Bob Rivers House
Jim Arch Rivers House
Miller-Rivers-Caulder Funeral Home
Painting by Marjorie Werre Gaskins
Miller-Rivers-Caulder Funeral Home Office
I hated to see a book on the history of Chesterfield being printed without some mention of the Rivers family. There are many Riverses in Chesterfield County, and most of them are descendants of William or Isaac Rivers. It is said that they came from England, along with three other brothers, and landed on James Island in Charleston Harbor. Two of the brothers remained in Charleston, but Dudley and Isaac went to Virginia, and later Isaac returned to this area, settling west of Chesterfield. William and his wife, Temple Dempsey, came up the Pee Dee River to Cheraw and settled about east or northeast of the village of Chesterfield. He was a farmer. According to Snowden’s History of South Carolina which was published in 1920, William joined in the struggle for independence and served with the rank of lieutenant in Marion’s Army in South Carolina. William and Temple had at least four children: Mark, William, Jr., Frederick, and Nancy. Since I am descended from Frederick, I will tell about that lineage. Frederick was born near Chesterfield about 1739 and married Sarah Purvis in 1762. In 1782, he enlisted in Cheraw in Marion’s Brigade, Benton’s Regiment, where he served as a private. According to the records of a cousin, there is on record in the State Historical Commission, Columbia, SC, a receipt signed by Frederick Rivers for services rendered in the Revolution which reads: “Book N -Issued the 19th of April, 1785, to Mr. Fredk. Rivers for two pounds eleven shillings and five pence sterling for 36 days duty in the militia in 1782 as per acct. and Nat. No 126068”. Also in the Charleston Year Book of that time is found Frederick’s signature. He surrendered at Charleston and was a prisoner for some time. Tradition says that he was treated well while in prison because a British officer was in love with a cousin of Frederick’s. After the war he returned to Chesterfield where he farmed and raised a family. He had received land grants dated 1784-7 for 200 acres, 1000 acres, and 127 acres. This property was located on Abrams Creek. Frederick and Sarah had three children that we know of: William, Frederick, Jr., and Sarah. Frederick, Jr. was born Nov. 3, 1779 and died May 31, 1860. He was married to Siddie Boatwright who was born January, 1786, and died July 3, 1861. He and Siddie had nine children: William, Sarah, David, Lewis, Eliza, Siddie, Harriet, Frederick, and Calvin. Calvin was born Jan. 8, 1832 and died Nov. 3, 1903. On Jan.5, 1860 he married Louise Gatewood from Anson County. She was born May 1,1842 and died Jan. 7,1909. Calvin and all four of his brothers served in the War of Northern Aggression. Calvin served in Battery Wagner, German Heavy Artillery, under Capt. F.W.Wagner. He first volunteered in 8th Regiment, SC. He was paroled in Macon, GA. Calvin and Lou had six children: Robert Edward, Ada, Frederick Franklin, Tom Ebbin, Charles Hampton, and James Calvin. Except for the period of the war, he gave his time to planting. He was a loyal Baptist and brought up his children to be staunch Baptists. Robert Edward Rivers was the oldest of the children. He acquired his literary education at Wake Forest College in North Carolina, and from early manhood he had large planting interests. With all his abilities he found an outlet in many other fields. He served as clerk of courts and auditor of Chesterfield County for many years. He was one of the organizers of the Bank of Chesterfield and was on its board of directors until 1913, when he became president. Quoting from an old newspaper article: “The building, occupied in part by the bank, is in its own property and the finest business block in town, having two stories and a basement, and solidly constructed, the front and sides being faced with a fine quality of pressed brick.” R. E. Rivers was also president of the Bank of Ruby and Mt. Croghan, president of the Citizens Bank of Cheraw, and president of the Chesterfield Mercantile, besides having large property interests in the area. According to Snowden’s History of South Carolina, Mr. Rivers furnished employment to about two hundred and fifty people who lived as tenants on his plantation of 1,800 acres. I have been told that when the fertilizer for the Rivers Farm arrived in McFarland, it was like having a parade because fourteen