Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

other art with gratifying success, is a
sculptor in New York City ; Ralph Child,
of whom extended mention follows, is the
third; Violet Leland, the elder daughter,
married Parish Watson, of New York
City; Malcolm Edwin, the youngest son,
has for some years been an officer of the
J. I. Case Plow Works, of Racine, Wisconsin;
Susan, the youngest daughter,
married C. P. Rogers, of Flat Rock, North
Carolina. The parents were for many
years devout and earnest members of the
Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Erskine
was an elder, and in which Mrs.
Erskine was a leader in the various social
and benevolent organizations.
(VII) Ralph Child Erskine, son of
Charles Edwin and Emma (Payne) Er-
skine, was born in Racine, Wisconsin,
November 10, 1880. He received his elementary
education in the public schools
of the place, then fast becoming a thriving
young city. As he grew to manhood,
he faced life with the assured confidence
of the youth with a record of honorable
achievement behind him. But he was
possessed of an aggressive spirit of his
own, not content to rest upon the dignity
of his forbears. As the field of higher
education opened before him, he left no
stone unturned that could yield him use-
ful material for the building of his career.
He prepared for college at St. Paul's
School, in Concord, New Hampshire, and
Lake Forest, (Illinois) Academy. Matriculating
at Williams College, he was
graduated with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts, in 1904. During all his school
life he was wise enough to keep a sane
balance between the active sports of the
campus and study. He found study no
grind. He was keenly interested in the
fine arts, and found most absorbing those
courses which disclosed the history of
civilization as interpreted in the things
which men have made, the inception and
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
267
slow, but wonderful, development of the
arts and industries.
Social by nature, and holding high
ideals of life, the welfare of the younger
lads appealed to him strongly, and after
his graduation he taught in a boy's school
in Hoosick, New York, for six years. But
his personal taste was the determining
factor in his choice of a life work. He
began, in 191 1, in Tryon, North Carolina,
the manufacture of period furniture, pay-
ing special attention to the Colonial
school of design. He searched New Eng-
land for the best products of old Colonial
handiwork, and used as models the finest
examples of American Windsors, fiddlebacks
and other distinctive designs. He
brought skilled artisans from Scotland,
and began the manufacture of copies of
these models, all work being done by hand
as it was in Colonial days. The business
soon gave promise of future success. But
his social responsibility toward those in
his employ was not forgotten. The educational
facilities of the South by no
means measured up to the standard which
he considered proper for the families of
his workmen, so in 1915 he brought the
manufacturing department of his business
North, locating in Stamford, Connecticut.
This venture has evoked a hearty response
from cultured people who have
been quick to avail themselves of the
opportunity of securing choice reproductions
of furniture, the originals of which
are now to be found almost exclusively in
the possession of museums and discrimi-
nating private collectors. At present
about one hundred and twenty-five skilled
workmen are employed in this industry.
The products now include many charm-
ing bedroom, breakfast-room, diningroom
and sun-room pieces, reproducing
some of the most exquisite designs of
Sheraton, the Adams Brothers, Chippen-
dale and Hepplewhite. The finishes in-