Photo of the Arnold Family (late 1800's) original property of Arnold/Butterworth/Kenyon Family |
There has been a lot of television programs, blogs, newspaper articles, a few books and even a movie attempting to tell the story of this house, and yet only a few people have been able to tell the facts surrounding whether or not the events claimed in the film, "The Conjuring," by either the Perron family or the Warren's actually took place on this old farm. Even "The Conjuring House" website has a short blurb summarizing the history of the home, although some of it is incorrect, and I will go over that with you here and on other blogs at a future date. Join me today, as I take you back in time to revisit the former residents of the home.
This will be the first of two blog posts regarding the ancestral genealogy of the people who lived on the property. I will keep posting more information on the true history of the home, as well as my fact based conclusions resulting from my thorough research to figure out why this whole "ghost story" has taken on a life of its own within this blog site over time.
The area which we know today as Burrillville, Rhode Island, consists of 14 villages spread over 55 square miles. The property the Conjuring House is situated on is within the village of Harrisville, which was named after Andrew Harris, who purchased the area in the early 1800's (which was earlier known as Rhodesville). Prior to that, the land encompassing Burrillville had originally been considered part of Glocester, which is actually about 6 miles south of Harrisville.
It had been alleged that back in the 1600's, the land was "not worth surveying for settlement purposes since these outlands are too far from Providence," according to Blackstone Heritage Corridor's historical walking tour pamphlet. You see, although Roger Willams established Glocester and other Providence Plantations, that didn't mean he ever stood on this particular property when it was deeded to the Richardson family.
According to the genealogical records by Pamela Kenyon Cardin (a direct descendant of the original families who owned the property), the original homestead for the Richardson family was closer to the Massachusetts border on what was the original land owned by the family. The genealogical lineage I have listed on this blog is in the proper order based on her family bible and her own research she did over the course of her life. I have verified a lot of the later information she has provided to me via vital records, and the ones I am unable to confirm (going further back), I rightly state that it is my belief or that it is more than likely, because some of this information is unknown and might never be known.
Going back to the early years, the property was a substantial amount of land, which is no longer part of the "Conjuring House" property today. Over time, parcels were broken up and sold off, and once the Perron's purchased the home, the land was significantly smaller than when the original families owned it.
When it was that the Richardson's or Arnold's amassed that large of acreage is unknown, thus the reason I mention within this blog that over time it was broken up and sold off, as that is what happened. By the time the Perron's owned it, the deeds show they only had a fraction of what would have been the original land that the Arnold's once had.
Regardless of which of the Richardson's were the first to own the property, or to have built on the property, this is still a detailed ancestry and/or genealogical record of the family who lived there for well over 200 years, going all the way down to the last lineage of this family, the Kenyons (through May Sarah Butterworth, when she married Earl Kenyon Sr.)
Going back into the genealogy:
I. ISAAC RICHARDSON
Records show that Isaac was born on May 14, 1643, in Woburn, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Deborah Fuller on June 19, 1667, in Woburn, Massachusetts. He would have died shortly after having been deeded that land in present day Burrillville, which would mean his son, Johnathan Richardson would have inherited the property. If that is what happened. Did they build a home on it then? There's really no way to know for sure. Deeds going back that far are very difficult to locate, and many times dwellings weren't always recorded as such.
Per Pam Kenyon Cardin's own words:
"One of the major problems with looking up the very early stuff for Burrillville is that anything before 1806, is in Gloucester, RI. When my cousin and I attempted to find info on something else, we discovered that Gloucester’s records were in such a mess that we couldn’t find anything. We did try more than once to no avail. Houses are sometimes recorded on a deed and sometimes not, so that’s another issue.
Frankly, I am not sure where they got the date of 1736 for the house. One of the dates I
had was 1725. As I said, dating a structure on a piece of land is sometimes
very difficult. If you have a will, that helps but may not be (and probably is
not) when the house was built. A deed may well say something like ‘where he now
dwells’ but is probably NOT when the house was built.
There were Arnold’s, Richardsons and Whipples in the vicinity from very early on. The farm was called the Arnold/Richardson place, so I believe that it was the Richardson family who first owned the property and built that house. Way out in the back on what I believe is Massachusetts land is the foundation of we presumed was a house. That is the one my grandfather referred to as the "Salem cellar."
