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Elijah Reynolds |
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Elijah Reynolds |
He was a large farmer by occupation, and was one of the leading men of his day. He settled in Petersburg in 1780. He owned the farm now owned and occupied by his grandson, Wm. T., which has been in the family for nearly one hundred years. He held various town offices, among which was that of supervisor. He survived his wife and died at an advanced age, and left to his posterity the record of a successful, busy life.
Elijah was born June 8, 1782, in Petersburg. He had very limited advantages for an education. He followed the occupation of a farmer, and came in possession of the "old home." He owned more than four hundred acres in the home place, besides land in other parts of the town. He married Betsey Babcock, of Petersburg, by whom three children were born; one only, Almon E. Reynolds, is living. Mrs. Reynolds died July 11, 1818, and he married for his second wife, Betsey, daughter of Thomas and Ann Crandall, of Berlin. She was born March 16, 1791, in Berlin. Her parents were early settlers of this county, and her father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Of this union of Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Reynolds, six children were born, viz.: Mary A. (deceased), Maria E., Auburn (deceased), Ebin C., Ann E., and Wm. T.
In his political convictions he was a firm Democrat of the "old school." He never aspited to political honors, but rather shunned public notoriety. He held several town offices, however, among which was that of assessor. He was one of the leading farmers of Petersburg; was highly esteemed by his neighbors; was an affectionate husband and a kind of loving father. He and Mrs. Reynolds were members of the Christian Church at Petersburg. He was very liberal towards all benevolent objects, and his influence was always on the side of the right. He died Sept. 28, 1859, and was buried in the cemetery at Petersburg known as the Reynolds cemetery. Mrs. Reynolds is still living on the "old home," hale and hearty, and retains all her faculties remarkably well, considering that she is in her eighty-ninth year.
ELIJAH REYNOLDS. This family is of English origin, and settled in Rhode Island at an early day. The first of whom we have any knowledge was William W. Reynolds, a native of Westerly, R. I., who married Mary Lillybridge, by whom eight children were born, viz: Thomas, Benjamin, Parley, Howard, Elijah, Amy, Polly, and Hannah.
