Caleb Humiston (the name had been corrupted in the course of time) was of the third generation in descent from John Humbastone, the original settler in New Haven. He was born on the old homestead on the Quinnipiac river, inherited a portion of it, and lived there until he was thirty years old. Then he removed to Berkshire county, Massachusetts, settling down in 1816 on a farm he had purchased in Great Barrington. He was at this time a farmer in comfortable circumstances, but misfortune came upon him, his property passed from his control, and he was reduced to extremely narrow circumstances. When this misfortune came upon him he had already been burdened with a large family. Ten children had been born, one of whom died, but the others grew up and had to be provided for, the family consisting of seven boys and two girls. It is a noteworthy fact, that with the exception of the child who died in infancy, and Caleb Humeston himself, there has been no death in the family for over half a century, the youngest of them now living being thirty-eight years old. The family had been noted for its longevity, the average age of the ancestors of the present generation being between seventy and eighty years. R. F. Humiston, whose life we propose briefly to sketch, was born in Great Barrington, July 29th, 1821. The misfortune suffered by his father overtook him when R. F. was nine years old, and from that time each one of the children was capable to do something towards earning a living. Tools were provided for each, proper work marked out, and every one held responsible for the faithful performance of the allotted task. As long as could be afforded, the children were sent to the district school, but the grade of education provided was low, and the knowledge acquired meagre. In his ninth year, R. F. Humiston was taken from school and put to earn his living with a neighbor, with whom he remained a year, and was then placed to work in a cotton factory at Stockbridge, Mass. His duty in this establishment was to tend a spinning jenny, and the winter hours of labor were from six o'clock in the morning to eight at night, with half an hour's intermission for dinner. His health failing through the severity of this labor, his parents took him from this factory and placed him in another factory, for the manufacture of cotton batting and wadding, in West Stockbridge. Here he remained several months, but was obliged to leave on account of sickness.