THE STANSTEAD JOURNAL, 

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1944

I attempted to transcribe the following article word for word from the newspaper. You may click on the title above to link you directly to the actual article.

TIMOTHY BYRON RIDER

                Before giving the biography of Timothy Byron Rider, we will take a brief glimpse at the ancestors whose records were found in the Congressional Library at Washington, D.C.  From the New England Historical and Genealogical Registers, we quote the following:

“Lieutenant Samuel Rider was the progenitor of the Rider family.  Born 1601, and died 1679, at Yarmouth, Massachusetts.  Samuel, the common ancestor was one of the Puritans, a zealous church member, a man who lived up to his professions, and was a very reputable citizen.”

                “In 1652, Lieutenant Rider and Captain John Gorham were the deputies of Yarmouth to the Old Colony Court.  In 1675, Lieutenant Samuel Rider was one of the assessors of Yarmouth.  In 1677 and 1679, he was one of the rate makers, facts that show he was considered a man of sound judgment.”

                “He served on a jury in Yarmouth, 1641.  In 1643, October 10, he was one of a committee appointed to choose a place for a fort at Yarmouth, and fortify it against sudden assault.  Under date of June 6, 1649, he is mentioned as surveyor of highways at Yarmouth.”

                “June 5, 1671, he was appointed member of a committee to collect and pay the salary of the minister at Yarmouth.”

                “In examining the characteristics of the Riders, a uniformity in their condition and character, rarely found in the history of families, will be noticed.”

                “In the list of those who proposed to take up their freedom at Yarmouth, Massachusetts, occurs the name of Samuel Rider, and there is no doubt he came with the first company in the winter of 1638-39.  The date of his marriage and wife’s name is not known, but his fourth child, Samuel, was born at Yarmouth.  He married December 23, 1656, Sarah Mary, a daughter of Robert Bartlett, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, November 18, 1657, a son was born to them, named Samuel.”

                In looking through the records of the New England Historical and Genealogical Registers, the most popular given names in the Rider family were Samuel, Seth, John and Ezra.  The first John Rider was born in 1715, at Chatham, Massachusetts.

                To the third Samuel Rider was born in 1768, at Haverhill, New Hampshire, a son named Seth Bartlett Rider.  He married but his wife’s name is not known.  After her death, he married Mary Hibbard who was born at Haverhill, New Hampshire.  She died January, 16, 1860, at Lisbon, Kendall County, Illinois.  Her father was a Colonel in the Revolutionary Army; her husband, Seth Bartlett Rider, died in  1834, at Stanstead.  Among their children were these names: Sarah, Samuel, Hibbard, Lucy P, Susan and Ezra Bartlett, born June 10, 1798, at Haverhill, New Hampshire, died at Fitch Bay, Quebec, November 1, 1862.  This Ezra Bartlett Rider was a graduate of a New Hampshire University.  He was a skilled worker of wood, and owner of a sawmill, two miles north of the village of Fitch Bay.  He was an interested member of the Masonic Order, of the Golden Rule Lodge, was the worthy master of this Lodge in 1852.  He was one of the charter members of the Golden Rule Lodge on the Summit of Owls Head Mountain.

                It is assumed by records found that Ezra Bartlett Rider came to Canada in 1825, nearly 120 years ago; settle at first  in Hatley, but later moved to Fitch Bay, where he spent the remainder of his life, so he was truly one of the pioneers of Stanstead County.

                Ezra Bartlett Rider’s first wife was Fanny Chandler, born at Piermont, New Hampshire, March 3, 1801, died Fitch Bay, March 19, 1843; after her death, he married Dorothy Ann Lee, October 18, 1843, at Fitch Bay, she was born January 4, 1824, at Fitch Bay.  Eight children were born by first marriage, and about 1844 they all moved to Illinois and Kansas.  By second marriage, there were four children: Timothy Byron, born January 8, 1848; Hamilton Milford, born December 14, 1851, died September 23, 1887; Helen Desdemonie, born August 25, 1857; Clara Annette, Born May 4, 1863.

