The Press., 1921-03-24
The River District, Holland and West
 Wilmington, 1ssO.1s85.

NAAAAHStVls 1CVOe10BSs
 During the Civil War. the Arnold
 family of Buff Gap, my fathers near
 est neighbors. through Elisha, sold
 their farm to John Dobson of Provi-
 dence, who was one of the founders of
 the Episcopal church of Stafford
 Springs. His wife was a Swallow;
 and his father and mother came to
 the farm first. The children were
 Sarah. Allen, and Emma. The Ar holds bought then the farm nearest to
 the lower four corners, where the
 River district began, think from Ira Johnson, who married Cynthia Cush- man of Willington, a descendent of the Pilgrims Robert and Thomas Cushman, not of the Mayflower, but of the Fortune, the next ship after the Mayfower to bring settlers to Ply mouth, Mass. They had several chill dren, of whom Julius attended Brown University; but I remember only Amanda, grown up but living at home. Seth c. Eaton was Ira's son-in-law afterward Johnson and Eaton bought out Darius Starr's general store at West Wilmington Depot, now the house and town clerks office of George P. Bugbee.
 The River schoolhouse was only a short distance up the road north eastwardfrom the Arnolds, of whom Stephen died there first, and Elisha, retired thither afterward. After his death, his daughter took his sister Mary Ann to live with her, I believe near Newark, N. J., where she died at about 90 years of age. The farm was sold to John A. Brown.
 North of the schoolhouse was the two story house of Nathan Pierson, the upper story projecting over the lower. I remember his younger sons Fred and George, and believe that the funeral of his daughter, Melissa, who died in October, 1863, aged 16. He lost a son, Thomas B., of the Sth Regt. Conn.,, Vols, early in the Civil war, March, 1862, and his son Newton died in Sept 1865, aged 21. Nathan, the father, lived until 1897, being 88 when he died. His wife, Ju- lia, died in 1891, aged 82, The next house was the Kimball house; and farther on up the river and into the lived Gurdon Robinson and his wife Lucy, who had lost most of heir children before my remem- 1rance, as they were. old people then, lying the next spring (April 186O liter my father moved to Willington; le at the age of 80, she at 76. The tory goes that he had boon" com ! Danions who called for him occasion ! lily to accompany them on some ex- edition; but that he provided for con- ingences, before he left the house, by \ aking out his pocket-book and hand 1g 1t over to his wife, saying, Lucy, ou take care of this till I get back" aking only some small change with i'm. His son Dwight, the only child wing at home, was grown up, but lclined to follow his fathers example s to the expeditions, think not as ) the money, for I do not remember i'm as married, though I remember lat he and his load passed my fath- rs singing in very audible voice, Ong, of which we caught verse and le refrian as follows:
 q never loved you in my life,
 I never loved your baby,
 I married you against my will,
 So go with gypsy daisy.
 Rattle dattle din do din do din,
 Rattle dattle din do daisy
 Rattle dattle din do din do din,
 She's gone with a gypsy daisy"
 Still farther into the woods lived ne called pr" Jackson, whose wife, hen she was Thankful Davis, was an Id-time acquaintance of my mother; ley had one small child, Helen. Far Ter on, and for school purposes in uffcap district, lived Frances Ballou, ho told of his walking from the 'ovince of Quebec when he was 16 .ars old, ito Connecticut; and that his journey he passed a house, Om whence issued woman's reams, and felt himself called to vestigate; on opening the door he und a man dragging a woman by 1T hair, and felt himself under obli- ttion to interfere in her favor; hereupon they hoth set upon him; Id the woman especially; yelling, Fl teach you to interfere between e and my old man." they taught him
 lesson which he never forgot, and e moral was plain. A few years aft , this, he married Miss Miller of astford, and they had John, Stephen, and Francis E. John mar ed widow Maine of Moose Meadow, Id they had one child, John, who Ved with his grandparents, after Iey. moved to Moose Meadow; his ther setting up as a lawyer in An Dnia, Conn. Stephen went to Mas and died there; Marietta scame the second wife of Thomas athrop, after some years of teaching; le was my teacher in Buffcap one rm. After MT. Lathrop set up his me mill near the Springs, she set ) millinery business in the Springs. rancis H. remained at the old place ext to Moose Meadow cemetery for ost of his life, but finished at Rock eadow. Near the Ballou's lived Hi m BabcOck. thickset man of sandy 'mplexiOn and full red beard; his lAe, d E1u1SI, l IHluh, OHe CnIlu, AueI- rt. Hiram liked to shout, and my ther employed him once to shout harcoal!" for load he took to sell
 Hartford; blacksmith shops used a 'od deal; but as Hiram opened the or of a certain shop, a man inside restalled him, and yelled so loudly
 his very ear, that Hiram was ocked into silence, from which he d not recover for the rest of the Hing.
 But to return to take up the south Tt of River district The next house uth of the Arnold-Bowler place was at of Frank Niles, relative of the Ellington Niles family. He had D. Dwight who lived at Cknnnn