two-horse wagons were sent to pick it up from the train station! Mr. Rivers also owned considerable real estate in the Village of Chesterfield, including the Chesterfield Warehouse Company. He was affiliated with the Woodmen of the World and was active in the Baptist Church, being church clerk and moderator of his district. He was also a big financial supporter of Chesterfield Baptist Church. He was a trustee of Coker College from the time of its founding in 1908. In the early 1900s in the Village of Chesterfield, R. E. Rivers bought a four-room house with a kitchen in the back yard. He also bought quite a few acres around it. Mr. Rivers had the roof raised on the house to make it two stories. Other rooms were added, and the kitchen was connected to the house. Porches were added all around. He had loved the magnolias that grew at Wake Forest, so he planted many in his yard. On March 13, 1901, he married Flora McRae at her home, which was in Chesterfield County but near McFarland, NC. They had seven children: Flora Belle, John Robert, Charles Vogal, Mary Katherine (Kate), Sarah Louise (died at 4 years of age), Ada Lee, and James Archibald (Jim Arch). All these children were born and reared in this house. After Mr. Rivers died in October, 1933, Mrs. Rivers continued to live in the house and manage the farms, of which some had been sold by then. Mrs. Rivers never learned to drive a car and would visit the farms in a horse-drawn buggy which the grandchildren loved to ride in. After Mrs. Rivers's death in 1950, Jim Arch and his wife lived in the house for quite a number of years. They sold it to Miller-Rivers-Caulder Funeral Home owners who, over the years, have remodeled and added to the original house. If that house could talk, what tales it could tell!
Katherine Ward Rivers Braswell: My Aunt Ada Lee Rivers Spivey told me that Uncle Steve Chapman was in the funeral home business with Rudolph Hursey at one time.
James W. Jenkins: The building behind the funeral home (third photo) was built by Mr. Avery Mangum of Pageland and served as the home of Jim Arch and Lillian Davis Rivers. Mr. Rivers built and operated the first motel in Chesterfield. Mrs. Rivers was the Home Demonstration Agent for a number of years. Today the home serves as the office for Miller-Rivers-Caulder Funeral Home.
I found it interesting to learn the number of persons who served as funeral directors over the years. Not all funeral directors were licensed embalmers. Several directors operated under the license of neighboring funeral homes or under the license of a friend who was a licensed embalmer. Perhaps some readers can provide additional information about those who served as funeral directors. While I was gathering information for this collection, there were several references to funeral directors. Barbara Watson Eddins noted that her uncle, Boyce Edgar Davis, was operating a funeral home on Main Street at the time of his death. Dr. William L. Perry recalled that Bill Redfearn was sent to embalming school because the family furniture store sold caskets at the time. The funeral business was not as regulated in the early part of the century as it is today. The one regulation that was in effect at that time was that only a licensed embalmer could carry a body across the state line. My mother stated that Bill Redfearn was the funeral director for the funeral of her infant son (Billy) who died in 1938. Shirley Parker Campbell recalled that Charles Pusser was the funeral director for her father’s funeral in the early 40’s. Dr. William L. Perry also recalled that Rudolph Hursey was a corpsman in WWII; so his association with the funeral business must have started before WWII. More than one reference was made to a funeral home located at 157 Main Street (two-story building, site of first theater). Several references were made to Hursey-Gaskins Funeral Home (Rudolph Hursey and W. W. “Red” Gaskins). Hursey Funeral Home later operated from the old Craig Building on West Main Street in the early fifties. Rudolph Hursey owned the business, and Tom Miller worked there at the time. Miller-Rivers Funeral Home (Tom Miller and Don Rivers) followed Hursey Funeral Home and preceded the funeral home at the current location. Miller-Rivers-Caulder Funeral Home was established when Phillip and Yetive Caulder purchased the business in 1988.
James W. Jenkins: For more detail on Miller-Rivers-Caulder Funeral Home, check their web site.