in 1859; he died in 1870. Clinton V. S. Remington obtained his education in the public schools of his native city and began business as a cotton broker in 1862, in Providence, R. I. He remained there until September, 1864, when he returned to Fall River and opened an office on Pocasset street where he continued two years, then removed to the Mount Hope block on North Main street, remaining there until 1883. During that year he formed a copartnership with Wiliam C. Davol, jr., and they have since done an extensive business as dealers in cotton and cotton goods on Bedford street. Mr. Remington was a member of the City Council in 1873 and 1874 and was president of that body in 1876, the centennial year. During the years 1861-62 he was quartermaster's clerk in the Army of the Potomac, returning home the latter year on account of illness contracted in the army. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was a direc- tor in the Fall River Board of Trade three years. He has taken an active and zeal- ous interest in Sunday school and church work and has been the able and efficient superintendent for many years of the Central Congregational Church Sunday school. In 1897 he was chosen vice president of the Massachusetts Sunday School Association, and has been chairman of the finance committee of that body for sev-
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eral years. May 18, 1864, Mr. Remington married Mary A. Waterman of Boston. They have had five children, four sons surviving: Clinton V. S., jr., Hale, Robert K., Berthold M. and Marion, an adopted daughter.
Reynard, Capt. William Hathaway, is one of the best known men of this vicinity. He was born in New Bedford, April 20, 1844, a son of Capt. William H. and Emily H. (Russell) Reynard, and grandson of John Reynard, who came to this country from London, England, about 1760. Captain Reynard's ancestors on his mother's side were Quakers. During his early boyhood he attended the academy and private schools in New Bedford, and made his first sea voyage when only fifteen years old, going before the mast on a whaler sailing from New Bedford. In due course of time he became mate and then master, and sailed in whale ships and merchantmen dur- ing his entire active life, passing through many hard experiences and exciting ad- ventures. His father had also been a sailor and at one time was master of the ship Flying Cloud, which early in the fifties broke the record from New York to San Francisco. He also represented the New Bedford district in the State Legislature for one term. Captain Reynard retired in 1885 and now spends the greater part of his time at his residence in South Dartmouth. December 20, 1886, he married Mar- tha J., daughter of Harrison and Eliza J. Robinson of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Of their union one son was born, William H., jr., who died when an infant.
Rhodes, George Holbrook, was born in Taunton, August 11, 1848, a son of Marcus Morton and Rowena A. (Williams) Rhodes. He received his early education in the public schools and was graduated from the High School in 1866. He then went to work for his father and in 1871 became a partner in the firm, and at present is treas- urer of the M. M. Rhodes & Sons Co. Mr. Rhodes has been in the city government and served ten consecutive years in the Council, the last four being president of the board. He is a Mason of high standing, receiving his thirty-third degree September 21, 1897; he is a member of Charles H. Titus Lodge, also one of the trustees of the Masonic Education and Charity Trust of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, being elected in December, 1895, to serve eight years. September 10, 1874, Mr. Rhodes married Louisa L., daughter of C. J. H. Bassett of Taunton, and they have three children: Helen H., Nancy B. and Marcus A.
Rice, Adoniram J .. was born in Hadley, Mass., April 17, 1835, a son of Simeon and Hannah (Kellogg) Rice. When he was in his fourteenth year the family re- moved to New Bedford and he has since resided in that city. Mr. Rice received a limited education in the public schools and engaged in various pursuits until the be- ginning of the Civil war, when he enlisted in Co. E, 3d Mass. Vols., and upon the expiration of his term, re-enlisted in the 15th Unattached Mass. Vols., and was hon- orably discharged at the close of his enlistment. He then returned to New Bedford and until 1877 was engaged in several enterprises, in all of which he did not meet with any great measure of success. In 1877 he began a baking business on a small scale, gradually branching out until he was enabled in 1881 to open his present store at No. 861 South Water street. During the sixteen years in which he has conducted his business at this location Mr. Rice has established an extensive patronage and has gained recognition as one of the sound business men of this section of the city. He was joined in marriage to Katie B., daughter of John B. Warren of New Bedford, in 1862, and of their six children, but two survive: Arthur W. and Damon Winn.
