John F. Rickford was born in Germany April 9, 1836. He married Carolina Toma of Berlin, Germany who was born June 5, 1842. They came to America in 1881, settled at Casselton, North Dakota and moved to Neshiem Township in Nelson County in 1882. They lived there until 1888 and then moved to Superior, Wisconsin. In 1890 they came back to North Dakota and settled on the northeast quarter of Section 15 in Willow Township where they lived until their death.

John Rickford studied for the Lutheran ministry, but did not finish because he was called into the military service. He became a lay minister. Because there were no churches or ordained pastors around, he held services in the farm homes. He baptized many of the children in the neighborhood.

They had eleven children. Five of them were born in Germany. Three died in infancy. The eight who lived were:

Agnes,
Hedwig,
Helena,
Emma,
Anna,
Richard,
Ernest, and
Albert.

Agnes: Married August Herman Adrian.

Hedwig: Married James Gunning who lived at Cooperstown for a while. Hedwig became blind at the age of seven as a result of measles.

Helena: Married Jacob Messner who lived in Forde Township, Nelson County.

Emma: Married and moved to Wisconsin.

Anna: Married Arthur Know and lived in Willow Township. He died of pleurisy. Mrs. Oscar (Mabel) Stromme was a daughter. Anna later married Duncan McDonald, a baker, in Cooperstown in 1903.

Richard: Lived in Willow Township for a while.

Ernest: Married Pauline Rickford who was his cousin, once removed. They had two children: Hazel and Earl. Hazel married Mansfield Ronningen and lived in Binford. Earl married Helen Simonson. They lived on the farm this belonged to his father until 1975. Their son, William Earl, now has taken over the farm.

Albert: Married Eleanora Berg. She was known as Nora. They lived on the farm of John Rickford until he sold it to the Millers.

Mrs. John Rickford died in 1911. Mr. Rickford died in 1913.

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 Page 503