MY PATRIOT LINEAGE

SERGEANT RUFUS RICHARDSON

(Martha Cowell-Calloway’s 5^th Great Grandfather)

RUFUS RICHARDSON was born in Barre, Worcester, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1760.  He was the son of DAVID RICHARDSON (b. 6 December 1724 Massachusetts d. 1777 Massachusetts) and ESTHER SMITH (b. 1739).  He was also the grandson of JOHN RICHARDSON (b. 25 August 1679 Medway, Massachusetts d. 19 May 1759 Medway, Massachusetts) and ESTHER BRECK (b. 1679 Sherborn, Middlesex, Massachusetts d. 17 August, 1777, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts).   Rufus also had a brother named LEMUEL RICHARDSON, born about 1763.

According to records obtained from the Veteran’s Administration in Washington, DC, RUFUS RICHARDSON served as a Soldier and Officer during the Revolutionary War, eventually rising to Sergeant in Captain Hadam’s Company of Colonel Putnam’s Connecticut Line for two years.  In 1776 he was also appointed as one of the original members of General George Washington’s Life-Guard, “CNC” (Commander-in-Chief’s) Guard, today known as The Secret Service.  Proven Patriot History and Lineage is also held in the Records Library of The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington, DC.

On February 24, 1784, after his service in the Continental Army, SERGEANT RICHARDSON, married MISS RUTH HOLDEN, in Berry Township, Massachusetts.  RUTH HOLDEN was born on May 4, 1761, in Middletown Springs, Rutland, Vermont.  Four children were born of the marriage, SARAH SALLY RICHARDSON, born April 29, 1787, in Barre, Worcester, Massachusetts; FREEMAN RICHARDSON, born March 24, 1791, in Vermont;  and, RUFUS “HILL” RICHARDSON, born about 1797, in Ellisburg, Jefferson County, New York. 

SARAH SALLY RICHARDSON married AMAZIAH FILLMOORE, on February 2, 1812, in Rutland, Vermont, and shortly thereafter removed to the Village of Ellisburg, in Jefferson County, New York, where both of their families had already relocated.  Between 1812 and 1827 Amaziah and Sarah Sally Fillmoore had six children:  Lucy, Ferry, Clark, Orson, Zerviah, and Dyer.  Amaziah Fillmoore was the son of LUTHER FILLMOORE and EUNICE HASKINS.  Amaziah also had a brother, ETHNI FILLMOORE, who married EUNICE COLGRAVE, in Jefferson County, and a sister, LUVINIA FILLMOORE, who married my 4^th Great Grandfather, FREEMAN RICHARDSON, also in Jefferson County.

RUFUS “HILL” RICHARDSON eventually settled in Buffalo, New York and married EUNICE BROWN who was born in 1809 in Genesee County, New York. 

FREEMAN RICHARDSON

(Martha Cowell-Calloway’s 4^th Great Grandfather)

FREEMAN RICHARDSON was born on March 24, 1791, in Rutland, Vermont.  In June of 1813, also in Rutland, he married LUVINIA FILLMOORE.  After their marriage, with the rest of the large and ever-growing Richardson and Fillmoore Family, they relocated from Rutland, Vermont, to Ellisburg Village, in Jefferson County, New York. 

Between 1814 and 1831, FREEMAN and LUVINIA RICHARDSON had six children, Ruth (1814), Ethni (1817), Elizabeth “Betsey” (1826), Freeman, Jr. (1828), Dilla (1831), and my 3^rd Great Grandfather, AMAZIAH “A.F.” RICHARDSON (1823).

FREEMAN RICHARDSON died on February 12, 1875, in the Village of Ellisburg in Jefferson County, New York, and LUVINIA FILLMOORE RICHARDSON, died on October 5, 1869, in Ellisburg in Jefferson County, New York.

AMAZIAH FILLMOORE “A.F.” RICHARDSON

(Martha Cowell-Calloway’s 3^rd Great Grandfather)

AMAZIAH FILLMOORE RICHARDSON, who by all accounts and records that have been researched, went by the name of “A. F.”, was born in the Village of Ellisburg in Jefferson County, in 1823.  About 1843 he married BETSEY TAYLOR who was also born in Jefferson County, it is believed, in 1825. 

