Samuel Richardson

1603 - 1658  (54 years)

• Name	Samuel Richardson
  Born	22 Dec 1603	Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK
  Gender	Male
  Died	23 Mar 1657/58	Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA
  Notes	SAMUEL RICHARDSON, the second of the three brothers of that name who united in the settlement of Woburn, was born in England, not far from the year 1610. We do not know in what year he came to this country.  Possibly he came with his elder brother, Ezekiel, in 1630, though this is not at all probable.  A list of fifty-eight men, inhabitants of Charlestown, dated Jan. 9, 1633-4, is found on the records of that town.  Among them is the name of Ezekiel Richardson, but not of Samuel or of Thomas, his brothers.  A similar list was made out, January, 1635-6, in which Ezekiel appears, but neither of his brothers. The first notice we find of Samuel is dated July 1, 1636, when he and his brother, Thomas Richardson, with others, were on a committee to lay out lots of land for hay. In 1637, the names of Samuel and Thomas Richardson first appear in a list of inhabitants of Charlestown. The same year the town of Charlestown granted to each of them a "house-plot," clearly indicating that they had recently become residents in the place. These two brothers were admitted members of the church there, Feb. 18, 1637-8, in consequence of which they were made freemen of the colony, May 2, 1638. Samuel was chosen surveyor of the highways, March 17, 1636-7. Putting all these things together, it amounts to a certainty, that while Ezekiel arrived in June or July, 1630, his younger brothers did not come till 1636. Ezekiel may have been twenty-five or thirty on his coming. Samuel was probably four or five years younger. The three brothers had lots assigned them, April 20, 1638, on "Misticke side and above the Ponds," that is, in Malden, and their names, among others, appear as persons having the privilege of pasturing cows upon the Common, Dec. 30, 1638. On the 5th of November, 1640, the three brothers and four others, Edward Convers, Edward Johnson, John Mousall, and Thomas Graves, were chosen by the church of Charlestown as commissioners or agents for the settlement of a church and town, within what were then the limits of Charlestown, but soon after erected into a separate town, and called WOBURN. That whole territory was then a wide, uncultivated waste. In the February following, the commissioners built a bridge over the Aberjona River, as the Mystic River is called, north of Mystic Pond. This bridge was known in after times as Convers' Bridge, from Edward Convers, the proprietor of the adjacent mill. He lived in the immediate vicinity, in the first house built in Woburn. His descendants lived there, or in that vicinity, and the entire locality is now in the heart of the town of Winchester. When the church was constituted in Woburn, Aug. 14, 1642, O. S., Samuel Richardson and his two brothers, with John Mousall, Edward Johnson, Edward Convers, and William Learned, solemnly stood forth, as the nucleus around which the church was to be gathered. The three brothers lived near to each other, on the same street, which has ever since been known as "Richardson's Row."  It was by the town laid out as a street in 1647, and the three Richardsons are in the town book represented as then living upon it. It runs almost due north and south, in the north-eastern part of the present town of Winchester, but a short distance east of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, and now constitutes a part of Washington Street, in the town last named. The three brothers lived near the present line of Woburn. Cellar holes are still pointed out to designate the sites of their houses.  Samuel lived near the present abode of his descendant, Luther Richardson, now living, but a short distance north from the present village of Winchester. That Ezekiel, Samuel, and Thomas Richardson were brothers appears from the will of Ezekiel Richardson, in which he "discharges all demands between his brother Samuel Richardson and himself, and gives to Thomas Richardson, son of his brother Thomas, ten shillings." It also appears from a quitclaim deed of forty acres of land, from Samuel Richardson, dated March 27, 1657, to "my sister Susanna Richardson, now Brooks, during her life-time, and then to my cousin [i. e., nephew], Theophilus Richardson" [Midd. Deeds, ii. 72], and moreover from the boundaries of said forty acres, which are "south by Samuel Richardson, north by Thomas Richardson, our brother," etc. [Midd. Deeds, ii. 154.] This deed further determines the relative position of the houses and farms of the three brothers, that Samuel lived nearest to the present village of Winchester, Thomas on the north, near Woburn line, and Ezekiel midway between them.(*) (*) "The Richardsons." says Rev. Mr. Sewall, in his History, "have always been the most numerous family in Woburn. On the province tax list for both parishes [the second parish is now Burlington] in 1769, out of 330 resident males taxed, there were 42 Richardsons, 27 Wymans, 16 Reeds, and 24 Johnsons, making 109 persons of those four names; a number, which, within a trifle is equal to one-third of all the males then taxed." Again, he says of the three brothers, Ezekiel, Samuel, and Thomas, "Their descendants, bearing the name of Richardson, long have been, and still are, more numerous than persons of any other name in Woburn, and among them have been found some of the most valued members of the church and citizens of the place." [Hist. of Woburn, pp. 71, 635, 636.] Samuel Richardson was selectman of Woburn in 1644, 1645, 1646, 1649, 1650, and 1651. In 1645, he paid the highest tax of any man in Woburn; Capt. Edward Johnson the next. His wife was JOANNA (???).  It should have been mentioned that she united with the church in Charlestown, on the 9th of the 7th month, or Sept. 9, 1639. He died, intestate, March 23, 1658.  The inventory is dated March 29, 1658. His widow Joanna and eldest son, John, were appointed administrators. [Midd. Prob. Rec., i. 142.] Lieut. John Wyman, of Woburn, was appointed guardian of his sons, John and Joseph, June 25, 1658. The will of Joanna Richardson, widow of Samuel, is dated June 20, 1666. She probably died soon after, though the will was not proved till 1677. It is recorded Midd. Prob. Rec., iv. 122.  She gives her real estate to her eldest son, John, and sons Joseph, Samuel, and Stephen, and her clothing to her daughter Elizabeth.  She mentions Mary Mousall as her daughter.
  Person ID	I11206	Stedman/Steadman/Steedman Families of the New World
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2009

