The Richardson Family: Peter B. Richardson of Elmore County, Alabama

School’s out for summer, and I wanted to devote a little bit more time to writing and blogging. This is the beginning of a continuing series on each of my ancestral families: what I know about them, and the current state of research.

The Richardson family, being my paternal line, is one that my dad and I have always had a natural interest in. It was the first family I ever remember looking into — going to the library with my dad to look at microfilm of the Cold Spring community in Elmore County, Alabama. I was fascinated to see these ancient pages, with names of people who were, by then, mostly all gone.

We had a Richardson family reunion when I was twelve years old. It was the only time I think I ever met my Granddaddy Robert’s older brother, Uncle Doug (John Douglas Richardson), who was twenty years older than Granddaddy and lived in Mobile, Alabama. I remember meeting his sister Aunt Nellie Lee (Nellie Lee Richardson Walker) several times, and meeting his sister Aunt Frances (Sarah Frances Richardson O’Neal) many times, since she, like my Granddaddy, lived in Montgomery, Alabama. A third sister, Aunt Louise (Catherine Louise Richardson Moseley), lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and I don’t think I ever met her. My Granddaddy, Robert Pierson Richardson, was the youngest of the family.

Robert Pierson Richardson (1926–2018)

My grandfather, Robert Pierson Richardson (1926–2018), was born and lived nearly his whole life in Montgomery, Alabama (all but a few years he spent in Mobile). He worked for over thirty years for the Greyhound Bus Line as a terminal agent, also serving a brief stint as a U.S. postal carrier. In the course of his career, he came into contact with such historical personages as Martin Luther King Jr. and Hank Williams, and was personally introduced to Helen Keller at the home of her niece. He was an avid photographer his whole life, taking many photos of friends and family and developing them in his own darkroom as a young man in the 1940s. He was a good, humble, patient, gentle, even-tempered man, who I never once saw angry. Granddaddy died in Montgomery, 17 Oct 2018, at the age of 92. At his funeral, people whose lives he’d touched forty and fifty years before while working at the bus station came to pay their respects.

Robert met my grandmother, Sarah Ruth Cook (1928–2020), through her sister Katheryn, who rode the bus daily into Montgomery from the family home in rural Autauga County. They were married in 1948, and raised three sons in Montgomery. They were married for seventy years. Sarah worked for years as a credit manager for the Belk department store and later for First Alabama Bank. She was a good, strong, loving, intelligent, industrious woman who loved her family and kept in touch with so many nieces and nephews and cousins. She worked hard to bring people together for the several family reunions we had over the years, and she brought the glue that allowed us to put together family history books on the Cook and Richardson families. Grandmother died 6 Jan 2020 in Montgomery at the age of 91.

John Thomas Richardson (1879–1961)

Robert and his siblings were the children of John Thomas Richardson and Daisy Douglas (Wilson) Richardson. John Thomas “Tom” Richardson was born 25 Mar 1879 in Deatsville, Elmore County, Alabama, where he grew up on a farm. In 1904, he moved to the city, Montgomery, about 17 miles away. He went to work as a railway mail clerk for the Railway Mail Service of the United States Post Office Department, a position he would hold for the next forty or so years. For that whole period, he rode the train with the mail on the route from Montgomery, Alabama, to Artesia, Mississippi. He died in Montgomery on Christmas Day, 25 Dec 1961, at the age of 82.

He met my great-grandmother, Daisy Douglas Wilson, shortly after moving to Montgomery, and they were married 6 Jan 1905. Daisy was born 31 Dec 1882 in Abbeville, Abbeville County, South Carolina, and raised in Abbeville. She came to live in Montgomery with her aunt and uncle, Katie (Coogler) Wardell and Julian Wardell, following the death of her mother, Willie (Coogler) Wilson, in 1897. The Coogler girls’ father, Thomas W. Coogler (1831–1877), was a conductor on the train, and both Willie and Katie met their husbands through his train contacts, Willie marrying Eugene L. Wilson, son of railroad engineer Leroy J. Wilson, and Katie marrying Julian Wardell, who was also an engineer. Julian’s work on the train brought him, and brought niece Daisy, to Montgomery. It also brought Daisy to meet a young railroad postal clerk named Tom Richardson. Daisy passed away in Montgomery, 24 Jul 1975, at the age of 92.

