628
RIDLONS OF SACO, MAINE.
years previously. He could not be prevailed upon to return, and Thomas
made haste to reach home and inform the family of his safety. He was
apprenticed to an iron-founder in Vermont, and carried on business there
for many years; subsequently settled on a farm in Clarendon, where he
spent the remainder of his days, living in a fine and beautifully situated
brick-house.
A neighbor's hogs, running loose, several times came to his moulding
sheds and rooted over his moulds. He asked the owner of the hogs to
keep them at home; but all warnings were disregarded, and the men
seized them and threw them alive into the furnace of molten iron; they did
not stand the heat as well as the three Hebrew children of the Scrip-
tures, but were consumed in a moment. When the iron was poured into
the moulds and cooled, the castings were found so tough and flexible that
they were worthless and had to be recast. Mr. Ridlon was tall, broad-
shouldered, and muscular; had dark hair, gray eyes, long, shaggy brows,
and coarse features. His mind seemed somewhat impaired in his last years.
He visited his relatives in Hollis, Me., when advanced in life, and tarried
with them nearly all winter. I have not the date of his death; he was
buried in a field near his house. His widow was living in 1872. Chil-
dren, of whom hereafter, eight in number.
Patience Ridlon' (1), second daughter of Matthias (2), was born in
Saco, Me., June 10, 1785; was married to Benjamin Libbey at the house
of Nathaniel Townsend, Nov. 10, 1816, and always lived at South Lim-
ington, where she died in 1867, aged 82 years. Mr. Libbey died in Feb-
ruary, 1866. One record gives the birth of Patience as "April 25, 1775,"
and I conclude the above date refers to her baptism. No children.
"Aunt Patience was beloved by all who knew her.
""
Betsey Ridlon (1), third daughter of Matthias (2), was born in
Saco, Me., May 28, 1789, and was married to David Creach; secondly, to
Benjamin Young. She lived in Fayette, Me. Had children by both hus-
bands. I have no record of her death. A woman of amiable character
and godly spirit.
David Ridlon (2), fifth son of Matthias (2), was born in Saco, Me.,
April 20, 1791; married and first settled in Wayne, where he had pur-
chased land before his father and brothers moved to that town. His
house was on the road leading from near the brick-house built by the late
Daniel Ridley, to the farm of Charles Graves, whose wife was a Rid-
ley; this house stood upon an elevation near a small brook. He
removed to Abbot, Piscataquis County, in 1823, thence to Bangor
in 1834, to Sangerville in 1836, to Corinth in 1838, and back to Bangor in
1843, where he died Oct. 3, 1846, aged 55 years. Mr. Ridlon was a shoe-
maker by trade. He was of medium height; had dark hair, gray eyes,
and florid complexion. Six children.
Mary Ridlon' (5), fourth daughter of Matthias (2), was born in
Saco, Me., Aug. 3, 1794; was married to Alvin Swift, and lived in Turner,
Me. I do not know when she died. She was a stout, dark-eyed, fair-
complexioned, pretty woman.
Sally Ridlon' (3), fifth daughter of Matthias (2), was born in Saco,
Me., May 28, 1798, and was married to Billings Hood and lived in Tur-
ner, Me. Her husband predeceased her, and she went to live with her son
in Gardiner. She died June 3, 1873.
Rachel Ridlon' (2), sixth daughter of Matthias (2), was born in
Saco, Me., Sept. 28, 1801; was married Nov. 27, 1821, to Otis Hood,