                Timothy Byron Rider was born at Fitch Bay, Quebec, January 8 1848, the oldest son of Ezra Bartlett Rider, and his second wife, Dorothy Ann Lee, who was a direct descendant of Robert e Lee, of Virginia fame, also of Jason Lee, the missionary.

                Timothy Byron Rider obtained his education at the rural public school, also the old Stanstead Academy, finishing his French course at St. Ocaire, Quebec, and always keeping his interest in this language of which he was a fluent speaker.

Helen Desdemonia Rider

                His father (Ezra Bartlett Rider) died when he was a lad of fourteen years, and, aside from time spent in school, he assisted in the sawmill, two miles north of the village, which, after his father’s death, was operated by his mother who was a woman of unusually great business ability and industry.

                Timothy Byron and younger brother Hamilton Milford were much interested in the work of the mill, and proved valuable help to their mother.  They remained at home to assist in the business until, at the age of twenty-one, each started out in life for himself.

                Shortly before these events, Timothy Byron Rider had met and fallen in love with Mary Shaw, who was a school teacher in a nearby district, and daughter of Jacob Shaw of Beebe Plain, who, when approached by your Timothy Byron Rider for the hand of his daughter: Said, if his daughter would choose to marry a man who could earn and save $1,000.00 before his marriage, he would present his daughter, with and equal sum.

                Timothy Byron, with his characteristic foresight, decided to try his fortune in the then far distant land of California, and obtained a position in a large mill establishment, sawing the big timbers for which that country was then famous.  In about one year, he was ready to return and made the trip, in the autumn of 1871, by boat, to the Isthmus of Panama which he crossed on mule back, the popular mode of travel across that section of country, continuing the remainder of the journey by boat to Boston and home by railway, or as near as that system of travel would bring him.

                The following events prove that, when he next presented himself to the lady of his choice, after fulfilling the required objection, he was accepted, as they were married November 30, 1871.  They lived in Magog where, for four years he was employed in the saw-mill.

                Four sons and one daughter were born of this marriage, namely: Burton Hamilton, Oral Kingsley, Lena Marillia, Ezra Byron, and Claude Percy.

Claude Percy Rider

                In 1873, he and his brother, Hamilton Rider, purchased  the general store at Fitch Bay, and began their mercantile life together, under the name of “T.B. & H. M. Rider.”  Their lives were so closely interwoven that it is difficult to write of one, without including the other.

                After improving the store property and making it one of the best of its kind, they bought  in 1878 the feed and sawmill in the village.  After purchasing and installing better equipment for grinding grains, they discovered that the wheat grown by the farmers at that time was of such inferior quality that they decided to introduce a superior grade of seed wheat, and sell it to the farmers.  This was accomplished, much to the satisfaction of both growers and millers.

The Home Of Timothy Byron Rider

                The sawmill was also thoroughly repaired, with good machinery installed, and made to supply, not only rough lumber, but shingles, clapboards, windows, and finished lumber, suitable for building.  This was also a great public service these young men made possible for their fellow citizens.

                About 1875, these two energetic brothers became interested, as were many people of that time, in the fad of developing perpetual motion by machinery, and with much careful study they invented a clever model designed to fulfill this startling mission.  The model which they built is in being at this time, showing much thought and skilled workmanship.  Needless to add, their scheme did not produce the expected results of the young would-be inventors, but no doubt they had real joy and visions in working out their ideas in this manner.

                Another clever bit of Timothy Byron Rider’s work – showing a creative genius – was a model made of wood and copied from the boat on Lake Memphremagog, name “The Lady of the Lake.”  This, it is said, received great admiration.

                After conducting business together for several years, these brothers thought best to separate it, Timothy Byron taking the store property, and Hamilton, the feed and sawmills.  Thus this store has been in the same family since 1873.