“A. F.” and BETSEY RICHARDSON had five children, all born in the Village of Ellisburg in Jefferson County, Harriett, born in 1850, Alice, born about 1856, Carrie Augusta, born June 10, 1864, Sarah, born in 1868, and my 2^nd Great Grandmother, FRANCES ANN RICHARDSON, born at Rural Hill in the Village of Ellisburg in 1846. 

FRANCES ANN RICHARDSON married my 2^nd Great Grandfather, HENRY BRADFORD PIERSON, the son of DAVID and MELINDA SMITH PIERSON, in 1866.  Shortly after marrying, my 2^nd Great Grandparents, along with Henry Bradford’s mother, Melinda Pierson, relocated to Genesee County, Michigan.  Although I’m not completely sure why this move took place, it is known that my GG Grandfather had been recently discharged from the Union Army, and since he had just married, assume it was for an employment opportunity. 

Frances had many family members who lived in Genesee County, Michigan, including two of her sisters, Harriet and Alice, who married brothers, NOAH and PETER DINGS whose families also lived there.  And, there were several Pierson’s from Avon, New York, who settled in Genesee County, Michigan, most of whom were descendants of ABRAHAM PIERSON, JR., the first President of Yale University. 

Although I suspect that my GG Grandfather, HENRY BRADFORD PIERSON, too, had family connections in Genesee County, Michigan, I have not yet been able to establish one.  After their marriage, Henry and Frances Richardson Pierson, moved to Genesee County, and both of their children were born there.  The family, along with Henry's mother, Melinda Smith Pierson, are listed in census records there. 

One of the Pierson Families that I am very interested in is a WILLIAM S. PIERSON, who arrived in Genesee County, Michigan in 1840, from Avon, New York.  Like his father, a Revolutionary War Veteran, COLONEL BENJAMIN PIERSON, William was involved in the thread flouring mill business.  So, for my GG Grandfather, a young man having just been discharged from the Union Army and taken a bride, looking to an Uncle or Cousin for a job in his Mill is certainly a possibility and a good reason for moving himself and his wife from the place they had lived their entire lives.

GEORGE BENJAMIN WILLIAMS

Great-Great Grandfather of Martha Cowell-Calloway

George Benjamin Williams was born on November 23, 1834 in Claverley, Shropshire, England.  Anna Bush Williams was born January 3, 1838, in Hingham, Norfolk, England. George and Anna Bush Williams were my Great-Great Grandparents.

Sometime between 1858 and 1862, George and Anna married and then sailed to the United States.  They arrived in New York City and then settled upstate in the town of Belleville in Jefferson County.  Within two years they had their first child, and over the course of the next twenty, had eight more.  The Williams children’s names were, Rosa, Marsha, Mary, Lydia, George, Charles, Clara, Florence, and Harley Frank.  All were born in Jefferson, County.

Harley Frank Williams and his wife, Cora Pierson had three children, Henry, Frances, and Harold, all of which they raised in Belleville Township in Jefferson County, New York.

In 1902, Harley Frank and Cora William’s, son, Henry, was born, and on August 8, 1905, my Grandmother, Frances Pierson Williams, came along. 

Henry, from my Grandmother's writings and the stories she often shared with me, was a very protective and doting big-brother.  He was also ALL BOY and one can see right away in his photographs, the mischievous gleam in his eyes. 

Like any other normal and active, "ruff and tumble" little boy, Henry could be quite a handful, and from what I understand, was famous for getting himself into trouble.  But sadly, in 1907, and ironically in a very ordinary accident, Henry fell and hit his head on the curb outside the family's store, and as a result, died several days later.

The family was devastated, and many worried that his mother might not survive her grief.  Henry’s body laid in state surrounded by flowers in the parlor of the William’s home during the week following his passing, and as was traditional back then because often relatives couldn’t travel long distances to pay their respects, photographs were taken and made into heavy card-stock postcards that could be sent to family and friends.  I remember finding one of these postcards in a box of photographs in my Grandmother's closet when I was a little girl.  Searching through these boxes of photos and other treasures was one of my favorite pastimes as a girl... and was something I often found myself still doing whenever I returned home as an adult to visit.

After Henry’s tragic death, my Grandmother who was only two-years-old at the time, became an only child until the birth of brother Harold Williams, in 1910.  During this time, her father, as a gift, gave her one of the very first, original, Teddy Bears in the United States.  My Grandmother recounted on many occasions that she was inseparable from the Bear, aptly named “Master Ted E. Bear”, and in 1909 even insisted on having her photograph made with him.  Master Bear was such an important part of my Grandmother's childhood that on the 75th Anniversary of the Teddy Bear in 1982 I gave her a necklace commemorating the event and she loved it.  Sadly though, upon receiving her jewelry after her passing, the necklace was not among her things.