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Rich, Augustus E., was born in Thorndike, Me., in 1833, and at the age of fifteen came to Taunton, Mass., where he learned the trade of machinist. He was next employed in the machine shops of the New York and Erie Railroad at Susquehanna, Pa., then became a locomotive engineer on the New York and Erie, Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and the Great Western Railway of Canada. In 1859 he went to Salisbury, N. C., where he had charge of the construction train in the build- ing of the Western N. C. Railroad. When the Civil war opened he went to Ten- nessee and after the war closed engaged in the steam saw mill business at Meridian, Miss. From there he went to Macon, in the same State, where he was foreman of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad shops. In 1871 he removed to Fall River and worked as a journeyman in different shops until he started the Rich Machine Shops, which he has since operated in the manufacture and repairing of steel rolls. Mr. Rich has taken out several patents which have yielded him a considerable income, and he makes a specialty of manufacturing the products of his own inventions. In 1894 he planned and erected Rich's Theatre on Second street, Fall River. Mr. Rich was married in 1856 to Margaret A. Buckey of Baltimore. Of this union were ten chil- dren, five of whom survive. He is a member and was one of the first promoters of the Veteran Firemen's Association of Fall River; and enjoys the distinction of having been a promoter of the American Society of Locomotive Engineers. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity.
Richards, J. Shepard, was born in North Attleborough, January 7, 1842. His father, Jonathan Richards, was one of the pioneers and founders of the jewelry busi- ness of the Attleboroughs; he married Fidelia Warren, a descendant of Captain Fletcher of Revolutionary fame. J. Shepard Richards was educated in the public schools and learned the jewelry business with Draper, Tift & Co. In 1888 he organ- ized the firm of Wheaton & Richards, making a specialty of gold work. In 1867 Mr. Richards married Abbie, daughter of Levi Daggett, and they have one son, Herbert L. Mr. Richards is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of Massachusetts, and takes an intelligent interest in educational and religious institutions and has ever advanced the best interests of his town and town's people.
Richardson, O. P., jr., was born in Pawtucket, June 5, 1851, and his father, Orville P. Richardson, was a native of Attleborough, where his ancestors were among the pioneer settlers, and the family trace their descent from Samuel, who came to Wo- burn in 1636. Orville P. Richardson married Eliza, daughter of Andrew Johnson, and through life he was identified as a manufacturer of shuttles and shuttle irons. He was prominent in public events, taking an active interest in school and church matters, and he died in 1888. O. P. Richardson, jr., was educated in Worcester and Attleborough, afterward learning the grocery business, and in 1878 he started in the insurance business, in which he has been identified for twenty years. In 1897 he married Bertha K., daughter of Granville S. Smith, and they are the parents of three sons: Harold K., Orville P., and Carlton S., and one daughter, Myra Louise. Mr. Richardson is one of the conservative men of his town; is serving as selectman ; takes an intelligent interest in school and church matters; and has ever advanced the best interest of his town and townspeople.
Richmond, Charles Everett, was born in Taunton, June 17, 1833, a son of Ruel and Reliance (Tinkham) Richmond. He received his education in the public schools of
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Taunton, and then learned the shoemaker's trade with his father. In 1851 he went with the firm of White & Childs in the grocery business and stayed with them about two years, when he was engaged by H. S. Chandler, in the hardware business, re- maining with him until 1861, and then engaged in business for himself in the same line. He was a member of the City Council from 1872 to 1878, serving as president one year. He was a member of King David Lodge, F. & A. M. February 24, 1859, Mr. Richmond married Mary Caswell, daughter of Adam and Sarah S. (King) Eaton of Taunton. He died June 4, 1898, survived by his wife. They had no children.