There is nothing more I can tell you about that. I couldn’t find it again for anything. I have no idea who built it or owned it originally. The Arnold’s owned a huge amount of land some distance away and where the Arnold cemetery is at the corner of Brook Road and Sherman Farm Road, way off the road in the woods. "---
--
II. JOHNATHAN RICHARDSON
Johnathan Richardson was born on December 12, 1669, in Woburn, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Mary Isaac Cutler, and the two of them settled in Glocester, Rhode Island. Now you have to remember, Burrillville didn't exist at this time, so that area was still considered part of Glocester. Johnathan and Mary went on to have at least three children that I could locate: Isaac, Johnathan and Miriam.
Did they build the first structure on that massive piece of land? Possibly. There are ruins of the original homestead close to the Massachusetts border of that original property as Pam had previously mentioned, which would have been the first home to be built on the Richardson land, it is just not certain which of the Richardsons were the first to build that earlier structure. You must remember, this property was on both the Massachusetts side and the Rhode Island side.
Personally, based on the records and research of Pam Kenyon Cardin, since her genealogical research dates the Richardson-Arnold house back to closer to 1725 (not 1736 as stated on a plaque at the house*), the more logical conclusion would be that the later structure/home on this land, near Round Top Road was built by or for Isaac Richardson, the son of Johnathan and Mary.
III. ISAAC RICHARDSON
Isaac was born in 1701, and married Sarah Aldrich in Glocester on July 17, 1732. At some point Sarah would pass away, as there are records showing Isaac Richardson remarrying to a Bethiah Woodward in 1758. Isaac would then pass away around 1784. Isaac and Sarah had four children: Joseph, David, Deborah and Samuel.
UPDATE: According to research by Kenneth Hillyard, he believes that the property was actually passed to the Richardson family through Isaac's wife, Sarah initially during Isaac and Sarah's lifetime. Since there are no records that definitively state which Richardson's had it first, this is a reasonable conclusion to make being that Seth Aldrich, Sarah's father, left her land in his will, which Mr. Hillyard is confident was this farm. If that is the case, then the beginning of the Richardson ownership of this specific land would have begun when Sarah Aldrich Richardson inherited the property after her father's passing.
IV. JOSEPH RICHARDSON
Next down the line in Pam's family tree would be Joseph Richardson. Joseph was born around 1733 to Isaac and Sarah Aldrich Richardson. Joseph married Susannah Smith on June 11, 1751 in Glocester. They went on to have three children: Anne, Joseph Jr., and Sarah. Joseph would pass away on September 29, 1764, at the young age of 39 years. His wife, Susannah would live to be 51 years old, passing away in 1775, in Providence.
V. ANNE RICHARDSON -NOAH ARNOLD, JR.
It was through Anne, Joseph and Susannah's eldest daughter, that the property would eventually merge into the "Richardson-Arnold" estate, when Anne married Noah Arnold, Jr., on July 21, 1768. Their union would bring forth eight children: Sarah, Bradford, Nathan, John, Benedict, Anna, Olive and Phoebe.
So, we know that Anne and Noah lived in the house that stands today, and they raised 8 children there. Noah Arnold, Jr., would pass away on June 20, 1822, while his wife, Anne Richardson Arnold would live another 25 years, passing away at the age of 97, in 1847. Out of Anne and Noah's children, their son, John would later take over ownership of the farm along with his wife, Abigail Cook Arnold.
For the record, we do not know when John took over the farm. More than likely it was after the death of his father, when normally an estate is passed down to the children. With that respect, that would mean that John and his wife, and young children more than likely lived elsewhere within the area, until Noah's passing in 1822.
Another thing to note, during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) the only documented battle nearby was in Newport, which is about 60 miles southeast of Burrillville. With that being said, let's go to the next phase in this home's history.
Going back to the story.