Cora Pierson Williams passed away in 1938 in Belleville, and Harley Williams died in 1956 at the age of 79.  At the time of my Great Grandfather's death he was returning home by bus from Daytona Beach, Florida, where he had been visiting his daughter, and my Paternal Grandparents, Frances Pierson Williams Cowell and Ronald Bradford Cowell, and his grandson and my father, Bradford Pierson Cowell.

Harley Frank Williams was associated with several stores in Jefferson County throughout his life there.  Before purchasing his own store in Belleville, he had been employed by Nathaniel Wood at his store in Woodville and also worked in the General Store at Belleville operated by Will Doane.  He later purchased his own store just off Main Street in Belleville, which later became Mantle’s Store, and operated the store for 8 years. 

After selling the general store in Belleville, Harley Frank purchased a Farm adjoining the Mixer Cemetery near Belleville and operated it until shortly after Cora’s death in 1938.  He then went to work for Mr. Glenn Potts in Woodville, a store that later became Hill’s Store. 

Harley Frank Williams retired in 1947 and then made his home with his sister, Florence (Mrs. Ferd Smith), in Woodville.

Harold Williams , Harley Frank and Cora Pierson William’s, youngest child, married Dorothy Weldon, a nurse, in 1938.  They settled in Woodville where they too operated a General Store.  The store was called Sunnydale General Store, and Aunt Dorothy, as she came to be known to me, also published a weekly local newsletter called The Sunnydale Times.  Uncle Harold and Aunt Dorothy never had children, but they raised Springer Spaniels and treated them as if they were their children.  In his later years Harold became ill with Alzheimer’s and eventually passed away in 1980.  Aunt Dorothy remained well and living in the home next to the store they operated for so many years until her death on November 5, 1994.  She was 74 years old.  Aunt Dorothy and my Grandmother wrote regular letters to one another, and up until the last week of Aunt Dorothy’s life spoke without fail once every week on the telephone.

FRANCES PIERSON WILLIAMS COWELL

Grandmother of Martha Cowell-Calloway

After graduation my Grandmother moved to Oyster Bay Village on Long Island and began teaching at Oyster Bay High School.  During part of this time she was the Boarder in the home of a widow named Mary Warren, who was the sister-in-law of my Grandfather's Aunt Mabel Warren Cowell.  My Grandfather was living with his Aunt and Uncle John Edward Cowell, who also lived in Oyster Bay Village.  My Grandfather and his cousin, Corwin Cornelius Cowell, had both left Canada some years before, for better employment opportunities in New York, and were welcomed to live with their Aunt and Uncle.  In 1938 Corwin was working as an Electrician and my Grandfather was working as Assistant Superintendent (his Uncle was Superintendent) at the Town's Water Treatment and Sewer Plant. 

Eventually, my Grandmother and Grandfather met, and for my Grandmother, it was "Love at First Sight".  I'm not sure exactly what year my Grandparents met, but I believe it was sometime in the early 1930's.  They married in 1938 (see photo on Welcome page) and honeymooned at Niagara Falls, just across the "pond" from Dunnville, Ontario, where my Grandfather grew-up.  Afterwards, they made their home in Oyster Bay until 1947.

Ronald Bradford Cowell, served as a Private in the US Army during WWII.  He was stationed in Alaska, and for many years I thought he never saw combat there.  Much to my surprise however, I learned in later years that there was fighting in Alaska and many US Soldiers gave their lives for their Country there.  In most of the stories my Grandfather passed on to me, however, he often said the only danger he encountered while in Alaska, was frostbite.

In 1947 the family moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, where they would spend the remainder of their lives (see Cowell History page for more).  Ronald Bradford Cowell died suddenly in 1972 from a heart-attack, and in 1998 at the age of 92, Frances Pierson Williams Cowell passed-away. 

At the time of my Grandfather’s death in 1972, there were two grandchildren, myself, Martha Deneece Cowell (Calloway), born in 1960, and Kimberly Marie Cowell (Harris), born in 1970.  In 1998 at the time of my Grandmother’s death, there were two more granddaughters (1990 and 1992) and a great-grandson (1982).  In June of 1998, four months following my Grandmother's death, Kimberly Marie gave birth to a second great-grandchild.