Samuel A. Richardson, b. 20 Nov 1820

HULL, WAIT, STALLCUP, BLAKELY, REYNOLDS, HALL, SMITH, WRIGHT, WELLS, DESMOND, SPENCER, HAZELTON, STEWART

Posted By: Donna Moldt Walker (email)
Date: 2/21/2004 at 11:06:08

Samuel A. Richardson, of Fairfield Township, represents a goodly portion of its wealth and prosperity, being the owner of a fine estate, comprising 320 acres of land with first-class buildings and all modern improvements. He carries on general agriculture, making a specialty of live-stock, horses, cattle and swine. A man, enterprising and energetic, he is at once recognized as possessing more than ordinary ability, while his resolution and perseverance have overcome a host of obstacles before which many would have retreated in dismay. He came to this county during the period of its early settlement, and while watching its growth and development, has contributed in no small degree to bring it to its present condition. He has tilled a goodly portion of its soil, erected some of its most creditable buildings, and thus enhanced largely the value of its taxable property.

A native of Ulster County, N.Y., our subject was born near the town of Petersboro, Nov. 20, 1820, but two years later was taken by his parents to Keene, N.H. Later, however, they returned to New York State, settling near Woodstock, Ulster County, and from there subsequently removed to Sand Lake, ten miles east of the city of Troy. They lived there four years, then returned to Woodstock, where they sojourned two years, and next going into the Dominion of Canada, settled near Chatham, where they resided fourteen years. At the expiration of this time, they set out for Iowa, and located in Fairfield Township, this county, at a time when there were no settlers between Deep Creek and the present site of Maquoketa. The father put up the first house of logs, which was covered with clap-boards, and hung the door on wooden hinges. The little lumber which they obtained, had to be hauled a long distance, and then brought up the Maquoketa River in a canoe or dug-out. They took up a claim of 160 acres of prairie land, to which our subject added later, making his present fine farm a half-section in extent. Mr. Richardson assisted in the organization of the township, and was one of its first Trustees, which office he held three terms, and has been the incumbent of all the other township offices. Both he and his sons politically, are stanch supporters of the Democratic party, and uniformly perform their duty at the polls.

Mr. Richardson, while a resident of Canada, came to Michigan, and was married Jan. 11, 1844, to Miss Lois G. Hull, daughter of Benjamin F. & Lucy (Wait) Hull, of Franklin County, Vt., the father being a farmer by occupation. The mother died in 1840, and the father subsequently, in 1844, came to Iowa, locating in Fairfield Township, this county, where his death took place in 1862. His family consisted of the children who are recorded as follows: Milton C. married Nancy Stallcup, of Clinton County, and is now deceased; Mr. S. resides at Center Point, retired from active labor. They were the parents of eight children. Benjamin F. married Hannah M. Blakely, of Union Center, lives on a farm, and has four children; Sophia became the wife of Sapha Reynolds, of Clinton County, and is the mother of four children; Helen H. married Timothy Hall, became the mother of four children, and is now deceased; Mary and her husband, Amos B. Smith, of Chelsea, are deceased; they had eight children. The wife of our subject, died Aug. 10, 1882.

To Mr. and Mrs. Richardson, there were born four children, of whom only two are living, William E., and Albert W. The first mentioned married Miss Clara Bell Blakely, of Union Center, and occupies himself as a farmer and stock-raiser in Fairfield Township. He has two children, Helen S. and Mary E. His is a prominent and highly respected citizen, and bids fair to follow in the footsteps of his honored father. Albert W. was first married to Miss Helen J. Blakely, of Union Center, who died leaving one child, Kathie, now deceased. He was then married to Agnes E. Blakely; they have once child, Ruby Marie, and live at the homestead. This son has been the Assessor of his township for the last ten years, and is now Justice of the Peace.

The father of our subject, Asa Richardson, was a native of New York State, and married Miss Elizabeth Wright, a native of Vermont, and whose parents were from New York State. The paternal grandparents of our subject emigrated from Connecticut to New York, at a very early day. To Asa and Elizabeth Richardson, there were born the children recorded as follows: Mary J. became the wife of William Wells, who is now deceased, and she at present is a resident of Portland, Oregon; they had no children. Asa K. married Martha Desmond, of Canada West, and is operating a ranch in Washington; they had eight children, only five of whom are living. Amba married John Spencer, a ranchman of Oregion, and to them were born three children; Sarah is the wife of Mr. Hazelton, a hardware merchant of Portland, Oregon; Daniel is unmarried, and lives in Washington; Nathan C. married Eliza Stewart, of Ireland, and they are deceased; their only child, Archibald, is a farmer by occupation, and lives in Adair County, this State. The father of our subject was a glass-blower by trade, which he followed through life, and died at Sand Lake, N.Y. The mother later came with her children to this county, and died at the home of her son, Nathan, in 1872, at the age of seventy-four years. The old dinner table of home manufacture, and which the family used during the first years of their residence in this county, is still preserved as a relic of the past, and it is to be hoped will be carefully treasured for generations to come.

("Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson County, Iowa", originally published in 1889, by the Chapman Brothers, of Chicago, Illinois)