VI. JOHN ARNOLD
John Arnold was born around 1773, on the farm. He married Abigail Cook Arnold, who was born on December 24, 1775, the daughter of Martha Hopkins and Sylvanius Cook, of Glocester in 1795. The couple had at least eleven children to my knowledge: Rosamond, Sally, Manning, Stephen, Sophia, Olive, Ellen, Elmira, John Jr., Mary and Smith. Did their children grow up on this property? I cannot say for certain, as again, the property more than likely was passed down once the family patriarch (grandfather) passed.
From that generation it appears that Stephen would later inherit the farm, when John Arnold passed away on September 19, 1837 at the age of 64 years. His wife, Abigail Cook Arnold would pass away 32 years later on February 10, 1869, at the age of 93.
VII. STEPHEN ARNOLD
Time rolls on, and later we find Stephen Arnold and his wife, Sally Margery Eddy Arnold running the farm. Stephen was born in 1805, just around the time that Burrillville was "established." He married Sally Margery Eddy, the daughter of Doctor Levi Eddy and Prusia Aldrich. The pair had ten children that I could locate: Edwin, Prusia, Stephen Jr., George, Albert, Mowry, Emeline, Sarah, Abigail and Levi. Of the ten children, all grew to be adults, except for Abigail and Levi. It appears Abby passed away at the age of 5 years in 1848, and Levi passed away at the age of 14 in 1859. According to Pam Kenyon Cardin, the two children had passed away from Typhoid.*
(* I had originally believed they had died from Typhus but according to Pam, she believed it was actually Typhoid).
Is there a record of this? Their deaths are recorded in genealogical record, but not cause of death. Pam Kenyon Cardin had her family Bible and she stated that the two children of Sally Eddy and their causes of death were mentioned in it. According to Pam, Sally also passed away on October 3, 1844, from Typhoid as well. Interestingly enough, Sally passed away before her two children, so thankfully she didn't have to experience the heartache of losing any of her children while she was alive. Stephen Arnold would pass away five years later, on October 25, 1849.
Another thing to mention, Pam Kenyon Cardin explained that Stephen and Sally did live on the farm and did raise their children there. This much we know from her personal family genealogical records and family Bible.
VIII. EDWIN ARNOLD
Moving forward, it was Edwin Arnold who would later live at the property and run the farm with his family. Edwin was born at the farm on February 28, 1821. He was married to Adeline Caswell in 1851 in Burrillville. They had three children that I could find information on: Abigail Frances Arnold, John Allen Arnold and Fremont Arnold.
The 1860 Census lists Edwin as a farmer, along with his wife Adeline, children: Abby (8), John (5) and Fremont (3), as well as Eunice Burlingame (7), Willis (3), Riley Barnes (50), and Eunice Caswell (69). It appears that Eunice Caswell was Adeline's mother, and the rest were obviously relatives, except for Riley, who was a farm laborer.
The 1870 Census lists Edwin again as a farmer, along with Adeline, children: Abby (18), John (15), Fremont (13), along with Riley Barnes (59), Sturbridge Taft (27) both listed as farm laborers, Prudence Taft (18) as a house keeper and Ednah (2). It is obvious that Sturbridge and Prudence were a married couple with their child, Ednah, living and working on the farm for the family.
On July 9, 1871, Abigail Frances Arnold would wed Sumner Walling in Douglas, Massachusetts. The couple would have one child together Sumner, Jr., who was born in 1874. This year would prove to be a difficult one for poor Abby, as the child would not live to be one years old. Did the child die shortly after birth, or a childhood illness? According to Pam Cardin Kenyon's family records, they vaguely stated the child died from a disease.
On May 27, 1874, Abby's husband, Sumner would also die, but this time it would be from an accidental drowning in Douglas, Worcester, Massachusetts, where he is also buried. After these two horrible events, Abby moved back home to her parents farm in Burrilville.
The 1880 Census lists Edwin as a farmer, Adeline, their adult children: Abby (28), John (25), Fremont (23), Riley Barnes (72). All of the men are working for the family as a farmer laborers.Please take note of the photograph posted at the top of this blog, which has been widespread over the years to perpetuate "The Conjuring" story, was more than likely taken sometime in the late 1800's, thus the people listed in the 1870-1880 census' are more than likely those within the photograph, along with relatives who may have been visiting or even possibly close friends from a neighboring property.
