The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: MA
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service
Birth: 25 Dec 1729 Woborn / Middlesex / MA Death: 09 Jun 1795 Leominster / Worcester / MA
Qualifying Service Description:
In 1780, he was serving as a member of the Lancaster Committee of Inspection and Correspondence.
Additional References:
Nourse, Henry Stedman,The Military Annals of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1740-1865. Including Lists of Soldiers Serving in the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars, for the Lancastrian towns: Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, Leominster, and Sterling, Massachusetts. Clinton: W.J. Coulter, 1889, pg 170
Spouse: (1) Hannah Reed; (2) Hannah House Children: Katherine/Catherine;
James Richardson Jr. was born on 25 December 1729 in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
He was married twice, with his first wife being Hannah Reed, and they were married on 12 February 1749 in Woburn. She died in or before 1752. Their only known child was:
Hannah was born on 3 March 1750 and died young.
He married his second wife, Hannah House, on 10 January 1753 in Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Among their known children were:
James was born on 13 January 1755 and married Lucy Wyman.
Hannah was born on 19 September 1757 and married Jethro Richardson [Patriot P-334700].
Joseph was born on 1 August 1759 and married Lydia Graves.
Salmon was born on 30 January 1761 and married Lucy Kendall.
Ruhamah was born on 15 December 1761 and married Samuel Tidd [DAR Ancestor A115344].
Katharine was born on 14 January 1763 and married James Wilder [Patriot P-319964].
Esther was born on 9 March 1767 and married John Barker.
Rebecca was born on 28 April 1769 and married David Joslin [Patriot P-226872].
After his second marriage, James spent three or four years in his native Woburn and then moved to Leominster, a new town incorporated in 1740. He soon rose to distinction there. He commanded a military company in 1756 on the expedition against Crown Point. He was a Selectman in 1763, 1764, 1766, and 1771.
He was chosen as a Surveyor of Highways in 1764 and 1768, a Constable in 1765, an Assessor in 1766, and one of the committeemen chosen in 1767 to divide the town into three parts for the purpose of schooling. He was called Captain in 1768 and Major in 1772.1
On 6 March 1780 in Lancaster, the following individuals were chosen to serve on the Committee of Inspection and Correspondence: James Richardson, Samuel Thurston, Thomas Gates, Captain Luke Wilder, and Captain Benjamin Richardson.2
He was a wealthy and public-spirited man. He was a man of business on a large scale for that region and for those times. He was engaged in the manufacture of potash and made money by it. He kept a country store opposite his house. His house was a most spacious and elegant mansion. Mr. Leland built it, known as the "old Leland Place." It is well known as the "Old Abby". There are two rows of beautiful elm trees, one on each side of the road, set out by Major James Richardson.
He bought a mill on the Nashua River, with adjacent land, that once belonged to Ebenezer Wilder and then to Jonathan Wilson. He rebuilt the mill with a new dam, but it failed in business and passed into the hands of some creditors.
The Patriot died in June 1795 in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, and was buried in Old Pine Grove Cemetery.
Sources:
The Richardson Memorial, pages 571-572
Military Annals of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1740-1865, p. 170
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