The Ancestral Genealogy of the Richardson-Arnold House (Part 2)

Painting of the Richardson-Arnold House
(Courtesy:Norma Sutcliffe) 

In my last post, The Ancestral Genealogy of the Richardson-Arnold House (Part 1),  I shared with you the earlier history of the families who lived on this property going all the way back to before the house was even built. We worked our way through the 1700's and 1800's all the way to Edwin Arnold's death in 1903. Now, we will continue on with the family genealogy at Edwin and Adeline's children: Abigail, John and Fremont.

Abby Arnold Butterworth

Abigail Frances Arnold was born in November 27, 1851, to parents Edwin Arnold and Adeline Caswell Arnold. As I stated previously in Part 1, Abigail married her first husband, Sumner Walling on July 9, 1871. Sadly, Sumner would die in a drowning accident in Douglas, Massachusetts, in 1874. Their infant son, Sumner Jr., also passed away in his first year (and not at the farmhouse, either). Pam Kenyon Cardin stated that family records show that the baby died of a "disease," although she wasn't absolutely sure what disease it was. 

The idea that Abigail went through the loss of a child and a husband in the same year would be devastating for anyone. Abigail wasn't just anyone, she was a "tough ol' Yankee," according to her great-granddaughter, Pam. In fact, it was said that Abby worked all day outside on the farm while 9 months pregnant, and then went home to have her baby the same day, and back to work the next day. A tough ol' gal is right!  

Speaking of giving birth, let me just clarify something right now. The attic space upstairs in the farmhouse, was just that, attic space, for storage. It was not a "birthing room," as claimed by tour guides at the house. 

Going back to the story.....

Abby would eventually marry again at the age of  42 years, on October 25, 1892, to William Butterworth, who was originally from Fall River, Massachusetts. The two would have one child together, a daughter named May Sarah Butterworth on May 27, 1895  (a later census record would also cite her birthday as April 16, 1894).

On October 15, 1899, when Abby and her daughter were riding around in their horse and carriage, they had an accident on the road. According to the Pascoag Herald & Burrillville News Gazette, dated October 20, 1899, "Mrs. Abbie Butterworth and little daughter May, while out riding last Sunday evening, were thrown from their carriage by the horse being frightened by a bicycle. They were miraculously saved from serious injury."

Thankfully a tragedy was averted in this instance and both Abby and her daughter were okay.

As mentioned in Part 1., Abigail's father Edwin died from exposure in the freezing weather while walking home in October of 1903, and his body wouldn't be found for nearly two months. Abby went through a lot in her lifetime, from losing her husband and her child in 1874, her mother in 1883, and then her father in 1903.

She would also live through another terrible tragedy, which we will get to soon enough, the loss of her brother John, to suicide. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and sadness she must have felt learning of such a horrible tragedy that happened just down the road near Tarkiln.

Abby would live on the farm for the remainder of her life, as records indicate, her passing away from "chronic nephritis" on April 25, 1930, and it appears that she did pass away at the farmhouse. Her husband, William Butterworth had died 13 years earlier, on August 7, 1917 at the Naval Hospital in Boston. 

John Allen Arnold

The 2nd born of Edwin and Adeline Arnold was John Allen Arnold who was born on May 11, 1855. He would live on the farm and work on the farm for most of his life, until he married in 1883, to Emily Frances Taft on March 11, 1883. A year later, they welcomed one son, Edwin Sylvester Arnold to their family on March 24, 1884. The 1885 Census has him listed as "head of the house" and a "Farmer," just one row below his father and Fremont, meaning he was probably in a dwelling just down the road.  He eventually moved to the east side of Burrillville, where he settled with his wife and son. 

John remained a farmer his entire life, and eventually he fell ill with health problems. The doctor didn't elaborate on what sort of ill health he had been going through, but mentioned that it had been ongoing for years and he felt that contributed to his harsh action to take his own life. 

As the death record indicates, in state of despondency John took rat poison known as "Paris Green" and although a doctor was called to administer life saving treatment, the doctor knew there could be nothing done to save him. John Allen Arnold died at the age of 56 years, on November 19, 1911, in his home near Tarkiln. 