                From 1873, the swiftest and only communicating system available from Fitch Bay to Georgeville, Magog, Beebe, Sherbrooke, Montreal, Boston and New York, was telegraphy.  This public benefit was installed and operated at T.B. & H.M. Rider’s store.  This was indeed a great public service for the inhabitants of a rural community.

                Another sign of Timothy Byron Rider’s progressive spirit was when in 1892, being unable to secure telephone service in the country villages with the Bell Telephone Company, he organized his own telephone system, serving the people of the adjoining communities of Fitch Bay, Georgeville, Tomifobia, Apple Grove and Griffin, while at several points, connections were made with the Bell Telephone Company, thence obtaining for the citizens a wider scope of communication.

                Another activity of Timothy Byron Rider’s was that of inventing and building the Sunlight Gas Lighting system in the era between the common use of kerosene and electricity.  Many homes, stores and hotels, installed this system and it was in use until electricity became available in the rural districts.

                Much attention was also shown in the political situation of the country and at the general election in 1891, Timothy Byron Rider was requested to accept the nomination as a Liberal candidate for Stanstead County.  He consented and was elected to the Federal House of Parliament, being the first successful Liberal candidate of Stanstead County in 24 years.  In this capacity, he proved to be a man of sterling qualities, conducting himself in a manner which was an honor to his county. All appreciated the ability and devotion shown in this undertaking, by a splendid business gentleman and an honorable representative of Stanstead County.

                After his withdrawal from political life, in 1896, when he was an unsuccessful candidate, beside devoting time to mercantile work, he was still interested in the development of the country and continued to hold several public offices.  Was Justice of the Peace and in many matters of legal business assisted in the community, whenever there was a need.  Was Councilor for the Township of Stanstead for 24 years, Mayor for 20 consecutive years, taking his turn as Warden for the county, one year.  Was member A.F. and A.M Masonic Order, and was a regular attendant and supporter of the Congregational Church.

                He was one of the promoters of the Eastern Townships Telephone Company, and was for a time a director.

                He will always be remembered as a very courteous gentleman, with no bad habits, and out in the business world, he was held in high esteem by those with whom he came in contact.

                Truly, he was in every way one of the successful sons of Stanstead County.

               

                Among those who attended the meeting were:

                Miss Jessie M. Colby,  Mrs. Lola M. Poaps,  Mrs. Effie M. Poapst,  Mrs. Mary L Abbott, Miss Mary Flint, Miss Gertrude Belle Terrill, Mrs. Mabel L. Curtis, Miss Lillian V. Ross,  Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Tilton,  Mrs. Mabel Williamson, Mrs. H.P. Stockwell, Mrs. Ruth S. Lamb, E.B. Hill, Mr. and Mrs. J.D. Ferguson, Mrs. Sybil H. Parsons,  Joseph W. Maheux, A.E. Curtis, Mr. and Mrs. Alvah Hill, Miss Catherine I. MacKenzie, Jaunita H. Hill, Rev. Errol C. Amaron, Eileen M. Downing, Mrs. Frank Abbott, Nancy Jean Abbott, Stanstead; G. S. Molony, Mrs. Bertha Belknap, Miss Mirabel Robinson, Miss Etta V. Taylor, Rock Island; Miss Alice Robinson, Melrose, Mass; Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Cowles, Berby Line, Vt.; Mr. and Mrs. John T. Hackett, Mr. and Mrs. F. Winfield Hackett, F. Win. HackettII, Mrs. Grace E. Caswell, Mr. Orson Wheeler, Mrs. Marjory B. Curtis, and Miss Beatrice Donnelly, Montreal; Miss Elsie c. Wright, Outremont; Miss Dorothy Flint, Toronto; Mr. and Mrs. F.S Rugg, Miss Marguerite L. Sutherland, Miss Edna A. Beerworth, Sherbrooke; Mrs. Julia Gertrude Sowden, Tujunga, Cal.; Mrs. Elizabeth Cass, Beebe; William Partington, Magog; Miss Helen Norton, Ayer’s Cliff; Mr. T. Lee Quimby, Boynton; B.H. Rider, Fitch Bay; Mr. and Mrs. H.F. Baldwin, Baldwin’s Mills; W.F. Beattie, Huntingdon; Herberty H. Brown, Hatley;  Mrs. Vera Brown, New York, N.Y.; Mrs. Harry Hunter, Lennoxville,: Mrs. Marie MacDonald, North Hatley; Mrs. Margaret Mitchell, William Mitchell, Massawippi; Mr. and Mrs. Carlos T. Pierce, Newton, Mass; Mr. and Mrs. Willis Cramer, Way;s Mills.

