Samuel Risdon, Sr.

12th of 12th mo. 1796 - Samuel Risdon was reported as marrying out of unity

Finding Aid to the Risdon Family Papers, 1794-1920, Col. 256, Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library Winterthur, DE 19735

Background note:

The Risdons were early settlers of Burlington County, New Jersey, having emigrated from England in the 18th century. Samuel Risdon (1772-1844) and Anna Elizabeth Nightingale (1777-1846) were the progenitors of the line of the family represented in these papers. Samuel was a saddler by trade. Samuel and Elizabeth had at least seven children, including Isaac Nightingale Risdon (1800-1860) and William Mills Risdon (b. 1809).

In 1816, Isaac went to Philadelphia and began an apprenticeship as a tailor. After working for others, he and Jacob Lukens opened their own shop, also in Philadelphia. Later he went into business with his brother William. In 1837, he retired from the business and returned to Mount Holly, New Jersey, where he was involved in real estate speculation. By 1841, he had established the Mount Holly Cemetery Company. Having made several substantial investments, it was necessary for Isaac to resume work as tailor in 1847. Isaac returned to Philadelphia and entered into partnership with Benjamin Moore. He remained in Philadelphia for two years, then returned to Mount Holly where he continued to work as a tailor until he retired for a second time in 1857. Isaac made an unsuccessful bid for Congress as a candidate for the Native American party in 1845.

Isaac married Matilda Barras in 1819; they had ten children, including Henry Caron Risdon (1832-1903). Matilda died in 1874. In 1863, Henry married Anna Bunting (d. 1921); they had several children. Henry served with distinction during the Civil War as a lieutenant and then a captain in the New Jersey Volunteers. After the war, he seems to have taken an active role in the Risdon Mutual Building and Loan Association. When his father died in 1860, Henry and his uncle William M. served as the executors of Isaac's estate. William passed away before the estate was settled, leaving Henry the sole executor.

Scope and content

The bulk of the material in this collection relates to the settlement of Isaac N. Risdon's estate, including legal documents, household accounts, bills, deeds, and records of income. Expenses incurred by Isaac's widow, Matilda, are included with the estate papers. Additional items document family interests in the Mount Holly Cemetery and the Risdon Mutual Building and Loan Association. Papers pertaining to Henry's activities during the Civil War are also featured.

In Box 1 are found papers about the Mount Holly Cemetery (including the deed for the property, a list of tools, and a list of burials), and papers about settling the estate of Isaac Risdon and other papers relating to him, including his indenture to a tailor in 1816. A seemingly unrelated document from the War Department, signed by Lewis Cass, Secretary of War in 1834 is also with the material. It concerns a Revolutionary War pension for John Dorvill, whose relation to the Risdons is unknown.

In Box 2 are found accounts of Matilda Risdon, widow of Isaac, for groceries and other household expenses, and also Henry Risdon's expense accounts for settling his father's estate. All these accounts are on long sheets of paper which have been rolled up.

Box 3 contains Civil War papers of Henry C. Risdon, papers relating to the Risdon Mutual building and Loan Association, and other miscellaneous papers relating to Henry and his wife. As well, there is a map of a mining property in Colorado, but no indication of why this property was of interest to the Risdons. The Civil War papers feature information relating to the military affairs of Company G, 23rd Regiment of the New Jersey Volunteers, 1862-1864. Included are muster rolls, pay vouchers, clothing inventories and returns, receipts for ordnance, abstracts of expenditures, and other material on Civil War clothing and personal equipment. Many of the items contain signatures of Risdon and other commanding officers. The military commission of Risdon as a lieutenant in Co. C, signed by Governor C.S. Olden of New Jersey in 1862 is included. (His commission as a captain in Co. G is one of the framed items.)

The Risdon Mutual Building and Loan Association papers, which are also in Box 3, consist primarily of bills and receipts for purchases made by and services rendered to the Risdon Mutual Building and Loan Association from 1855 to 1878, bulk 1877 and 1878. The association bought wallpaper, glaze, putty, and other building material from a local merchant, Edward B. Jones. The group frequently advertised the sale of real estate in local newspapers. Several tax bills for Lumberton Township and water bills from the Mount Holly Water Company are included.

The framed items are oversized. One is a portrait of Henry C. Risdon; the other two items relate to his Civil War Service. The family Bible includes a record of births, deaths, and marriages.