Robert Milton Ritcey, Sr. was born on March 26, 1923 in Lower East Petpeswick, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, and was baptized in July 1924. In 1925, his parents, James Henry Ritcey (1902-1974) and Nora Catherine (Faulkner) Ritcey (1902-2000), emigrated to the United States in search of better economic opportunities, and left him in the care of his grandmother, Mary (Newman) Bayer (1874-1963) and her husband Alexander Stewart (1874-1938) in Lower East Petpeswick. In 1938, at the age of 15, Ritcey moved to Norwood, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, to live with his parents. In 1948, Ritcey married Jean Campbell Robertson (b. 1922), and had two children with her, Robert Milton Jr. and Donna Carol.
Ritcey graduated from Norwood High School in 1940, and was trained as an electrician at the Wentworth Institute, Boston, Massachusetts from 1940 to 1942. He also studied at the Lincoln Technical Institute in Massachusetts. From 1942 to 1943, Ritcey was employed at the Wentworth Institute as an electrician, and also taught electricity and electrical fundamentals to United States naval personnel. In 1943, Ritcey joined the United States Army and served as a Sergeant and Chief Radar Operator in the 526th Anti Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion, in the American Theater of the Second World War. In 1946, Ritcey was honourably discharged from the Army and began working for Gove Electric, possibly in New Hampshire. In 1965 or before, he began working for Edward A. Sheehan & Sons, Inc. in Walpole, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, where he also lived. Ritcey retired in 1986.
Ritcey was greatly interested in his Nova Scotian roots and performed extensive genealogical research into his ancestry which he compiled along with a memoir entitled “The People”. He wrote a second memoir about growing up in East Petpeswick in the 1930s, entitled “The Place”, which is expected to be published by the Lake Charlotte Area Heritage Society in 2010. He also advocated for the preservation of Martinique Beach, near where he grew up in Lower East Petpeswick. Ritcey died in Walpole on October 31, 2007.
Eliza Ritchie was born in Halifax in 1856. She graduated from Dalhousie in 1887 with a Bachelor of Letters, and in 1889 was one of the first Canadian women to earn a PhD (Cornell). After further studies in Leipzig and Oxford, she taught school in New England from 1890-1900. Ritchie returned to Dalhousie in 1901 to teach philosophy. She was the first woman to sit on the Board of Governors (1919) and to be granted an honorary degree from Dalhousie (1927). She was a founding member of the Editorial Board of The Dalhousie Review and an occasional contributor. Ritchie was an active suffragist and leader in the feminist movement in Halifax. An advocate for female students, she was a driving force behind the building of Sherriff Hall in 1922. Eliza Ritchie Hall, built in 1886, was named in her honour. She died in Halifax in 1933.
Elizabeth Stewart Ritchie was born in 1941, the daughter of Hon. Roland Ritchie, former Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, and Mary (Wylde). She was descended from a long line of prominent Nova Scotia families, including the Ritchies, Almons, Stewarts and Byles. She was educated at McGill University and Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and completed a doctorate at the Sorbonne in Paris and did post-graduate studies there. She was an art history professor for many years at the University of Ottawa. She died on 9 December 2001 at the age of 60.
Gertrude Agnes Ritchie was born 5 October 1903 at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, the daughter of Charles A. and Lena Ritchie. She completed her schooling in Annapolis. During World War II she served in the RCAF as Equipment Assistant, Administration and Filter Operations from April 1942 until her discharge in January 1945. After the war Ritchie worked as a clerk and buyer for Norris Drug Co., Boston, Mass; she was a clerk and buyer for Price and Company in Annapolis Royal. She managed Boscowan Manor in Lunenburg for 2 summers and Dana Sweeny Antiques Shop in Bedford for 12 summers. In 1959, she joined Northern Affairs and National Resources (now Parks Canada) at Fort Anne National Historic Park doing office work and guiding. In 1962, she was classified as Assistant Technician 2, then Officer-in-Charge during 1964-65 at Fort Anne. She became Acting Superintendent at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck in March 1965; her appointment as Superintendent became permanent in 1966. She retired circa 1968. Ritchie was active in various groups and organizations including United Church Women, Order of Eastern Star, Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, Royal Canadian Legion where she became the first woman to hold an executive position, RCAF Association, Annapolis District Drama Group, Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, Annapolis Royal Historical Associaton and Heritage Trust. She held offices in most of these organizations. Ritchie died at Annapolis Royal 9 June 1998.
Norman J. Ritchie was born August 12, 1896 as the son of Henry Ritchie of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. He studied science at Dalhousie University from 1915 to 1916, when he interrupted his education to enlist in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force serving with the No. 2 Section of the 4th Division Ammunition Column. He returned to Dalhousie to study engineering in 1919 and in 1921 may have moved to Boston Tech to complete his education. He was employed by Robb Engineering ca. 1967-68. Ritchie passed away in Amherst, Nova Scotia in 1976.