Ghosts, Goblins and Witches, oh my!
Isn't Halloween a wonderful time of year?If you believe in them or not is another story. The history is a story that will be told again and again.
In my last post I introduced to you Stephen England and took you back to the late 1700's. Today we just might go back a bit further. Hold on tight!
This post is titled "Le Château Witch Bay," I thought this would be appropriate not only for the season, but for the story I am about to tell. Above you will see a photo of a very beautiful castle. Note the weather vane, it is a witch riding her broom stick. Does this castle look familiar to you? Well if you are a Howie maybe not so much, but if you are a Rider it should. This castle was once the home of Timothy Byron Rider. He built this home in Fitch Bay Quebec, where it still stands today. The Rider family still owned it until the year 2000 when it was sold. The new owners have really put some love and hard work into the restoration, which was completed in just over 8 years. The home is more than just an attraction for those Harry Potter fans. This home stands as a museum to the once booming town of Fitch Bay and the Rider family. I am told by Penny, the manager of the property that the furniture though not original, is antique Victorian and correct for the era, and there are photos of Ezra Rider hanging on the wall. (Pictured on left) Now that name should ring a bell to a Howie. Ezra Bartlett Rider was the father of Helen Desdemonia Rider. Ezra B. Rider was from Haverhill New Hampshire, born in 1798. He married Fanny Chandler and had three children in New Hampshire before Fanny died at forty-two years old in 1843. Ezra moves north to Quebec to start his grist mill and meets Dorothy Ann Lee. They are quickly married on October 18th, 1843. (That was 167 years ago to the date). Together Ezra & Dorothy had four children. Two sons and two daughters. Timothy, Hamilton, Helen and Clara. Timothy, the oldest of the four was a hard worker. He had a farm, a saw mill, a grist mill and was buying up real estate, and built the home pictured below in 1880 after his children had grown. Timothy was also the postmaster and joined political office. He was elected to the House of Commons in the Parliament of Canada on March 5th, 1891 and held this office for 1,937 days. That is 5 years, 3 months and 20 days.
Mr. Timothy Byron Rider was a very wealthy and influential man, also an inventor which I have located his government patents and a business man. He was a merchant in the area, and when his sister Helen D. Rider married William George Howie, he gave William a job as a store clerk. According to the the 1881 Census of Canada, William & Helen were also living in this beautiful new Château. From this early photo above on the right you can see how big it is compared to his brother Hamiltons' house behind.
Timothy amassed his fortune by acquiring real estate. He purchased the saw mills, the grist mills and two mercantile operations. Like many of my ancestors, Timothy Byron Rider was also a Mason, the Masonic order I do not yet know at this time. A secret society that I know very little of, other than it is a social organization. By 1912, Peoples telephone of Canada then became Peoples & Rider. In 1933 Mr. Rider was one of the first wealthy people that could afford to have electricity in his home.
When I received the email this week from Penny with the photos of the house with a witch for a weather vane I could not be more surprised nor wait to reply to tell her about his ancestors. Turn back the time now to 1688 Salem Massachusetts. In November, Rev. Samuel Parris preaches in Salem Village for the first time. October 1691, Joseph Porter, Joseph Hutchinson, Joseph Putnam, Daniel Andrew and Francis Nurse become the elected majority to the Salem Village committee. January 20, 1692, Samuel Parris' nine year old daughter, Betty, falls ill. More young girls in Salem Village also fall ill. The Salem Village physician, Dr. William Griggs, concludes the girls are bewitched. Parris' servant/slave, Tituba, and her husband, John Indian, are advised by Mary Sibley to bake a witch cake. She hopes the cake will help the girls identify the person(s) who are bewitching them. On March 1st Tituba confesses to witchcraft. Later, Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good and Tituba are sent to a Boston prison. Then one of the afflicted girls, possibly Mercy Lewis, accuses Elizabeth, wife of John Proctor of witchcraft. On April 11, 1692 Sarah Cloyce and Elizabeth Proctor appear before the Salem Magistrates. John and Elizabeth Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Cloyce, Martha Corey and Dorcas Good are sent to a Boston prison on this night. Then on May 21, an arrest warrant is issued for John and Elizabeth Proctor's daughter, Sarah and two days later their son Benjamin. Then on May 28th an arrest warrant is issued for John and Elizabeth Proctor's second son, William. By now almost the entire wealthy Proctor family are in prison for witchcraft. In September nine accused are put to death. Elizabeth and the children are later set free. However Elizabeth Proctor does not inherit her late husbands wealth and continued to fight in court over the property rights.John Proctor is my link to the Salem Witch trials and ends my story. If you want to research more on the Salem Witch trials there are many good websites from which I took the above time line. If you want to know more about the Rider and Howie family continue to follow my blog. For avid research you can also check for this book: According to Moore, Stephen A., T. B. Rider and the Rider Family of Fitch Bay, 1850-1960 . . ., M.A. Thesis, Bishops University, Lennoxville, Quebec, 1992 (especially Chapter 10, pp [218]-232) the Rider family was involved in a number of social groups to include the Masons.
In conclusion my Great Grand Uncle, Timothy Byron Rider who built "Le Chateau Witchbay" is related to John Proctor of Salem MA, who was put to death by hanging during the witch trials in the late 1600's.
Timothy's mother was Dorothy Ann Lee, wife of Ezra. Her father was Ede Lee of Willington, Connecticut, and his father was Daniel Lee, who's father was Elias Jedediah Lee. Elias' mother was Lucy Dodge, her father was Josiah Dodge (1665 - 1714) of Beverly Massachusetts. His mother was Sarah Proctor of Salem and her brother was John Proctor (1632 - 1692). He was hung on Gallows Hill, Salem, Massachusetts on August 19, 1692 for witchcraft.
Historian's and genealogists are still working on proof at this time and more source documentation. More data is always coming forward on John Proctors descendants. A new reference book was just published titled: Records of Salem Witch-Hunt, by: Bernard Rosenthal. 2009. I used this book to verify my data.
