Richards, Samuel 1818-1905

RICHARDS, BROWN

Posted By: Barbara Hug (email)
Date: 11/27/2004 at 18:36:30

Samuel S. Richards, another old resident of Newton died this afternoon at 2:30. No arrangements have as yet been made for the funeral. Mr. Richards was up and about the lawn at his home yesterday. Today when he seemed to be failing rapidly Dr. Smead was summoned but before he could reach the house from his office Mr. Richards died. Presumably of heart failure. ~ The Newton Daily News, Wednesday, July 19, 1905, Page 1, Column 5

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Samuel Richards was born August 20, 1818, on a farm in Stark County, Ohio. He was one of a family of fourteen children. At the age of eighteen he located in Waynesburg, Ohio, where he married Kinzia Brown, a daughter of Rev. Jehu Brown, a Baptist minister. Mrs. Richards died in Newton September 28, 1875. To this union were born six children, two of whom survive, Will E., who is now in the engineering department of the Toledo Railway and Light Co., of Toledo, Ohio, and the daughter, Mary, who has always remained at home.

On July 11, 1856, Mr. Richards was baptized by B. K. Dibble and united with the Church of Christ at Waynesburg, where he served as an elder in the church for five years until he located in the oil fields in West Virginia. While there he organized a Sunday school, which afterwards developed into a good strong church. In 1867 the family moved back to Waynesburg and two years later came to Newton where Mr. Richards was elected an elder of the church for eight years. The church had no house of worship and Mr. Richards gave a large subscription and was largely instrumental in building the first church home.

In 1894, when he went west, Mr. Richards found a church sadly in need of a home and in his characteristic way went at it to see that they had one, and accomplished his object before returning to Newton.

In his business Mr. Richards was fairly successful. He was what is considered a careful businessman. Clear headed, methodical and always had the highest regard for his word in any transaction. His bond was as good as good as could be found his word was as good as his bond. Mr. Richards always remembered what he said he would or wound not do in any transaction, which made it a pleasure to do business with him.

The spring after coming to Newton Mr. Richards built a planing mill on the ground back of the Mann building, where Rouze’s paint and wallpaper store now is and it was there that he lost part of his right hand. He sold out the planing mill and in 1871 built a gristmill on the corner of Spring and South Streets. The firm name was Richards & Sons. Mr. Richards was a silent partner, the boys having full charge. Albert died in 1888 and Adrian ran it until he died in 1901, when Mr. Richards took charge for a year when he sold it to A. H. Bergman.

In the 70’s Mr. Richards was interested in the old Ft. Madison and Pacific Railroad and owned some of the bonds; but the road was never built.

In the 80’s he operated the Thomas Hansen Brick Yard for a time beside a couple of farms in the vicinity. Two years ago, when he was in Toledo, O., he built two houses, one of which he gave to his son, Will, and kept the other. He was naturally interested in the work and was on the ground every day. The property was a half-mile from where his son lived and he persisted in walking the distance instead of using the streetcars. Being on his feet so much and an old man, it was too much and his feet became sore and the result was that last year, when he was in Toledo again, on September 12, he had his right leg amputated just below the knee, and soon after began to use a cork foot.

He had been troubled with indigestion for a number of years and it is supposed that heart failure resulted, which was the cause of his death. He had been feeling very well and neither he nor his daughter had a thought that the end was near. The end was peaceful and quiet like falling asleep. He was nervous and uneasy just before and walked out of one door around the house and coming in at another door went and dropped down on the couch as he was accustomed to do, and without a word or sound his soul passed on to that great beyond.

Mr. Richards was benevolent, always giving largely to his church and the mission work in which it was interested. When the site for the post office was purchased he was one of the men who gave. He also gave $1,000 to the library to be used in the purchase of books. ~ The Newton Daily News, Monday, July 24, 1905, Page 1, Column 3