Righter Family History, Roxbury Township, New Jersey

History of the RIGHTER FAMILY
Succasunna, Roxbury Township, New Jersey
as recorded in the Lewis Company Biographies of 1914

That farming in Morris county may be made a pleasant and profitable industry has been proved in the most substantial manner by Cyrus H. RIGHTER, whose farm and dairy are situated in Roxbury township, one mile south of Succasunna, where on a highly improved farm of 135 acres, Mr. RIGHTER conducts a model establishment, and one that has paid good profits for many years under his management.

Mr. RIGHTER, who belongs to one of the old families of the county, devoted the younger years of his life to commerce, but about thirty years ago found his true vocation. To furnish food to the public, and thereby prosper in the same manner as a merchant or manufacturer is probably the most satisfactory occupation to which men may apply their energies, and Mr. RIGHTER deserves as much credit as any citizen in Morris county for what he has accomplished in this direction.

Cyrus H. RIGHTER was born March 3, 1850, a son of Cyrus H. and Elizabeth (JOHNSON) RIGHTER. His parents long resided at Parsippany in Morris county, and in Hanover township, where the father was the proprietor of the RIGHTER Hotel for more than forty years. That hotel was built by Grandfather RIGHTER, who conducted it for some time and died in the hotel. Cyrus H. RIGHTER Sr. died at Parsippany in 1875, at the age of sixty-five years. Elizabeth JOHNSON, his wife, was the daughter of Thomas JOHNSON. Her death occurred in 1880 at the age of Seventy. In the family of the parents were four sons and one daughter, mentioned briefly as follows: 1. Orlando F., died at Morristown as a result of an operation for the amputation of a leg. 2. Johnson Isaac, who went to California, at the age of nineteen, became a wealthy landholder and ranchman, owning a tract of two thousand acres in the Livermore Valley of Alameda county; he was a prominent stock raiser, and in 1908 returned to New Jersey to visit his brother Cyrus and other relatives; his death occurred as the result of an effort to lead a pair of spirited horses. 3. Augusta, became the wife of S. S. LYON, a prominent merchant of Boonton, who was prominent in politics as well as in business, was twice appointed consul general abroad, representing our government in foreign countries for a number of years, and dying while still in the service; he was an able speaker, and a man of exceptional worth and ability; his wife is also now deceased. 4. Cyrus H., mentioned below. 5. William, remained on the homestead, and the exact manner of his death is unknown, since his body was found in a wagon.

Cyrus H. RIGHTER, the fourth child in the family of his parents, and the only one now living, was brought up in his native locality, and for three years attended the boarding school at Mt. Retirement. For two years he was a bookkeeper at LATHROP’s Iron Works at Boonton, and for four years was in the store of F. F. RYAN at Boonton. About that time his father was taken ill, and he returned home to manage the hotel for three years. His next move was into Rockaway Valley, where he conducted a farm and mill for four years. After that he purchased the farm on which he still resides near Succasunna. This purchase was made in 1881, and from the George T. COBBS estate of Morristown. Originally the farm comprised seventy-six acres, and Mr. RIGHTER has since increased his holdings there until he now has 135 acres of highly improved and valuable farm lands. During the first year of his residence he conducted a truck farm, and now for thirty-two years he has conducted a high-class dairy and has sold his products from local delivery wagons. His herd runs from forty to sixty head of cows, all of the better grade. It is in every respect a modern and sanitary dairy. The barns are as clean and wholesome as the average home, care and cleanliness being mottoes on the RIGHTER place. There is a complete drainage system, and cement floors aid in the almost perfect sanitary condition. Besides his dairy barn, other important features of the RIGHTER farm are the meadows for the production of hay and the potato fields, these being practically the only farm crops with the exception of a small area devoted to truck patches. Probably few farmers in Morris county are so successful as hay producers, since Mr. RIGHTER cuts as high as three and a half tons of hay to the acre, and each year puts up about 125 tons. He also sells as much as 1800 bushels of potatoes. The reason of his success is that he is a business man on a farm, and everything is done systematically and efficiently. In the basement of his home he has an engine for the pumping of water to every room, and his dwelling is comparable in comfort to almost any city home.

On November 20, 1873, Mr. RIGHTER married Virginia DIXON, daughter of Cyrus and Elizabeth DIXON, of Rockaway Valley. She is one of two children born to her parents, and her brother, Cyrus Byron DIXON, lives on the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. RIGHTER are the parents of three children, namely: Nellie Elizabeth, wife of Thomas FITZHERBERT, who is a deputy United States collector or revenues, located at Douglas, Arizona, on the borderland between the United States and Mexico; Mr. and Mrs. FITZHERBERT are the parents of two daughters; Nellie Virginia, named for both her mother and her grandmother, and aged fourteen; Hazel FITZHERBERT, aged eleven. Cyrus Dixon RIGHTER and Harry H. RIGHTER, the two sons of Mr. and Mrs. RIGHTER, are at home and assisting their parents in conducting the farm and dairy. They are substantial young men of the township and county and both are unmarried. To them is due much credit for the able manner in which the RIGHTER farm is conducted.

Source: History of Morris County New Jersey, Lewis Publishing Co., 1914