Epidemic nearly wipes out entire family

Did you know that our first President of The United States of America was a survivor of smallpox?  In 1751, George, at the age of 19, went to Barbados in the British West Indies with his half brother to get some benefit from the warmer climate there, as he was suffering from tuberculosis.  It is said that he contracted smallpox during this visit, and If it were not for his experience, and first hand knowledge of smallpox, this dreaded disease brought by the red coats before the Revolutionary War ever got started may well have wiped out our militia, and our country might have turned out entirely different than what we know today.

Here Lies buried
Mr Zenas Rider who
Dec'd Jan'ry 1766
With the Smallpox
in ye 41st year of
his Age

Also Bethia Sister to
above Named Dec'd the same
time in her 39th year

As a self-professed, armchair genealogist, I often encounter the great influence of epidemics in the United States upon the lives of my ancestors.  I must admit, when I first started out researching my families’ history my own knowledge of the history of our great country was limited.  I was unable to recognize the signs and the patterns that existed in the records and documents of my research.   My ignorance I suppose is from my American education where I was taught from an early age that my ancestor’s migration westward was for greater opportunity.  While there is some truth to that, it does not begin to explain why families that earned their livelihood, and put food on the table from the hard labors of farming the land they owned, would just sell off their land where they had actually built their home by hand, and move.  

Mr. & Mrs. Hand were second cousins.
Miss Esther England was my great aunt.
She was the High School Principle of Ayers
Cliff High School.  Gordon P. England
was a famous author, and my great uncle.
They were children of my great grandfather,
Rev. C.P. England.

The photo above is from the Nickerson Cemetery in Chatham, Barnstable county, Massachusetts.  Although, as you will read later in this story, I highly doubt that either body is truly buried in this location.

My first education into epidemics was when I found a 1920's newspaper clipping in among some old family photos.  My family was struck by the 1917 nationwide outbreak of Spanish influenza, which killed over 500,000 people, and to date has been the single worse epidemic in the United States. My family mentioned in the two articles to the right recovered, and survived the influenza epidemic.

My paternal Grandfather, William Rider Howie lived for eighty-three years.  He died in January 1965 in Southern California not much time before I was born.  William was a naturalized citizen, emigrating from Canada.  He was born January 1882 in Fitch Bay, one of the many small communities of Stanstead County, which lies in the heart of Quebec Canada.  William was third generation Canadian on his father, William George Howie’s side.  His forebears from his mother side, Helen Desdemonia Rider, my paternal great-great grandmother were from the United States.  Her father Mr. Ezra Rider, leaving New Hampshire, and building his family home in Fitch Bay. His son, Timothy
Byron Rider built a home there which still stands today.
Actuellement connu sous le nom du musée du château de Witch Bay!
(Pictured below)

The many Rider families found in New England were quite large, and scattered throughout New England.  I had many theories as to why, but no facts as to the reason for their vast migration north, south and westward.  