Fremont Arnold

Fremont Arnold was the baby of the family, at least Edwin and Adeline's immediate family, that is. He was born on May 16, 1857, and lived on the farm for most of his early life. By 1885, Fremont is living with his father Edwin, just the two of them. Adeline had passed away, and both Abby and John had went and married their spouses and moved out. At some point between 1885 and 1900, Fremont moved to Douglas and started working as a painter. He is recorded in the 1900 census living in the John Walling household as a "boarder." 

It looks as though even though Edwin left the property to both John and Fremont, both sons chose to live elsewhere. This may be a reason Abby and William Butterworth chose to move back to the farm and remain there. 

By the 1910 census, Fremont is living with an older woman, Sarah Smith, and working as a "hired man," performing farm labor on her property. He continues to do so for over a decade, as he is still listed as such in the 1920 census as well.  

It could have been failing health that caused him to return back to the family farm, but by 1925, you can find him in the census living back at the farm, with Earl Kenyon, Sr., his wife May Sarah Butterworth (or Sarah), his sister Abby Butterworth, and a young, Earl Raymond Kenyon, Jr.

I could find no record of  Fremont ever marrying or having children, but he did go by the name "Uncle Fremont," a lot, according to Pam, his great grand niece. I do know that he liked to travel with his nephew, Edwin, and there are newspaper clippings mentioning them going off to travel. I also know he was very protective of his family and had a big shot gun that he wasn't afraid to use if necessary. 

I have often wondered whatever happened to Uncle Fremont's old shotgun? 

On August 16, 1938, at the age of 81 years, Fremont Arnold passed away at home from "arterial sclerosis with necrosis of the heart."  Fremont Arnold, the last Arnold to live on the property.

The next generation......

May Sarah Butterworth and Earl Kenyon, Sr. 

Now, I get towards the end of the line in the family genealogy of this beautiful and historic property. We have covered the Richardsons, the Arnolds, and of course the Butterworths, but now we will explore the history of the Kenyon family at this wonderful property. First things first, the house you know to be located at 1677 Round Top Road, Burrillville has gone through a lot of changes, even address wise.

At one time the home didn't have an actual address, it was just the Arnold Farm on Douglas Road. Then later on when the road was called Round Top Road, it was still just the Arnold Farm on Round Top Road. Later it would be 189 Round Top Road, and by the time Norma and Gerald purchased the home in the late 1980's, it was changed to 1677 Round Top Road.

Interesting to note, May Sarah Butterworth has two recorded dates of birth. The Rhode Island Vital Records states she was born on May 27, 1895, yet Sarah (as she liked to be called) reported her birthdate as April 16, 1894 in the 1935 census.

Moving forward,  Sarah Butterworth was raised at the home with her mother and father at the farm. On June 12, 1917, Sarah and Earl Raymond Kenyon (Sr.) would run off to Bath, Maine to elope. When and where Sarah met Earl, I am unsure, but she fell madly in love with him and ran off to Bath, Maine, to be married.

Sadly, just two months later, Sarah's father, William Butterworth would pass away. 

Per Pam Kenyon, "My grandfather Kenyon came from the village of Pascoag, a few miles away but prior to that they had been in Douglas, MA. My great grandfather was a millworker and followed the work in the mills. I can also find a little of the Kenyon line in Connecticut. My great, great grandfather was in the sixth Connecticut volunteers in the Civil War. Until my grandfather and grandmother got together, the Kenyons were never involved with the farm at all. In fact, my grandmother went to Maine to get married. My grandfather ended up working for and retiring from Swift and Company.....

As for the Kenyon’s involvement with the house – that began with my grandfather. It doesn’t go back any farther than that. He was born in Bridgeton (Pascoag) to Frank James Kenyon who was probably (like many of the day) a millworker who followed available work...... I’m not sure if any of the other children besides my grandfather and possibly a couple of aunts were born in Bridgeton. My grandfather’s birth, though it occurred in the 1890’s, was not recorded in town records. When he went to apply for social security, his older sister, Laura, had to go with him to vouch for his birthdate. I have a listing of all my grandfather’s siblings but not where they were born.

There is a Kenyon Rhode Island, so one would think that it was easy to find the family. Nope. We’re not related to any of those Kenyons as far as I can tell. It has taken me literally decades to find anything beyond Frank’s father, Albert, who was with the Sixth Connecticut Volunteers in the Civil War. He was married to Lucy Burlingame. Again, (that side of the family) had nothing to do with the house nor ever lived there.

