Recently we received an interesting e-mail from a historian in Charles City County, Virginia, USA. Oh yes, we are now an international resource for historical research! Which is quite a surprise, as I normally make most things up! Anyway, Patrick is researching a certain eighteenth century William Rickman.
William Rickman, was born about 1715, probably in England. William Rickman studied medicine, and is believed to have served as ship’s surgeon on the Launcet, a Royal Navy ship. If so, he left the Royal Navy and settled in Virginia about 1760. At the outbreak of the American Revolution he was appointed director-general of Continental Army Hospitals for the state of Virginia, with the rank of colonel. Dr. William Rickman married sometime before the year 1770; his son Jesse Rickman, was born on May 2 of that year. Jesse was born on his father’s farm near Charles City, Virginia, known as Kittewan. Jesse’s mother died while he was still a small child, and in 1775 his father remarried. Dr. Rickman’s young bride was Elizabeth Harrison, sister of future U.S. President William Henry Harrison. She was 24 when she married the 60 year old Dr. Rickman. After William Rickman died in 1783, her stepson Jesse promptly left the family property, possibly due to a quarrel with his stepmother.
Patrick tells us that William Rickman’s home, which was built in the 1770’s, was called Milford, and wonders if there is any connection with Milford House in Milford on Sea? Our own research found the following: ‘Milford House is a splendid Georgian House in red brick. The central part is the oldest, with castellated parapet being built in about 1730 for William Rickman. He died in 1764 and William Reynolds became the new owner of the Manor’. The dates do not appear to exactly fit, so I have no idea if this is the same ‘William Rickman‘? If you can throw any more light on this story please let me know.
david@milfordonsea.org
Hello. I came across your post, looking for information on Kittiewan, which my husband and I visited today. In researching this Virginia plantation, I learned that it used to be called Milford by one of its former owners, Dr. William Rickman.
ReplyDeleteFrom "Plantations of Virginia", by Charlene C. Giannettie, Jai Williams. Rowman & Littleford, February 1, 2017. p. 198 (only page that could be viewed online) Historic Kittiewan: A Different Perspective. "Unlike many other planations along the James River, Historic Kittiewan documents the evolution of of "middling' 18th-century planation into a working 20th-century farm. Kittiewan is owned and operated by the Archeological Society of Virginia, which features an archeological focus on the site. The property's location, overlooking Kittiewan Creek and close to the resources provided by the James River, would have been an ideal place for Native Americans to encamp, and artifacts dating back at least 3,000 years have been found on the property....
Built circa 1775, the present manor house at Kittiewan was the home of Dr. William Rickman, who, during his tenure, called his plantation "Milford," possibly after his ancestral home. Dr. Rickman oversaw the operations of Continental army hospitals in Virginia during the Revolutionary War. Rickman married Elizabeth Harrison, daughter of Benjamin Harrison, the owner of Berkeley Plantation