This past week while doing my genealogical research on Ancestry.com I came across a series of newspaper articles from a Nova Scotia newspaper titled New Englanders in Nova Scotia. (Pictured above)  One of the family lines the author highlighted was that of the Rider family.  This caught my attention.  As you will read here in this article, almost entire families of Rider’s were wiped out by the smallpox epidemic of 1765-66 in Cape Cod.  According to contemporary reports, the smallpox epidemic began in the Chatham family of Deacon Paul Crowell.  He was a prominent citizen, who had purchased clothing from the British West Indies, probably Barbados where smallpox was known to have come from.  While still other accounts hypothesize that it emanated from a bale of cotton, which had been purchased in the South, and sold at a store very near to the residence of Mr. Reuben Rider, who contracted the disease. 

Selectman James Covel, also of Chatham, compiled a chronologic list of persons who died during the epidemic.  Of 37 deaths that he recorded, 17 occurred in one family, that of the Rider family!  The aged, and well-to-do Mr. John Rider and his wife were taken by the disease; as was their daughter Bethiah, their son Zenas and his wife and children, and their son Stephen, along with his wife and nine of their ten children.

Every method was used to combat the spread of smallpox in Cape Cod.  Schools were closed, businesses were abandoned, and funeral services for the dead were omitted; replaced with family members burying the dead on the rear of their family farm, far away from the community, and not in the town cemetery. 

One hundred years ago, the Honorable James W. Hawes, speaking at the 1912 Chatham Bicentennial Celebration spoke to the memory of this tragic event that took the lives of sixty percent of the citizens of Chatham that were attacked.  As a sociologist, I love statistics, especially when used by politicians!  While I agree it was a tragic event, especially to the relatives of my forebears, the actual numbers were that 37 died, and 24 recovered.  Nine percent of the population of Cape Cod was affected during that epidemic.   Now you and I have a much better understanding of one possible reason our forebears moved north, and left their homes in Massachusetts.  A story that was probably known to my great grandparents, but has been lost, not passed down through history to the next generations.

HIBBARD FAMILY

On the Howie and Rider branches I have come to a wall and currently am unable to research back any further.  The New England Historical Genealogical Society has a 100 year gap between my GGGr-granndfather Seth Bartlett Rider of Haverhill New Hampshire and Samuel Rider.  I call it a wall, as many researchers on Ancestry.com were placing a Seth Rider of Massachusetts in their tree, which I knew was incorrect.  To prove this I had to start researching other branches and the history of Haverhill New Hampshire.

What I have found is my sixth generation 4th Great Grand Father Thomas Hibbard (1756 - 1800) born in England.  Helen Desdemonia Rider was my 2nd Great Grand Mother, and her father was Ezra Bartlett Rider.  Ezra's mother was Mary Hibbard (1774 - 1860), and she was the daughter of Thomas Hibbard.

I have purchased three books on the Hibbard family and have downloaded from google books some history books on the area.  As I get more information I may update this post, however here is what I have so far.

The scene of the surrender of the British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, on October 17, 1777, was a turning point in the American Revolutionary War

Thomas Hibbard was born in England and came first to Haverhill New Hampshire and settled in Newbury Vermont between 1770 and the American Revolutionary War.  He fell in love with  and married Lucy Sylvester on February 22, 1772.  She was the daughter of Levi Sylvester, and she was born in 1751.  Their first born was Mary Hibbard born in 1774, she later becomes Seth Bartlett Rider's second wife from whom we descend. Thomas and Lucy had seven children in all. In June of 1775 Thomas was appointed adjutant in Colonel Bedel's regiment and accompanied it through the march to Canada.  He was able to return to his family in January 1776.  In that same month he was appointed adjutant in another regiment commanded by Colonel Timothy Bedel, which went back to Canada and they were gone for more than one year.  In the summer of 1777 we find him present at the surrender of British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York on October 17, 1777. Burgoyne’s surrender followed battles with American General Horatio Gates near Saratoga on September 19 and October 7, 1777.   Later Thomas was adjutant of a regiment which protected the northern frontier of New Hampshire in an area of disputed land Grants between Fort Number 4 and Crown Point until the end of the war.  In all he saw about three and a half years of service.  Thomas Hibbard then became a school master and minute, and it is said that he had the most beautiful hand in writing.  A minute was a person who wrote land deeds, so many such documents of the era would have been written in Thomas Hibbards hand.   As a school master Thomas taught in Newbury, Haverhill and in Bath, and in 1800 he went to Cambridge, New York, to open an academy, where he died suddenly on July 01, 1800.   After his untimely death, Lucy (Sylvester) Hibbard married Mark Sanborn of Bath on January 10, 1801.  They stayed married until his death on July 26, 1821.  She never married again and she lived until 1860 at the age of 86 years.