Richmond, Col. Silas Peirce, of Freetown, Mass., is the eighth generation in direct descent from John Richmond, who was born in 1594 at Wiltshire, England; came to America in 1635 and was one of the first purchasers of Taunton, Mass., in 1637. Samuel Richmond, the grandfather of Col. S. P. Richmond, was born in Taunton (Berkley), November 27, 1752. He bought a farm on what is now the Richmond road, in Freetown, in 1775, and which is now the Richmond homestead, and in 1789 married Mary Booth of Middleborough (Lakeville). He was a farmer and carpenter and served as a United States soldier in the war of the Revolution; died February 12, 1836. His wife Mary was born May 4, 1766; died August 10, 1799. Isaac Rich- mond, the third son of Samuel and Mary and the father of Col. S. P. Richmond, was born on the Richmond homestead in Freetown, March 29, 1794. He married Lu- cinda, daughter of Silas Peirce, of Middleborough (Lakeville), August 30, 1821, and had two children . Rowena P. T., born November 17, 1822, and Silas Peirce, the sub- ject of this sketch. Isaac Richmond was a farmer, miller and wheelwright; served as a United States soldier in the war of 1812-15; and was a man of sterling charac- ter, serving for many years as a deacon of the first Christian Church in Freetown. He died April 20, 1866. His wife Lucinda was born June 8, 1799, and was a woman of much intelligence, fine education, and lovely social and Christian character; died April 28, 1858. Col. Silas Peirce Richmond was born on the Richmond homestead in Freetown, June 19, 1831, and was educated at the Forge public school in Free- town and at Peirce Academy in Middleborough. He was a farmer and town officer 1850-5; engaged in mercantile pursuits in Wisconsin and Kansas 1856-9; town busi- ness in Freetown 1860; United States Volunteer army 1861-5; town business in Freetown 1866; lumber and grain business in Indiana and Michigan 1867-70; farm- ing and town business in Freetown 1871; turnkey in Massachusetts State Prison 1872-8; deputy master Bristol county House of Correction 1879-81; general travel- ing agent of New Bedford C. C. G. Company 1882-8; farming and town business in Freetown 1889-95; and deputy sheriff and court officer, Bristol county, 1896. On June 16, 1850, he married Elizabeth J. Haskins (born May 9, 1829) of Berkley, and their children were: Emma A., born March 10, 1851, died January 13, 1885; Cynthia E., born March 25, 1853, died June 14, 1871; Sarah E. E., born July 1, 1854; Walter S., born February 22, 1857; Flora J., born May 3, 1859, died January 9, 1894; and Lil- lian F., born August 8, 1861. He also married Zadie Scott, daughter of Dr. John Scott, of Marcellus, Mich., June 17, 1869. She was born in Veteran, N. Y., January 18, 1847, and their children were: Annie E., born August 29, 1871; Roy S., born August 3, 1873; Ruth E., born May 14, 1882, died June 20, 1884; Forrest S., born August 4, 1883, died August 26, 1883; Isaac F., born January 7, 1886; Mark H., born October 5, 1889. All of the twelve children were born on the Richmond homestead
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in Freetown. Silas Peirce Richmond joined Company G, 3d Regiment, M. V. M., in 1850, and served as private, corporal, lieutenant and captain of the same, until 1855, when he was appointed major and inspector of the Second Brigade, M. V.M., serving thus for two years. In 1860 he was appointed A. D. C., with the rank of captain, Second Brigade Staff, M. V. M., and went in that capacity with the minute men to Fortress Monroe in 1861, and was in the first battle of the war after Sumter at Big Bethel, June 10, 1861. He was afterwards colonel of the 3d Massachusetts Volun- teers and the 58th Massachusetts Volunteers, and also assistant provost marshal, De- partment of the South, being mustered out in 1865. Colonel Richmond was at va- rious times auditor, town clerk, assessor, overseer of the poor, and selectman of Free- town, being chairman of the Board of Selectman for ten consecutive years, and was also chairman of the board of trustees of the First Christian Society of Freetown. He has held the office of justice of the peace continuously since 1862, and was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1892, serving on the committee on county estimates and as chairman of the committee on taxation. In 1892 he was a delegate and attended the National Republican Convention. At New Berne, N. C., in 1863, he was made a Master Mason and has been a Knight Templar for more than thirty years, and he is also a charter member of Post No. 1, in Massachusetts, Grand Army of the Republic.