The photo was taken on the property of the Arnold family, which was passed down through Abigail Butterworth down to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, eventually belonging to the Kenyon family. Per former owner, Norma Sutcliffe, "This was a picture that was taken, that was handed down from the Arnold family. I was given a copy of the original and, sadly, I gave it to Andrea Perron. This was all long before the movie."--
So we know now how that photo got circulated all over the internet with false information pertaining to the house and the erroneous story of Bathsheba Sherman.
Celebrating Thanksgiving with the Arnolds....
December 8th, 1894 (Pascoag Herald) |
Going back to the history....
On October 24, 1903, while walking home one evening, Edwin disappeared. His body was located against a rock wall on Smith Aldrich's farm on December 17, 1903. Apparently, he stopped to rest due to exhaustion and he died from exposure from the cold. His body had missing for nearly two months.
The newspaper clipping of the discovery read:
"FOUND AT LAST -- The Body of Edwin Arnold Discovered by a Hunter Yesterday Morning.
Yesterday morning about 7:25 o'clock the body of Edwin Arnold, who disappeared October 24th, was found by Frank Pierce beside a stone wall on the Smith Aldrich farm. Mr. Pierce was hunting in the vicinity and came upon the body suddenly as he approached a stone wall. The position of the body was such as would suggest that Mr. Arnold had sat down or reclined to rest and death overtook him before he was ready to go on."-- Pascoag Herald, 12/18/1903It goes on to detail that he had been trying to take a short cut, by cutting through various farms, to avoid the highway, when he probably grew tired and stopped to take a rest, only to pass away in the freezing weather temperatures.
"The funeral of the later Edwin Arnold was held from his residence on the Douglas Road last Saturday afternoon at 1 o'clock and was attended by many relatives and friends. Rev. Walter Ela, pastor of the Laurel Hill M.E. Church, officiated. the bearers were Smith B. Mowry, A.B. White, Sewell Chace and Horace Arnold. Interment was in the family lot in the Tassel Top Cemetery." -- Pascoag Herald, 12/25/1903
His will would later show that the property and his $1,200 in bonds were left to his sons, John and Fremont.
One thing I would like to bring up while we are on the subject of Edwin, in a recent Facebook post the administrator of The Conjuring House's Facebook page made a comment about Edwin when they posted some videos of visiting one of the Arnold family plots to leave flowers. The poster goes on to say this of Edwin, "He was not known to be a particularly loving spirit but we sent him love and remembrance. Remember, hurt people, hurt people. We don't know what wounded Edwin to make him an irascible spirit What I do know is that It's never too late to heal our wounds and become better people or spirits for it."
The question I have for the poster is: Where on earth did you get the idea that Edwin was an unkind person or easily angered person? Do you have some written documentation, a biography of sorts written by Edwin or people who knew him, that said he was not a very nice person? You say that hurt people tend to hurt people, but how would you know that he hurt anyone? He could have been a very kind person in life. The fact is that you know nothing about Edwin. You shouldn't make accusations about someone's character if you don't know anything about them personally.
For the record, we do not know what type of person Edwin was, nice or not. So we have NO RIGHT whatsoever to say anything bad about him, other wise that would be slander. -- Also, why post a video of Prudence Arnold's grave when she has absolutely nothing to do with the history of the house? It was a tragedy how she was murdered, no doubt, but by posting her grave on the page it only further confuses people who aren't aware of the truth, that Prudence Arnold's life and death had nothing to do with the Richardson-Arnold house. She lived and was murdered in Uxbridge, Massachusetts.
In ending, this first part of my ancestral genealogy blog post, we have learned that there have been many people who have lived and died on the property from old age perhaps and illness, but there are no records of any sort of foul play, accident or suicide on this property. Although Edwin died, he did not die on this property, and Sally Eddy and her two children died of illness. It is safe to conclude that there were many deaths prior to and up to this point in the home's history, based on the fact that there were many generations who lived here and grew old here. Family took care of their elderly until they passed away, but that didn't mean anything negative took place on the property.
CLICK HERE TO READ PART 2. The Ancestral History of the Richardson-Arnold House.
-(COPYRIGHT - J'aime Rubio, 2024, www.jaimerubiowriter.com )
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