COMPTON CALIFORNIA

 

My cousin Annie F. Howie is here buried alongside her brother Robert Maitland Howie.  She is a cousin that I never met, although she lived so close by to us in southern California.  Robert and Annie were the children of James Alexander Howie.  Most of you are now saying who was James?  William Rider Howies' father was William George Howie.  James Alexander Howie was one of the brothers of William George Howie.  They had moved out to California back in 1893.  This was much earlier than William Rider Howie who moved with his family from Canada to California in 1935 just after his wife died.  Also, earlier than William R. Howie's parents, Helen Desdemonia Rider (Howie) (Parker) & her second husband Albert Gardner Parker.  They came to Pasadena California just before 1910.

Robert Maitland Howie was just three years old when his family moved him from the family farm in Canada out to California in 1893.   We then find Robert and Annie on the 1900 U.S. Census along with the rest of their family living in Compton California.  Their father James A. Howie was a railroad laborer.   By the 1910 U.S. Census we still find the family living together in Compton, but the census now lists them as farmers between Tweedy Blvd and Abbott Road.  If you look on a current map, this is a large area.  By the 1920 U.S. Census, Robert M. Howie has married Vera Naomi Gains and they have a son.  They are renting a farm next to Thomas Mayo and Flora (Howie) Mayo on Lemon Ave. in Compton.  I believe this is where this next photo was taken.

The year of this photo says 1916 Compton.  Pictured in the photo from left to right. James Alexander Howie and above him his spouse Clara Elnett (Hand) Howie, and below him is Flora L. (Howie) Mayo and her daughter Marjorie L. Mayo.  Above and to the right of Marjorie is Albert Gardner Parker and standing behind him is his spouse Helen Desdemonia (Rider) (Howie) Parker.  Then sitting on the step is the Thomas Mayo and their second daughter Mabel M. Mayo.   On June 5th 1917 we find a WWI draft registration card for Robert Maitland Howie, and then nine years later we find his Burial:
Woodlawn Memorial Park
Compton
Los Angeles County
California, USA.
On the 1920 U.S. Census, we find James Alexander Howie (wd) living with his daughter Annie Howie.  It says he owns the home, 130 So. Rose Ave., Compton, CA.  He was 65 years old, and was working as a night security guard. 

Annie Howie lived a very long time.  She most likely inherited the home from her father where she resided at 130 S. Rose St., Compton CA until her death January 04, 1976. She was 91 years old.  She out lived all of her family except Mabel (Mayo) Somfelde who died in 1986 at 73 years of age.
Using Google maps streetview, we now find the above home is gone, it has been replaced with an asphalt parking lot.

This is about all I have on Cousin Annie Howie.  I wish I had been able to get more information from Dorothy Lecka way back when.  The people are gone as are the farms.  All that is left is a headstone, and as you can see from the above photo taken in 2005, it appears that the headstone soon will be pushed off its base and probably broken as so many headstones are.

Sol Smith Russell died of Hiccoughs

 

Tonight my 3rd Cousin Lillian Rider sent me the names and dates of her grand parents.  I added them to Ancestry.com and then traveled back six generations quickly.  Lillian is a descendant of some very notable and interesting ancestors.

