William Riley's story necessarily starts in the middle, since the first record about him was in 1830 which said he was married with two children. Born in Connecticut in 1798, William's town of origin and parents are not known. He was a poor shoemaker, belonged to a Dunkard church, and lived in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1873. His five children moved to nearby Philadelphia after the Civil War where they were employed as manual laborers. Several children later moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where they worked in jobs typical of a coastal resort. William Riley's later descendants had a modest degree of wealth and material comfort since, in the early twentieth century, blue-collar jobs afforded solidly middle-class incomes and lifestyles. This book describes the lives of ordinary, working-class men and women who left behind no letters or diaries.
Covered are four generations of William's descendants spanning over one hundred and fifty years. The text is thoroughly referenced with a wide variety of sources, including dates and places of birth, marriage, death, and burial. Other information sources are occupations, military service, causes of death, and places lived. Maps, timelines, photographs, and an index to full names, places, and subjects add to the value of this book. Women are indexed by both birth surname and married surname.
2022, 81/2x11, paper, index, 100 pp
