RIDLONS OF HOLLIS, MAINE.
639
answer, the attorney heartily responded, "No, Mr. Ridlon, I know you
are a man of truth," every one believed he was on the right side, and could
not keep back the tears of sympathy. Of course he won his case.
Deacon Ridlon embraced religion near middle life, and I think when
camping in the woods, and was an earnest, devoted follower of his Mas-
ter. His impulsive temper was always a source of embarrassment to him,
but he kept it well in check. He was for many years a member of the Free-
will Baptist Church in Sweden, but subsequently united with a Christian
Church organized in his own neighborhood; this body soon lost its visi-
bility, and it is believed he united with the Christian Church in Bridgton,
some seven miles from his home. He attended his church and conference-
meetings as long as age and health would admit of his going from his fireside,
and during his latter years he traveled from fifty to ninety miles to attend
annual and quarterly conferences. His bowed form, white hair, pleasant
face, and ringing testimonies will not soon be forgotten by those who at-
tended these gatherings.
Mr. Ridlon was very ingenious, and constructed almost any farm-imple-
ment that could be made of wood, in a neat and substantial manner. He
was an excellent cooper and worked for many winters in stave-camps.
In his last years he spent his winters making baskets in his own room.
From boyhood till old age he loved work, and was always restless and un-
happy if confined to the house. Mrs. Ridlon died in 1876, and her funeral
service was conducted by the author of this book. Mr. Ridlon died in 1882
aged 88 years, and was buried by the side of his wife in a small yard,
only a little way from his house. Children, of whom hereafter, thirteen
in number.
Samuel Ridlon' (2), fourth son of Thomas (1), was born in Phillips-
burgh (now Hollis, Me.), Province of Massachusetts Bay, July 18, 1796;
married Esther Stanley, of Cornish, March 18, 1818, and settled (pre-
sumably) in Porter, -he was called "Porter Sam" by the family in Hollis,
to distinguish him from Samuel Ridlon, of that town, who married his
sister, Oxford County, and has continued in that neighborhood ever
since. He first met his wife when at work for her father, William Stan-
ley, at his mills in Cornish; she was a strapping girl, and just suited to be
the helpmeet for a pioneer farmer. When her father raised his barn by
the broad-side, help was scarce, and his three daughters held the foot of
the posts; such girls are now hard to find. Mr. Ridlon cleared a new
farm, and while at work "piling," his wife used to carry her baby to the
"rick," spread a folded quilt under it upon the ground, and assist him
while burning logs and brushwood; she was as strong as her husband, and
never failed to carry her end of the log. Samuel sometimes came home
-in his early years, when nearly all men took their glass- from "train-
ings" and "raisings" a little over-the-bay, and at such times was full of
sport and loved to plague his wife. "Aunt Esther"-as the old folks
called her was good-natured, and endured her husband's pranks as long
as she could, and then there would be a test of bone and muscle; she
would lay her lord on his back upon the kitchen-floor, put her knee upon
him, box his ears soundly, and say, "Now, Sammy, you keep quiet." Mr.
Ridlon was a good, hard-working farmer and cooper; much of his land
was covered with heavy oak growth, and in winters this timber was
worked into staves for hogsheads, and became a means of placing con-
siderable money in the manufacturer's hands. "Uncle Samuel" was short,
- below the medium height,-broad-shouldered, and well formed; his
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