Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-07-20
Green wood.

Our neighborhood teemed with great families
then,
With large and small children, young women
and men,
And often 1t gives me a tremor of pain
That never on earth win meet them again.
That is one verse from The Old Home
stead, which was given away some twen-
ty years ago and is literally true. In
our early boyhood there were six large
families living in our school district,
and as many more living only few
miles away, with whom we became we'll
acquainted later on. But the Richard
son family only will be noticed this
week.
Bradbury Richardson moved from
New Gloucester into our school district
in the early forties, the family then con-
sisting of seven sons and one daughter,
who was the baby and pet Of the family
and whose name was Jane. The oldest
son. Isaac, came up about the same time
with his family, and after living while
in the house with his father he bought
and moved on to the George Berry farm.
Mr.. RICHARDSON had formerly learned
the art of brick making, and during the
summer of 1850 he hired the writer to
run his farm while he made and burned
a fine kiln of brick in company with an
other man at Hartford Center.
In process of time his family grew to
maturity, two of each sex, when the
daughters married and moved to the far
west. This caused the parents to be-
come disconnected, since they idolized
their children, the result being that he
sold his farm and made home in the
state of Washington. Subsequently his
wife died, causing him to return to his
native state where he married his second
called away by death few years later.
And now the American continent lies
between Isaac Richardson and his first
wife.
The second SOD, Joseph Richardson,
married Lydia, a twin daughter of Samp-
son Read. and settled in Glencoe, Mimi,
where his wife died several years ago,
but whether he is still living is uncer-
tain.
The third son. Gideon Richardson,
married and was doing business in Bos-
ton when last heard from.
Eliphlet Richardson, the fourth son,
married Massachusetts lady, and later
went to Minnesota and was killed in the
Indian massacre during the civil war.
Ebenezer Richardson, the fifth son,
went to Australia soon after the dis
covery of gold there, but whether he
ever returned or is now dead or still
living, we have no means of knowing.
The sixth son, Bradbury Richardson,
Jr., married Huldah, the other twin
daughter of Sampson Read, and was
living in Minnesota when his brother
was killed He and his family fed from
their home and saved their lives by SO
doing. They came and lived in Milton a
year or two, then returned to their
adopted state, where he died after be-
coming totally blind. When living here
their family consisted of a pair of twin
girls, some three years old.
The seventh son, Marquis Lafayette,
better known as Mark Richardson, will
be further noticed when there is more
time and space.
Jane Richardson, the eighth and last
of the family, as before mentioned, grew
up to become a pretty little miss, with
light complexion, blue eyes and brown,
curly hair. She went out west with
some of her brothers, and report says
lost his right arm in the civil war and is
now one of the leading business men of
Minnesota.
There is now thunder shower in
progress, but We are all glad to see it,
for although some hay is getting wet,
rain is needed more than sunshine.