My dad and uncles tell the story that when Tom Richardson passed, at his graveside, a train slowly passed by the cemetery on a nearby track and gave a long, low, mournful blow on its horn, as if the train itself were paying its respects.

John and Daisy Richardson had five children:

1. John Douglas Richardson, born 20 Dec 1905 in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama; died 15 Oct 1992 in Mobile, Mobile County, Alabama; married Thelma Lucille Carmack, 1 Oct 1927 in Montgomery.
2. Sarah Frances Richardson, born 19 Feb 1909 in Montgomery; died 11 Sep 2002 in Montgomery; married (1) Thomas Eldridge Lowery, 4 Nov 1924 in Montgomery; (2) Alvin Sellers O’Neal, 29 Jul 1935, in Prattville, Autauga County, Alabama.
3. Catherine Louise Richardson, born 19 Jul 1914 in Montgomery; died 7 Dec 1999 in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida; married Joseph Vernon Moseley, 25 Dec 1932, in Montgomery.
4. Nellie Lee Richardson, born 13 Oct 1919 in Montgomery; died 13 Jan 2010 in Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina; married Milton Laslie Walker Sr., 4 Mar 1939, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia.
5. Robert Pierson Richardson, born 3 Jan 1926 in Montgomery; died 17 Oct 2018 in Montgomery; married Sarah Ruth Cook, 5 Sep 1948 in Montgomery.

John Calvin Richardson (1853–1930)

John Thomas Richardson was the son of John Calvin Richardson, who was born 17 Nov 1853 near Holtville in present-day Elmore County, Alabama, then Autauga. John Richardson married his wife, Sarah Emily Elizabeth Bowdoin, on 7 Dec 1876, at the home of her father near Deatsville. He died 13 Feb 1930 near Eclectic, Elmore County, Alabama, at the age of 76.

Sarah Emily Elizabeth Bowdoin was the daughter of Reddin Read Bowdoin and Ann Elizabeth Caroline Green. She was born 14 Oct 1853 near Deatsville and died 20 Jul 1912 near Deatsville at the age of 58. After their marriage, John and Emily Richardson lived near Deatsville, where they farmed and raised their four children:

1. Benjamin Read Richardson, born 26 Sep 1877 near Deatsville; died 2 Mar 1950 in Montgomery; married Nettie Cooper, 15 Dec 1915, Wetumpka.
2. John Thomas Richardson, born 25 Mar 1879 near Deatsville; died 25 Dec 1951 in Montgomery; married Daisy Douglas Wilson, 1 Jul 1905, Montgomery.
3. Magnolia Lee Richardson, born 30 May 1880 near Deatsville; died 10 Apr 1958 in Wetumpka; married Franklin Leroy Barker, 14 Aug 1918, Deatsville.
4. Sarah Olivia Richardson, born 16 May 1891 near Deatsville; died 26 Jul 1969 in Wetumpka; married (1) Sidney Levi Culver, 17 Oct 1909, Deatsville; (2) George Louis Sanders, 24 Feb 1945, Wetumpka.

They also raised two foster children, the orphan children of John’s sister Carrie Bell (Richardson) Norris:

1. Julius Andrew Norris, born 5 Aug 1897 in Elmore County; died 1 Feb 1988, Elmore County; married Jessie Pearl Lewis, 19 Jun 1927, Deatsville.
2. Lottie Bell Norris, born 1 Jun 1900 in Elmore County; died 27 Aug 1990 in Wetumpka; married Leslie Monroe Evans, 8 Dec 1918, Wetumpka.

Micajah Benjamin Richardson (1825–1914)

Micajah Benjamin Richardson, the father of John Calvin Richardson, was born 19 Apr 1825 in Autauga County, Alabama, and died 28 Feb 1914 near Deatsville at the age of 88. He married Mary L. James on 1 Apr 1850 in Autauga County. Micajah “Cage” Richardson served in Company K, 53rd Alabama Cavalry (Partisan Rangers) during the Civil War. He was a farmer near Holtville in Elmore County.

Mary L. (James) Richardson was born 10 Apr 1828 in Laurens District South Carolina, and died 11 Apr 1901 near Holtville at the age of 73. She was the daughter of Rev. Robert Buchan James and Alice Carr Word. Her father was the local Methodist Episcopal pastor.