My grandmother – the Arnold connection – went to Bath, Maine to marry my grandfather. I guess she was really determined. But, as I say, my grandfather was the first Kenyon to actually live in the house. He didn’t want to leave, as I recall, but he was getting older and was having problems taking care of things. My father convinced him to sell it. My father wasn’t happy when he found out that the realtor involved was Bessie Lindenbaum..... My grandfather never said anything like “keep the lights on” or close to it. He wasn’t like that. He was a down to earth, practical New Englander."---

As mentioned above, Earl Kenyon was from Pascoag, and was born on January 23, 1893, in Bridgeton, Pascoag, Burrillville.  

One thing to note, when Pam told me that records would get confusing about the townships and such, she wasn't kidding. I have found the farm to be listed as Harrisville, Burrillville, Glocester and even Pascoag at different times in different documents, but each time, it was still the farm on the old Douglas Road (and later Round Top Road). It is odd, but it was what it was. 

By 1920, we see Sarah and Earl Kenyon living in Massachusetts, as a married couple. Their son hadn't been born yet. On May 12, 1921,  Earl and Sarah would welcome their baby boy, Earl, Jr., into the world. At this time they were living at  71 N. Holden Street, North Adams, Massachusetts.

By 1925, we find that Earl and Sarah have moved back to the family farm on Round Top Road to be with Abby and Uncle Fremont, more than likely to help take care of them in their old age.

"Abigail’s daughter, my grandmother, married my grandfather in Bath Maine. Why Maine, I don’t know. My father said that she went to Maine to marry him and that’s what any family records say. For a time they lived in North Adams, Mass., where my father was born in 1921. They must have lived there until 1924/5 when they moved back to the farm and lived there for the rest of their lives. My father lived there until 1945 when he married my mother, except when he was serving in WWII. My grandfather lived on the farm alone from 1967 until he sold it in 1971, to the Perrons." -- Pamela Kenyon Cardin 

By the 1930 census, we don't see Abby's name anymore. This is because she passed away just days before the census taker came to the house. So only Earl, Sarah, Fremont and young Earl, Jr., are listed as living there. Moving onto the 1940 census, Uncle Fremont has since passed away by that time, so now it's just Earl, Sarah and Earl, Jr., living on the farm.  Earl is listed as working at a meat packing company as an accountant. Earl Kenyon, Sr., had worked for the meat packing company, Swift & Co, in Providence on Canal Street for a long time, and later by the 1950 census, he was still there, as the office manager. He would later retire from this job.

Sarah and Earl Kenyon raised their son, Earl, Jr., who lived there most of his life, and eventually he grew up, went to college and eventually went off to war during WWII. He served as a Tech Sargent in the 8th Air Force. His enlistment date was on March 11, 1943, and he served until April 7, 1945. He was part of Burk's Crew, and is listed on the memorial at the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum.

According to Pam, "My father lived there from when he was about 3, to when he married my mother, save for the time he was overseas in WWII. He was also back and forth from college (URI) just before that. "-

Earl Kenyon, Jr. would go on to marry, Miss Marjorie Sweet, the daughter of a pioneer family that was just as widely known as the Arnolds, the Sweets. They would live in town, just on another property.

Sarah Butterworth Kenyon would pass away on December 10,  1967, and Earl Kenyon, Sr., would continue to live in the house alone until selling the property in 1971.

Earl, Jr., and Marjorie would go on to have a daughter, Pamela Kenyon, who I considered to be a very dear friend. She helped me so very much during my most recent in depth research into the history of the property. Her knowledge of her family ancestry, her own memories, and the history of the farmhouse on Round Top Road was an invaluable source that needs to be recognized for posterity.

Sadly, Pam passed away last December and so the direct ancestral line of the original owners of this farmhouse has ended with her. I plan on writing more about her on this blog in the future, as she deserves to be remembered. 

In ending this blog post, I hope that I have enlightened you with the true ancestral history of this historical home. I have not found any events to merit such ridiculous claims as those that have been made about the house over the last several years. As I post more, I will show you that there was nothing sinister about this home or the property, and that the fabricated stories that began in August of 1973, have forever tarnished this beautiful New England home. Let us remember the families who lived and died here, with love and respect, always.

(Copyright, 2024-  J'aime Rubio  -- www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

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