  
  

  Father	Thomas Richardson,   b. Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK ,   d. 8 Jan 1632/33, Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK
  Mother	Katherine Duxford,   b. 1569, Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK ,   d. 10 Mar 1630/31, Westhalll, Hertfordshire, England, UK  (Age 62 years)
  Married	24 Aug 1590	Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK
  Family ID	F4786	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Joanna Thake,   b. 2 Feb 1605/06, of Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK ,   d. Between 20 Jun 1666 and 1677, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age 60 years)
  Married	18 Oct 1632	Great Hormead, Herfordshire, England, UK
  Alt. Marriage	Bef 1638	Charlestown, Suffolk Co., MA
  	Some sources suggest that they were married after they came to New England. If so, it was probably in Charlestown.
  Children	1. Samuel Richardson,   b. 3 Jul 1633, Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK ,   d. Aft 3 Jul 1633  (Age 0 years)   2. Elizabeth Richardson,   b. 22 May 1635, Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK ,   d. 16 Aug 1685  (Age 50 years)   3. Mary Richardson,   b. Bef 25 Feb 1637/38, Charlestown, Suffolk Co., MA ,   d. 13 Sep 1677, Charlestown, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age ~ 39 years)   4. John Richardson,   b. Bef 12 Nov 1639, Charlestown, Suffolk Co., MA ,   d. 1 Jan 1696/97, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age ~ 57 years)   5. Hannah Richardson,   b. 8 Mar 1641/42, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA ,   d. 8 Apr 1642, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age 0 years)   6. Joseph Richardson,   b. 27 Jul 1643, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA ,   d. 5 Mar 1717/18, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age 74 years)   7. Samuel Richardson,   b. 22 May 1646, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA ,   d. 29 Apr 1712, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age 65 years)   8. Stephen Richardson,   b. 15 Aug 1649, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA ,   d. 22 Mar 1717/18, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age 68 years)   9. Thomas Richardson,   b. 31 Dec 1651, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA ,   d. 27 Sep 1657, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  (Age 5 years)   10. Elizabeth Richardson,   b. Aft 1651, Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA ,   d. Aft 1666  (Age ~ 15 years)
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2009
  Family ID	F4785	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 22 Dec 1603 - Westmill, Hertfordshire, England, UK Alt. Marriage - Bef 1638 - Charlestown, Suffolk Co., MA Died - 23 Mar 1657/58 - Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA  = Link to Google Earth