Micajah and Mary Richardson had these children:

1. Margaret Frances Richardson, born about 1852 near Holtville; died 2 May 1921 in Phenix City, Lee County, Alabama; married Stephen Simmons White, 1 Dec 1878, near Holtville.
2. John Calvin Richardson, born 17 Nov 1853 near Wetumpka; died 13 Feb 1930 near Eclectic; married Sarah Emily Elizabeth Bowdoin, 7 Dec 1876, near Deatsville.
3. Mary Jane Richardson, born 25 Aug 1856 near Holtville; died 10 Feb 1919 near Simsboro, Lincoln Parish, Lousiana; married George Monroe Crosby, 16 Dec 1877, near Holtville.
4. Cordelia Richardson, born 1 Jan 1861, near Holtville; died 13 Dec 1926 in Montgomery; married David Thomas Allen, 4 Dec 1884, near Holtville.
5. Thomas Jefferson Richardson, born 14 Feb 1865 near Holtville; died 31 Jan 1948 in Prattville; married Amanda Curlee, 10 Feb 1895, near Holtville.
6. Lilla Amanda Richardson, born 25 Feb 1866 near Holtville; died 29 Sep 1946 in Arcadia, Bienville Parish, Louisiana; married Theophilus White Harris, 7 Dec 1884, near Holtville.
7. Lydia Richardson, born about 1869 near Holtville. Listed on 1870 census, but died before 1880.
8. Carrie Bell Richardson, born 1871 near Holtville; died 19 Oct 1907; married Frank Gilbert Norris, 28 Dec 1893, near Holtville.
9. Sallie Richardson, born about 1873. Listed on 1880 census, and died before 1990.

Curiously, the only photo I have of any of Micajah’s children besides my great-great-grandfather John, is this portrait of Carrie Bell (Richardson) Norris. She passed away of a sudden heart attack at only the age of 36, after her husband, Frank Gilbert Norris, had been killed in a workplace accident only a few years before. John and Emily Richardson took in two of their orphan children, with other relatives taking in the rest.

I know that photos of others of Micajah’s children must exist. If you are a descendant and have photos, I would love to talk to you!

Peter B. Richardson (c. 1775–1849)

Micajah Benjamin Richardson was the son of Peter B. Richardson, a pioneer settler of Alabama. Peter B. Richardson was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, about 1775. We know little of his early life, but by the mid-1810s, as a man in his forties, he came to Jasper County, Georgia, where he served as a private in the Fourth Regiment (Jones’), Georgia Militia, in the War of 1812, under Colonel William Jones and General John Floyd. In 1814, after the Creeks in Alabama had already been defeated, Peter marched with the militia down the Federal Road, passing through the land he would later come back and settle. The militia was on its way to support the garrison at Mobile, but missed most of the fighting. After the war, Peter returned to Jasper County, where on 19 Jun 1817, he married Delaney Delila Casey, then about fifteen years old. Shortly after their marriage, traveling with the Casey family, Peter again traveled the Federal Road to come to what was then Autauga County, Alabama, near the banks of the Coosa River.

Peter purchased two federal land patents, the first granted in 1825, near the Alabama River, between Washington and Independence in Autauga County. Evidently he did not like this land, and took a second series of grants beginning in 1835 along the banks of the Coosa River, just east of what is today Holtville in Elmore County. This is where the Richardson family would be centered for the next two centuries.

Delaney Delila Casey — we give her both names because “Delaney” appeared on the marriage license, while she is known as “Delila” on the 1850 and 1860 censuses — was born about 1802 in Morgan County, Georgia, the daughter of William Casey and Priscilla Wooten. Her father was a South Carolina Revolutionary patriot. He died at the home of Peter and Delila in 1848.

