Honoring a Legacy of Service, Leadership, and Generosity

Nancy B. Ratchford and William S. Ratchford II have connections with the Maryland School for
the Blind that go back for many, many years.

Nancy taught at the Maryland School for the Blind for three years, from 1957 to 1960. She had
graduated from Westhampton College at the University of Richmond with a degree majoring in
education. Nancy and William had met at the University of Richmond and got married after Nancy
received her degree in teaching in 1957. She applied for a position at the Maryland School for the
Blmd and was hired. When Nancy and William moved to Prince George’s County in 1960, Nancy taught
students in the county schools who had vision problems. It was a new program in the county and she
went to working in a number of schools to assist these students.

I have memories of the time when my parents would take me to Maryland School for the Blind
when I was only two and my parents would take me to the school to have Sunday meals with the Bledsoe
Family. John Bledsoe and Edna Bledsoe raised my Mother, Margaret Collins, after her parents died
during the flu epidemic of the First World War. Margaret, who was about 15, was going to be moved to
West Virginia and she did not want to go there. The Bledsoe family was living m the large home across
the Newcomer Hall and the four cottages. There were four children, three boys and one girl. In that era
MSB was in a very rural area and there was little for the children to do, The Bledsoes, who had been
friends with the Collins family, said they would like to raise Margaret and she moved to the Bledsoe’s
home and lived m a room with their daughter Virginia Bledsoe. Sallie Mae Bledsoe was the school nurse
and was part of the Bledsoe family. She would also come to the Sunday meals. The Bledsoes had an
excellent cook, Author Hall, an African American, who has been a student at the Maryland School for the
Blind Deaf, which at that time was located on the property of the Maryland School for the Blind.
Because of his hearing problems I learned about the sign language. I also enjoyed going to the third floor
of the Bledsoes home and watching the men play pool after the Sunday dinner. I was also fortunate
during dinner to sit to left of Aunt Edna who would see that I was served afiter she was served and then
the service would began on her right side, around the table for the rest of the family.

My Father, William S. Ratchford, was the son of a Presbyterian Minister who worked in many
churches in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. He attended Hamden Sydney College and
moved to Baltimore City in the early 1920s. While in Baltimore City he met Margaret Collins and they
married in 1927. In 1928 their had their first child, Harriet. William S. Ratchford was the manager of the
development of Gibson Island, an area in Anne Arundel County between tlie Chesapeake Bay and the
Magothy River. When the great depression occurred m the late 1920’s, William Ratohford lost his job
and the Ratchfords had to move to Baltknore City. They lived m a number of places m the northern part
of Baltimore City and m 1932 I was was born. My Father continued to work in various jobs and in the
1937, John Bledsoe (MSB) was able to get William Sr. a job with the Maryland Workshop for the Blind.
In 1939 William Sr. took the position as Director of the Maryland Workshop for the Blind, a position he
held for 28 years until he retired in 1966. Today the Maryland Workshop for the Blind is known as Blind
Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) and is located in the southeastern part of Baltimore City. As
a teenager, I worked for my father one summer delivering brooms made by the workshop when one of
his delivery persons was injured in an accident and not available for work

THOMAS JEFFERSON COLLINS
EMMA VIRGINIA PATTERSON COLLINS

Thomas Jefferson Collins was born August 19, 1840. His family lived in the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia. He was one of eight children. A younger brother, George Washington Collins, married
Louise Dickinson. One of their children, Oscar Mataube Collins, married Carrie Williams. They had
four children. One of their children, Mary Margaret Collins, married William S. Ratchford in 1927
Thomas Jefferson Collins was in the Confederate Calvary during the Civil War. He participated
in the several battles, some of which occurred in the Shenandoah Valley. After the Civil War ended,

Thomas Jefferson Collins moved to Baltimore City. He met Emma Virginia Patterson who was born in
Baltimore City on July 24, 1848. The two married December 29, 1868. They had no children. However,
he and Emma Collins had a major role in raising Edna Patterson Seal, the daughter of Emma’s sister,
Fannie Patterson Seal, who was in a mental institution.

Edna Patterson Seal married John Francis Bledsoe who became Superintendent of the Maryland
School for the Blind in 1906. Jeff (as Thomas Jefferson Collins was known) and Emma Collins took an
interest in the Maryland School for the Blind. In 1907 JeffCollins negotiated the purchase of 100 acres
of property for the school. This would enable the facility to move to a new site in Baltimore County. By
1909 Newcomer Hall and four cottages for students were completed. In 1916 after the boundaries of
Baltimore City were expanded, almost all of the property of the Maryland School for the Blind was then
located in Baltimore City. In 1924 blind students at the school began attending high school at Baltimore
City College and Eastern High School. Maryland was the first state in the country where blind students
began attending public schools. It is interesting to note that the site of the Maryland School for the Blind
in Baltimore City subsequently became the site of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (William S.
Ratchford II attended) and is currently the location of the headquarters of the Baltimore City School
System.