Actors, professors, clergy, miller, author, and politician.  But look at the figure of realestate asset of Sol Smith Russell!  Yes, $2,000,000 and that was in 1902!  Did you also see that he died of Hiccoughs?  He is the second person I have researched who has died this way.  I think so far, this is the best obituary I have read.  This is why I shared it with my readers.  I guess stage actors made bank in those days.

The interesting story here I will have to research is how he went from rags to riches.  Just seven years prior in 1895, I found Sol and his family living in a Penal, Corrective and Charitable Institution.  Grover Cleveland was President of the United States, and had just come through the worse depression of the time.  The 1893 PANIC, where we can find unemployment at over 18%.

Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington D.C.

Lost Rider Family Found

I guess you can say I love a mystery, but I love a challenge even more.
I have been reading through old correspondence that I had received over the years, some dating back to 1983.  There are just some clues that jump out and catch my attention.  In one letter from my Aunt Helen she wrote, "James Howie was William George Howie's brother.  They had another brother which went "west" as a young man and was never heard from again - it is believed he met with disaster of some kind."  Doesn't that leave you intrigued? It does me.  Was he traveling by train, or stage coach? Was he attacked by Indians, or did he join the gold rush?  It turns out that William George Howie and James Alexander Howie were just two of seven children.  There are three confirmed boys and three girls.  One un-legible name.  So Helen was correct.  His name was John S. Howie, and I still can't find him.  Without more details, I probably never will with a common name like John.

The other mystery is very new to me, "The Lost Rider Family."  I was recently put in contact with my third cousin Lillian Madelyn Rider.  She had sent me a family tree of the RIDERS of Fitch Bay.  It begins with the progenitor of the Canadian family, Ezra Bartlett Rider.  Who happens to be my 2nd Great Grand Father.  He was Helen Desdemonia Rider's father.  Prior to this I knew that Ezra had two wives, however I never knew that he had children by his first wife Fanny Chandler.  On this tree, RIDERS of Fitch Bay, there is a box that just says 8 children moved to Illinois & Kansas in 1844.  I passed over this without much thought as they would be no blood relation to me, and there were no names, until this Thanksgiving holiday when I received an email.  Prior to this, I had sent out some requests to get information on locating a Masters Thesis, titled "The RIDERS of Fitch Bay."  I was looking for more information on my fourth Great Grand Father Seth Bartlett Rider, as there is over a hundred year gap in the national registry.  I had contacted the University for a copy of the thesis in hopes that it might have a missing link that would help me locate the parents and siblings of Seth Bartlett Rider who would be my 3rd great grand father.  The University was very prompt with a response; they held two copies of the thesis, and to contact my local library for an international exchange.  Which I did, but this will take sometime.  They also gave me the email address of the author, so I shot and email off to Stephen Moore.

So, over Thanksgiving Stephen Moore responded to my request, and also said he had questions of the Lost Rider's who went west, did I have any information?  Now again I was intrigued.  Here is someone who wrote their Masters Thesis on the Riders of Fitch Bay and he was asking me for information.  He stated that his source for the thesis was Lillian Rider, and they both were looking for information of eight Rider's who moved west.  Being the great investigator that I am, I quickly got on it to find the lost family.  I went on Ancestry.com and found that there was nothing except other genealogists also looking for clues on this family of eight children.  So I posted a thread to a message board that I was also looking, and off to the library I went.
I had a copy of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register which had a story on Samuel Rider, so that was my first stop.  Since I am a member of the NEHGS, I went online first with no luck.  Then at the library I went to the index for the NEHGR.  Found some information, but nothing new.  So back to my family tree to get more clues.  It is amazing that three months ago I barely knew the name of my 2nd great grandfather and today I have well over six thousand aunts, uncles, cousins and so on.  I add everyone, as this has been the biggest help for me.  Many times on a census form or death certificate of a cousin or brother's uncle I find the name of another family member I was looking for.  Truly I am so lucky that our family immigrated from Massachusetts up the east coast and into Canada.  Back in the early 1980's I hated this fact as I did not have the resources to contact Canada.  Now, I am so glad because so much work has already been done, and many Churches in Quebec Canada kept wonderful records.  Although the French documents are difficult to read.