Peter B. Richardson died at his home near what is today Holtville, Elmore County, on 4 Mar 1849, at the age of 74. Peter and Delila had these children:

1. William Henry Richardson, born 28 Feb 1819 in Autauga County, Alabama; died 1 Jun 1890 near Holtville; married Rhoda Evans Moorefield, 1 Mar 1860, Montgomery County, Alabama.
2. Jesse Melvin Richardson, born 20 Apr 1823 in Autauga County; died 11 Jul 1900 in Hearne, Robertson County, Texas; married Mary Jane Whitehead, 3 Dec 1871, Montgomery County, Alabama.
3. Mary Louisa Richardson, born 1 Mar 1824 in Autauga County; died 1 Oct 1852 near Holtville; married John J. Whittemore, 5 Feb 1845, Autauga County.
4. Micajah Benjamin Richardson, born 19 Apr 1825 in Autauga County; died 25 Feb 1914 near Deatsville; married Mary L. James, 1 Apr 1850, Autauga County.
5. Elizabeth Richardson, born 10 May 1829 in Autauga County; died 16 Jun 1899 in Ramer, Montgomery County, Alabama; married (1) Cicero Weaver, 26 Jan 1859, Autauga County, (2) R. H. Gaston.
6. Sarah Ann Richardson, born about 1830 in Autauga County; died February 1883 at Elmore, Elmore County, Alabama; married Joseph R. Harrison, 7 Aug 1853, Autauga County.
7. Amy Pruitt Richardson, born about 1834 in Autauga County; died about 1868 in Pike County, Alabama; married Hooper Van Caffey, 22 Dec 1857, Autauga County.
8. George Washington Richardson, born 25 Oct 1836 Autauga County; died 17 Oct 1896, Elmore County; married Fannie Velma Jackson, 12 Feb 1870, Elmore County.

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The genealogical frontier

This is the limit of what we have known, for the past forever. Peter B. Richardson was born in North Carolina, according to the consistent statements of his children to the 1880 census. But for the longest, we could not identify any record of him prior to his arrival in Jasper County, Georgia, around 1815. There were people named Peter Richardson, Benjamin Richardson, and many others, who researchers tried over the years to connect our Peter to, without success.

DNA: To the North Carolina Piedmont

As will be the case in so many of these stories, DNA provided the necessary boost to get us to the next level. I was blessed to be able to conduct several DNA tests on my grandfather, Robert P. Richardson.

Y-DNA and the Lauderdale Richardsons

When we initially tested the Richardson Y-DNA years ago, it came back a match to several men descended from Richardsons who originated in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, in Moore County, and settled in Lauderdale County, Alabama, near Waterloo, around the time of statehood. These Richardsons were the children of “William” Stephen Richardson, who lived in Moore County and migrated to East Tennessee but not all the way to Alabama before his death. He is identified as “William Richardson” in an 1884 letter written by a grandson; but according to researcher Morgan Jackson, his name, as it appeared in records, was Stephen Richardson (born about 1753; died about 1822 in East Tennessee).

This was the first good lead we had. My grandfather and these men all matched at Y-DNA haplogroup R-FT266317. The estimated time to most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) was about 1750 CE, indicating what appears to be a fairly close relationship, given that our Peter was born about 1775. The common ancestor between them could possibly be Peter’s father or grandfather.

Autosomal DNA and Peter Richardson Sr.

After we tested my grandfather’s autosomal DNA at Ancestry, we found several matches to Richardsons in North Carolina that stood out to us, toward the strong end of his matches — the nearest matches we found, beyond our Alabama cousins, descended from North Carolina Richardsons:

• 66 cM matches to a descendant of Elizabeth Richardson Ingle (b. ca. 1755, d. 1859, Guilford County, North Carolina; married Barney Ingle).
• 53 cM and 51 cM matches to a descendant of Christian Richardson (b. ca. 1772, Guilford County, North Carolina, married Lovina Ingle), son of Peter Richardson (d. 1791, Randolph County, North Carolina).

Tantalizingly, here were matches to descendants of a man in North Carolina named Peter Richardson, who died in 1791 in Randolph County, a county adjacent to Moore County. Peter Richardson died intestate, with his son Christian Richardson and widow Elizabeth Richardson named as administrators. There was no mention of any other children in the estate records we could find.

These matches appeared to triangulate — and I found more, smaller matches descending from Christian Richardson or Elizabeth Richardson Ingle — and additionally, I mapped a large number of these matches to the same chromosome segment, a large, unusually old and unbroken chunk on Chromosome 9. I found other descendants of Peter B. Richardson also intersecting on the same segment.

This triangulation and intersection all but guaranteed that Peter B. Richardson and his descendants inherited DNA from a common ancestor with Christian Richardson. But was this necessarily the paternal line? There was one more test I needed to conduct.