Riley, E. I., was born in North Attleborough, February 5, 1850, a son of W. H. Riley, also born in North Attleborough, August 18, 1819, where his father, William Riley, settled in 1810. William married Abbie Wallcott and died in 1854. W. H. Riley married Rhoda W., daughter of Otis Corbin. He learned the jeweler's trade and was an expert workman; later he engaged in teaming and transportation job- bing and in 1879 established the coal business which he carried on up to the time of his death, October 30, 1887. Elmer I. Riley married Isabell B. Carpenter in 1874, and they have two sons and three daughters: Eugene C., Harold H., Florence A., Minnie I. and Ethel M.
Riley, W. H., was born in North Attleborough, December 30, 1844. His father, W. H. Riley, sr., was also a native of that place, born in 1819, and his grandfather, William Riley, came from North Ireland to North Attleborough in 1791, being the youngest of eleven children. W. H. Riley, sr., married Rhoda, daughter of Otis Corbin, a stone mason, and was recognized as a conservative, upright man. In 1870 Mr. Riley established the coal, wood, lime and cement business, which is still carried on by his two sons; he died in 1887. W. H. Riley, jr., was educated in North Attleborough and in 1862 entered the employ of Tift & Whiting, later with S. E. Fisher & Co. In 1883 he established his present manufacturing jewelry business. In 1864 he married Ellen M., daughter of John Hall, and they have one son, Alton H.
Roberts, Benjamin H., son of Benjamin H. and Charlotte A. (Allen) Roberts, was born in Fall River, September 8, 1856. His father was a carriage maker and came to Fall River in 1840. Mr. Roberts attended the public and high schools of Fall River, and was graduated from the latter in the class of 1876. After leaving school he went to work in the Granite Mills, where he remained over fifteen years, being overseer at the time he accepted his present position as superintendent of the Fall River Manufactory. Mr. Roberts is a member of King Philip Lodge, F. & A. M., Chapter, Council and Commandery.
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Roberts, George K., M.D., was born in St. Louis, Mo., March 3, 1856. His father, Elbert G. Roberts, was a merchant in St. Louis and later moved to Litchfield, Conn., where he was identified in cotton manufacturing. George K. was educated in pri- vate schools and was graduated from Hobart College in 1876 and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city in 1878. In 1886 he came to Attlebor- ough, making a specialty of treating diseases of the eye, ear and throat; he also has an office in Boston and has charge of the eye department of Suffolk dispensary. He is a member of the Rhode Island Medical Society, of the Providence City Medical Society, and of the Massachusetts Medical Society. In 1882 Dr. Roberts married Susan E , daughter of Henry and Susan Hawley, of Collinsville, Conn., and they have three children: William H., George and Helen. Dr. Roberts is one of the pro- gressive men of his profession, is chairman of the Board of Health and takes an active interest in school and town matters.
Robertson, John Wallace, was born in Prince Edward's Island, May 4, 1863. His early education was received in the common schools; in early life he made a special study of horticulture and at the present time has a fruit farm in Prince Edward's Island. In 1882 he came to the United States and settled in Melrose, Mass., follow- ing the same business. In the fall of 1882 he came to Taunton and learned the car- penter's trade with L. M. Witherell, which he followed until 1893, and then engaged in business with Charles E. Strange under the name of Robertson & Strange, selling and repairing bicycles. He continued with him until 1895, when he went into busi- ness by himself in the same line and in the same location that he is to-day. He is a member of King David Lodge, F. & A. M., King Philip Lodge, I. O. O. F., and John Hancock Council, K. P. October 28, 1896, he married Annie M. Costello of Lowell, Mass.
Robertson, W. W., son of William S. and Ruth A. (Hart) Robertson, was born in Fall River, March 27, 1857, and has resided in that city all his life. He attended the common and high schools, and after completing his education secured a position in the City Water Works office as clerk, June 1, 1874. His ability and strict atten- tion to business were recognized on February 10, 1879, when he was appointed entry clerk of the water board and water registrar. He has ever since held this position, having been in the employ of the city nearly twenty-five years. He is a member of the New England Water Works Association and of the Improved Order of Red Men.
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