John and Edna Bledsoe raised four children in their new home at the Maryland School for the
Blind.

Thomas Jefferson Collins died on February 2, 1912. Emma Virginia Patterson Collins continued
an active role with the Bledsoe family and enjoyed going to the Bledsoe summer home on the Magothy
River. She died at the home on the Magothy River on August 22, 1925

Through Emma and Jeff Collins, John and Edna Bledsoe met family of Jeff’s brother George
Washington Collins. The couple, Oscar Mataube Collins and Carrie Williams Collins, had four children
and lived in Mount Sidney near Staunton, Virginia. The four children were George Preston Collins, Mary
Margaret Collins, William Prince Collins, and Edith Forest Collins. In 1917 the Collins family moved to
828 North Augusta Street in Stanton, Virginia. Carrie Williams Collins died during the flu epidemic at a
hospital in Staunton Virginia on December 13, 1919. Oscar Mataube Collins died on August 13, 1920.

The four children were sent to relatives in West Virginia. Emma Collins heard that Margaret
Collins was unhappy in West Virginia and talked about it with John and Edna Bledsoe. The Bledsoe’s
said that Margaret could live with them at the Maryland School for the Blind. At that time there were
four children in the Bledsoe family living at the school – George Krebs (from Edna’s first marriage), John
F. Bledsoe Jr., Virginia Bledsoe (a year younger than Margaret) and C. Warren Bledsoe who was 8 years
old.

Margaret Collins moved to the Maryland School for the Blind in 1921. She enjoyed living with
the Bledsoe children. The children particularly liked going to the home on the Magothy River in the
summer. She lived with the Bledsoe family until she married William S. Ratchford in 1927. With respect
to the other children, after marriage George Krebs lived in Baltimore City. John Francis Bledsoe Jr
became a pilot with American Airlines and moved to New York. Virginia Bledsoe married Page N.
Goffigan and moved to Norfolk, Virginia. C. Warren Bledsoe, married, lived in the Baltimore area, then
divorced and re-married and lived in the Washington area. Margaret and Warren were close friends and
kept in contact throughout their lives.

Secretary/Chest

Thomas Jefferson Collins was very skilled in making furniture. After moving to Baltimore he
made items for himself, members of his extended family and other people. He developed experience in
arts and sales and worked in the I\4oore’s Art Store on Baltimore Street.

The secretary was made by Thomas Jefferson Collins for John Francis Bledsoe who used it in his
home at the Maryland School for the Blind. When the Bledsoe’s leflt the school after his retirement, the
secretary was given to C. Warren Bledsoe. Warren Bledsoe gave the secretary to Nancy and Bill
Ratchford as a wedding gift in 1957. The dark spot on the edge of the secretaiy reflects a lighted cigar
being left there one time.

The chest with six drawers in the master bedroom was also made by Thomas Jefferson Collins.
Both of these items are at least 125 years old.

Memories

William S. Ratchfofd II (Billy Ratchford ) has fond memories of going to the Bledsoe’s home as
a young boy. On Sundays there was always an excellent dinner to enjoy. The Krebs, Ratchfords, Sallie
Mae Bledsoe (the school nurse who was John Francis Bledsoe’s niece), and Warren Bledsoe were always
there and on holidays the other children would return from New York and Norfolk with their families.

Billy usually set to right of Edna Bledsoe. She would always fill his plate before the food was served
around the large table in a clockwise order.
Billy Ratchford also has fond memories of going to the Bledsoe’s shore home on the Magothy
River. He enjoyed swimming, rowing a small boat, going out with a neighbor to go fishing and sailing in
a small sailboat with Warren Bledsoe.

Nancy Ratchford also has memories of going to the School Superintendent’s home when she
taught at the Maryland School for the Blind in 1 957-1960. Tt was a different era but still a veiy nice place
to attend events

Bill Ratchford is now a member of the Board of Directors for the Maryland School for the Blind.
He enjoys going to board meetings at the school and seeing the changes that have been made with the
construction of several new buildings. He also enjoys reflecting on memories he had as a young child
visiting the Maryland School for the Blind.

Thank You to Our Donors

The Maryland School for the Blind extends its heartfelt gratitude to the individuals, families, businesses, foundations, and community partners whose generosity made the William Ratchford Outdoor Learning Center possible.

Your support has created a welcoming outdoor space where students who are blind or low vision can learn, explore, connect, and grow. Your investment in this project honors the legacy of the Ratchford family while creating new opportunities for generations of students to come.

We are deeply grateful for your commitment to our mission and for helping make this vision a reality.