Y-DNA and Peter Richardson Sr.

I happened to find a match, on this Chromosome 9 segment, who appeared to preserve the direct-male patrilineal line from Christian Richardson down to the present. The match was with a female, but she showed her dad as “private”, so I hoped he was living and available. I contacted the lady and asked if her dad would be willing to do a Y-DNA test for us. Both she and her dad graciously agreed. When the test came back, her dad was a close Big Y match to my Granddaddy.

This confirmed definitively that the Peter Richardson Sr. family was the same paternal line as Peter B. Richardson’s. In the meantime, further Big Y testing on the Lauderdale Richardsons had caused them to match with each other and divide off into their own separate subclade, leaving R.P.R., my Granddaddy, sitting at haplogroup R-FT266317 by himself. The new tester, H.R., did not have enough common variants with R.P.R. to create a new branch. This indicates that the common ancestor between R.P.R. and H.R. was probably very close generation-wise to the man — if not the man himself — who was the common ancestor between Peter Richardson Sr. and “William” Stephen Richardson of the Lauderdale Richardsons, estimated to have been born about 1750. If their common ancestor were that man, or only one or two generations past him, there might not have been enough time, in the time Christian Richardson and Peter B. Richardson shared the same line, to develop variants the descendants would share. This in turn indicates that the common ancestor between Christian Richardson and Peter B. Richardson was likely only one or so generation past them.

The pieces come together

Randolph County, North Carolina, it turns out, is a nexus of my ancestral families. My Bowdoins were there, my Richardsons, and also my Aldridges, my mom’s paternal line. I joined the Randolph County Genealogical Society late last year, and gained access to the archive of their Genealogical Journal, and immediately discovered the missing link for the Peter Richardson family:

This indenture made the 17th day of November in the year of our Lord 1802 between Christian Richardson Admr. of the estate of Petter Richardson, Decd., & Conrad Richardson, Petter Richardson, & John Richardson, Heirs of the estate, of Randolph County & State of N. Carolina of the one part, & John Brower of the County & State afsd. of the other part … for & in consideration of the sum of 456 dollars to them in hand paid … [they] have sold … a parcel of land lying in Randolph County & on the waters of Sandy Creek & Stinking Quarter & being a tract of land granted his Exly. Alexr. Martin unto the afsd. Petter Richardson Decd. …

This deed names the heirs of Peter Richardson — his sons, Christian, Conrad, Peter, and John. Is this Peter the same person as Peter B. Richardson? I think, given the above DNA evidence, it must be. Both Y-DNA and autosomal DNA — the large, intersecting matches — point strongly to Christian and Peter B. Richardson being siblings.

But a couple of observations. These names — especially Christian, Conrad, and Peter spelled as Petter — appear to follow a German Protestant influence. “Christian” as a given name was common among German Protestants, but quite uncommon among English speakers in the eighteenth century. Also — what I transcribed above, according to the formulaic language of estate documents, as “Decd.”, doesn’t actually look like “Decd.” It ends in a “t” and appears to have more than four letters. … Could it be “Verst.” — German for deceased?

Who was Elizabeth Richardson Ingle?

I mentioned above, but did not comment on, DNA matches that my grandfather Robert has with descendants of Elizabeth Richardson Ingle. This woman, according to her (modern) tombstone at the Old Brick Church in Guilford County, North Carolina, was born in 1755 and died in 1859, age 104. The 1860 census mortality schedule indeed lists Elizabeth Ingle dying at age 102. Records of the Brick Church — which contain what purports to be a record of tombstones that were extant in 1925, give:

• Barney Ingle, of Geo., a soldier of the Revolution born 175_. He lies south from the Reubin Ingle monument and just above the Mary Pryor grave stone.
• Elizabeth Richardson, wife of Barney Ingle, born 17__, age 104 years.
• Reubin Ingle of Barney and Elizabeth Richardson Ingle, killed by a Negro. Born Dec. 14, 1808, died Dec. 24, 1849.
• Milly Low of John and 1st wife Sally Low, of Daniel Low, wife of Reubin Ingle, born Feb. 25, 1814, died July 3, 1892.