So I have a story of a female farmer with three young boys, and I have a story of settlers to Stanstead Quebec.  Well my local San Antonio downtown library has an extensive genealogy area, it fills the entire top floor of the library.  So I started looking for one of these books written about the settlers of Stanstead, and lucky for me they had a copy.  Now I understand that books are secondary sources, and not the most reliable to a true genealogist, however, this book has so much detail.  The book title is: "The History of Stanstead County", by Hubbard, ISBN:1-55613-123-2.   There in the pages was my great grandmother Helen D. Rider and my 2nd great grand father Ezra B. Rider.  It listed both his wives and their issue (children).  I entered the names and birth-dates of the eight missing children of Ezra and Fanny into my family tree on Ancestry.com.  Then through U.S. Census data I was able to follow some of their movements from Illinois, to Kansas, Wisconsin and one son even moved back to Canada with his wife.  Anyway my prior hunch that whatever the reason they moved, they had probably changed their name.  I was so correct.  These eight children changed the spelling of their last name to Ryder, stayed in the United States and moved west in 1844.  Their mother Fanny Chandler died in 1843.  Then in October of the same year Ezra re-married Dorothy Ann Lee, of the settler Lee's of Stanstead.  They married and settled in Fitch Bay, Quebec during the time of the mass exodus from Canada.


Between 1784 and 1844, the population of Quebec increased by 400 percent.  However, between 1840 and 1930, more than 900,000 French-Canadians left Canada and immigrated to the United States and Australia.  Canada did not have enough inhabitable land for the rapid growth and they were moving from a rural economy to an industrial one.  Manufacturing was replacing the farmer, and this is probably the reason these Riders chose not to follow their father into Canada.  Going from what they knew, being a farmer, to working in a factory probably was not on their bucket list.   A story for another day, but these eight farmer's probably were able to get land grants in Illinois and Kansas.

Getting help from David Lepitre

I want to introduce you to David Lepitre.  He has been of great help to me in my research of my family from Vermont and Canada. He is a fellow genealogist, printer and writer of the column "Your Ancestry" in The Log Cabin Chronicles.  I have sent to him a few digital copies of old family photos and he has worked miracles to help in my research.
David has also been able to locate and get me in touch with Lillian Rider and Penny Tetreault.
I recently sent him two photos that had no description other than a photographer stamp.  He quickly responded with information on the photographer and a possible date and location of the photos.
A big thank you to David Lepitre for all of his help.  Here is a link to his website if you are interested.

Le Château Witch Bay

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.

Penny informed me that Timothy was also friends with Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada, and who was also a guest in the home.   Timothy B. Rider went on to become Mayor of Fitch Bay and served for 19 years.

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.

Sarah Proctor Dodge is believed to have lived from (1646 - 1706) and by the way was later married to Captain John Dodge who served in King Philip's war of 1675. But that is a blog for another day.

Printing in Vermont

Printing has long been a profession of our ancestors.   Currently Ronald F. Ginn is employed as a printer.  He learned this profession from his father  -in-law Donald J. Howie.  However, William R. Howie was the first in the family line.

A newbie by settlement standards of the east coast, Vermont has an early history of printing. The oldest newspaper was the Vermont Gazette, published in Westminster from 1781 to 1783 by Alden, Spooner, & Green. Interestingly, the printing press used was the first one brought to the colonies from England in 1683. The oldest continuously published family-owned newspaper in the country is the Rutland Herald, covering the entire state since 1794. Newspaper publishing was centered in four locations: Bennington, Brattleboro, Rutland, and Burlington. Most towns in Vermont had their own local newspapers by 1830, which corresponds with the peak population of rural Vermont towns.