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Abby Anne Gifford is my 6th Cousin, three times removed. She married John Cruickshank, who was a rare individual with quite a story equal to his reputation of changing the world of Massachusetts and Rhode Island: John Cruickshank's early educatition consisted of several years in a parish school in Glassgow. His parents apparently died before 1832 and he emigrated with his grandparents. They lived at Pictou, Nova Scotia, for a short time, John C. went to work, at age eight, in an uncle's print shop. He learned to set type and he quickly became a fast and accurate compositor. The family lived at River John, Nova Scotia, ( 24 miles from Pictou ) for two years, where his grandfather taught school. ( In a letter to his daughter Maary Jane, dated September 1887, he wrote that he had visited the old homstead at River John. " I stood by the cellar now overgrown with grass, and tried to recall scenes of my early years and as I did so the memory of my sainted grandparents came back and I could but long "For the touch of a vanished hand And the sound of a voice that is still.") John Cruichshank legally added the surname Milne, in honor of his grandparents. In 1835, John Cruickshank emigrated to FAll River, Massachusetts, with his grandparents and an uncle, to join other uncles already there. He worked in the blue dye house of the calico print works of the Andre Robeson and Son, Company, he worked from five o'clock in the morning to six o'clock in ththe evening for two dollars and twenty-five cents per week. In 1838, the Massachusetts legislature required children under the age of fourteen to be educated three months out of the year. The Robeson firm set up an in-house school for three hours per day and John C. attended the school. John Cruickshank went to work for the Patriot newspaper, at a pay rate of four dollars per week, as a typesetter. He gained a reputation for speed and accuracy, and it was said that he was the fastest t typesetter ever seen in Fall River. He attended evening school during this time. In 1840, he attended Pierce Academy in Middletown, Massachusetts for six months, financed by savings from his earlier jobs. Later, John Cruickshank studied with the Reverend George H. Randall, studying in the morning and working for the Patriot from one until eight in the evening. In August of 1844, after deciding that there was not enough money for college, he went to New York City and worked as a compositor for a book publisher. Later that year he received a letter from Thomas Almy, a fellow empolyee at the Patriot. Almy proposed that the two go into the newspapar business on their own. John Cruickshank returned to Fall River on 24 December 1844 and entered into partnership with Almy. Almy contributed the capital, a sum of $600.00 They went to Boston and purchased an old hand operated press. In early 1845 Fall River had a population of 10,000 people. Almy and Milne secured 500 initiaal subscribers. Almy suggested that the paper be named " The Spirit of the Age." Milne replied "How much of the spirit of the age can we express in the little manufacturing village of which the world has hardly heard, yet? Our only purpose can b be to give the public the news and let that be our title." The Fall River News was firts published 3 April 1845 and consisted of four pages ( An original edition is still in family hands. ). It was published weekly, on Wednesdays. Almy and Milne set the paper by hand, operated the press by hand, and delivered it by hand to their subscribers. They made no profit during the first two years, and took no salsaries. Their first delivery of coal was dumped on the sidewalk and the two youg men carried it up to their second floor office in baskets, because they could not afford the extra charge for a second floor delivery. They often took outside printing jobs, and did them quickly. At the end of the third year, the partners split the profits amounting to $512.00 each. It is recorded that one day a wealthy and extremely influential (but unnamed ) businessman challenged Milne and denounced the newspaper. He got a quiet and sturdy answer, and then he complimented Milne on his work. Milne returned to the News offices, secured a bill for two years of suscriptions and returned to the businessman, who protested that he only owed one year. "Well," was the reply, "We have trusted you for a year , and we thought you mighmight be willing to trust us for a year now." The man paid in full ( a sum of two dollars). In 1853, the News purchased a second hand power-operated press, the first one in Fall River. Almy and Milne made a deal with the laundry next door and ran a drive belt through the wall to connect the press to the laundry's power plant. The Fall River News grew steadily, through a combination of accuracy and high purpose. Milne's "Ideals were of the highest. Justiice, righteousness and humility not only characterized his own life, but were made prominent features of the newspaper which was his life's work." The News was never given to sensationalizing local events, as a comparison between the News and its rival, the Herald during the daays of of the Lizzie Borden affair will demonstrate. In 1869, the Fall River Daily News made its debut. John Cruickshank Milne became a citizen of the United States, 10 September 1845. He married Abby Gifford on 28 June 1849 and they lived at 7116 High Street, Fall River. John Cruichshank was secretary of the mechanics' Association, the first labor organization in Fall River, formed in 1845 to secure a ten-hour work day. He was the first clerk of the Second Baptist Church ( formed 1846; now the Baptist Temple) and was Superintendant of the Sabbath School. He later was a memeber of the Central Congregational Church. In 1861, he was named Clerk of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Accounts, by Representative James Buffington. He went to Washington for six months. When not at work, he toured the local hospitals, looking for Fall River boys who had been wounded in battle. On 29 March 1862, he was issued a special pass (#109 from the Provost Marshalall's Office) to enable him to travel in and out of Virginia; the pass was valide until 31 March 1862. Milne resigned his post after six months and returned to Fall River. Between 1861 and 1865, Milne was a memeber of the Fall River City Council. He was, as well, a Director of the Stafford Mills; President of the Osborn Mills 1871-1918); Director of the Massasoit-Pocasset. National Bank (1854-1918); and President of the Citizens Savings Bank (1889-1918), having been a Director of the bank since 1862. Between 1884 and 1889, he was a Massachusetts State Legislator. He was nominated by friends and he refused to make any effort to get elected, so his friends campaigned for him and got him elected. He chaired the Committee on Banks. He secureed a $100,000.00 contract for the construction of the Superior Court Building on North Main Street. He was responsible for setting aside North Pond as a reservoir. He obtained the charter for the B.M.C. Durfee Bank. He often addressed his fellow legislators in verse. On June 8 1888, Milne was issued United States Passport $18898. He was described as 64 years of age 5 foot 5.5 inches tall, with blue eyes and a Roman nose, a high forehead, and had grey hair and a beard. He and his wife and daughter Hannah embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe lasting June through September of 1888, and covering almost every country in Europe and the British Isles. A second daughter, Jennie, was on tour in Europe at the same time and the family met at several places along the way. John Cruickshank invested in Fall River cotton mills, buying stock when the mills were under construction, or loaning money to the contractors and receiving stock in return. In his later years, the dividends from these stocks were so great tha he could not spend them as fast as they came in. He would often walk to his daughters' homes, all within several blocks of his own home, to dispense money and gifts (often jewelry). At age ninety, John Cruickshank Milne retired from the newpapaer business. On 10 October 1918, at a joint meeting of the directors of the Onborn Mills, Stafford Mills, Citizens Savings Bank and the Massasoit-Pocasset National Bank, he was treated to a testimoniall: "His tenacity of purpose and perseverance overcame many obstacles and these traits combined with conservative judgement made him a prudent and wise counselor. His wide reading and receptive mind gave him a vast fund of information, especialllly of historic matters and anecdote relating to this city. His ideals were of the highest. Justice, righteousness and humanity not only characterized his own life but were made prominent features in the newspaper which was his life's work." Fall River Vital Records Fall River News Fall River Daily News ( especially the articles on the occasion of his 88th and 90th birthdays and his obituary) Family Records We are thankful for all of the above information from Richard Greene Howland Knight III Herman Tripp--Remembering......
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Tripp Families of North America
d. 21 Jul 1916, Fall River, Bristol, Massachusetts, USA