This record — of which I have only a typescript — notes that this is “a record of graves in Brick Church Cemetery, marked and known June 20, 1925,” and that the whole book was “translated from the original German by Reverend D. I. Offman.” The Brick Church was a German Reformed community. It is unclear from the above transcript what text was original epitaph and what was scribal commentary. I italicized the text I suspect may have been commentary. Note the artifacts of the German genitive: Barney was “of George” rather than “son of George”; Reubin was “of Barney and Elizabeth”.

Elizabeth Richardson Ingle was the wife of Barney Ingle. It is unknown if he had a previous wife or not. Online family trees like FamilySearch and WikiTree, whose data are of variable and questionable quality, give his full name as “Barnet” or “Barnabas”. An 1831 estate record following his death does give his name as Barnet Ingle, but the will of his father, George Ingle, names his oldest son as Barnibas Ingle. Most records give his name as Barney. Trees consistently give Elizabeth’s maiden name as Richardson. There does not seem to be an extant marriage record.

So who was this Elizabeth, and how was she kin to Peter Richardson? My first, naïve assumption, upon finding the DNA matches to her descendants, was that she was a daughter of Peter Richardson Sr. and a sister to Christian and Peter B. That would explain why their DNA matches intersect on the same segment. Obviously, Elizabeth was much older than either Christian or Peter B., so I assumed the birthdate for her must be incorrect. I noted the birthdate of Reubin: Elizabeth would have been 53 years old when he was born, if both birthdates were correct, so surely her birthdate cannot be right.

But you know what else would explain the DNA matches intersecting? If she were their mother. We already know, from both estate records and earlier deeds, that the wife of Peter Richardson Sr. was named Elizabeth. Assuming the birthdate of 1755, Peter’s widow would only have been 36 years old when he passed. Here, we note that the oldest child of Barney and Elizabeth Ingle was not born until about 1791 — after Peter Richardson died.

Descendants of Christian Richardson, of Peter B. Richardson, and of Elizabeth Richardson Ingle, would all inherit the same DNA segments if both Christian and Peter B. inherited those segments from their mother, Elizabeth, and if she passed down those same segments to her other children. That would mean that the segments were not ultimately Richardson in ancestry, but belonged to Elizabeth’s family of origin. Finding that family in the DNA would confirm this.

I suppose we can chalk up the fact that she apparently bore a child at age 53 to the hardiness of stout German pioneer women. Because Elizabeth was definitely German.

Staley

I have not yet completely confirmed her identity in records, but I have amply found the family I was looking for in the DNA: the Staley family, a large German family in the area of northern Randolph County and namesake of a town there.

92 cM	Joseph Staley (?) (b. 1716 De.) > Jacob Staley (b. 1740 De.) > Frederick Staley (b. 1775 N.C.)
72 cM	Joseph Staley (?) (b. 1716 De.) > Christian Staley (b. 1752) (?) > Jacob Staley (b. 1799 Ky.)
44 cM	Joseph Staley (?) (b. 1716 De.) > ??? > Martin Staley (b. 1813 N.C., went to Ark.) > Jacob Staley (b. 1835 N.C.)
42 cM	Joseph Staley (?) (b. 1716 De.) > Jacob Staley (b. 1740 De.) > Mary Staley (b. 1781 N.C.)
39 cM	Joseph Staley (?) (b. 1716 De.) > Conrad Staley (b. 1736 De.) > Joseph Staley (b. 1780 N.C.)
37 cM	Joseph Staley (?) (b. 1716 De.) > Martin Staley (b. 1747 De.) > John Staley (b. 1772 N.C.)
35 cN	Joseph Staley (?) (b. 1716 De.) > Martin Staley (b. 1747 De.) > Abram Staley (b. 1787 N.C.)

This is only a sampling, the strongest of the many Staley matches we have discovered. The matches triangulate clearly to each other, and are shared by descendants of Peter Richardson and his wife Elizabeth. Most of them descend from the Staley family of Randolph County, North Carolina. I have also found several matches, clustered with these, with the surname Conrad, indicating that perhaps this was a family name that links into the Staley family a generation or two above.

I have mapped several of them to the same Chromosome 9 segment as the rest of the Elizabeth Richardson Ingle matches. The fact that descendants of Elizabeth Richardson, wife of Peter Richardson, and of Elizabeth Richardson Ingle, wife of Barney Ingle — now believed to be the same person — received a segment of DNA that was also received by descendants of the Staley family, indicates that Elizabeth also received that DNA from the Staley family.

Note the names: Conrad, Christian, and there is a Petter Staley too in the records. These are the same names Elizabeth gave her own children. For the 1791 administrator’s bond for the appointment of Christian Richardson and Elizabeth Richardson as administrators of Peter Richardson’s estate, Conrad Staley was one of the bondsmen. The last bondsman, John Coble, was another German immigrant.

So, we have a theory, not yet proven but increasingly supported by the evidence, that Elizabeth, wife of Peter Richardson, was a Staley. It appears she may have been a daughter of Joseph Staley (b. ca. 1716 in Germany), she herself born in 1755 possibly in Pennsylvania after the family immigrated in 1750.

Peter Richardson Sr. (c. 1745–1791)

Peter Richardson Sr. was born probably around 1745. We have no direct evidence of his origins, but we suspect he came from Pasquotank County, North Carolina, where Stephen Richardson (b. 1680) arrived from England by 1704, when he received a headright there. We have many, scattered autosomal DNA matches to other descendants of this Stephen Richardson, but I haven’t refined those yet. There are also the Y-DNA and autosomal matches above from “William” Stephen Richardson (b. ca. 1753) that point in this direction. This is where future work needs to be done.

The first record I find of Peter Richardson in the Piedmont is a 20 Jul 1771 deed in Orange County (vol. 1, 365), recording “Peter Richardson and Elizabeth his wife, of Guilford County” selling land to John Morice, 72 acres in Orange County “on a draft of the Stinking Quarter”. According to the deed, Peter had received this land on 26 Jul 1764 from Mickel Sting, who had received it as part of a larger tract on 7 Jun 1763 from land speculators Henry McCulloh, Joseph Robson, and Joshua Willcocks. The earlier deed to Peter evidently does not survive — but this places him in the Piedmont by 1764. Peter entered other land in 1779, granted on 2 Nov 1784, 201 acres in what is now Randolph County “on Sandy Creek and Stinking Quarter”, probably the land that the Richardson brothers sold in 1802. His earlier land and his later land were probably not more than a few miles apart if not adjacent.

Peter likely married Elizabeth in Guilford County around 1770. They were the parents of at least four children, and possibly others:

1. Christian Richardson, born about 1772 in Guilford County, North Carolina; died 1845 in Randolph County, North Carolina; married Lovina Ingle, 21 Jun 1798, Guilford County. She was a sister of Barney Ingle, named in the will of George Ingle.
2. Conrad Richardson, born about 1773 in Guilford County; died in 1857 in Williamson County, Tennessee; married (1) Jane Phelps, 19 Jan 1802, Randolph County, (2) Elizabeth Fuqua, 16 Oct 1811, Williamson County, Tennessee.
3. Peter B. Richardson, born about 1775 in Guilford County; died 4 Mar 1849 in Elmore County, Alabama; married Delaney Delila Casey, 19 Jun 1817, Jasper County, Georgia.
4. John Richardson, born around 1780–1785. Nothing proven yet, but I have a strong lead on his family.

The 1790 census indicates they could have had as many as three daughters (four females in the household in 1790) — but we have not identified any daughters yet.

State of research and future directions

We’ve come a very long way with this research in only the last couple years, thanks to the many questions we’ve answered using DNA. Here are some ideas I have for future work:

• Conduct DNA clustering analysis on descendants of Peter B. Richardson, Christian Richardson, Conrad Richardson, and suspected John Richardson descendants, together with Ingle descendants, to verify hypotheses and discover “lost” lines (the Richardson daughters?).
• Conduct DNA clustering analysis on Richardson-Staley descendants with wider Staley matches, to verify hypotheses about Elizabeth Richardson and connections to Staley and other families.
• Refine and cluster DNA matches from other descendants of Stephen Richardson (b. 1680) to try to resolve connections.
• Documentary research of Staley family in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, to verify and expand Staley research others have shared.
• Documentary research of Richardson family in Pasquotank County and elsewhere in North Carolina, to verify existing research and find possible connections for Peter Richardson and “William” Stephen Richardson.

And of course, I’m always seeking to learn more about my Richardson ancestors and cousins here in Alabama and beyond. I would love to hear from you if you are a cousin.