Joseph
Richardson:
Summary
born: 1766-1784 [1810 US Census, the only census currently known that
enumerates him]
died: 29/30/31 December 1813 at the Battle of Black Rock during the War
of 1812 [dates from Veterans
Buried
in Livonia, Elizabeth
Richardson's notes, Abigail
Richardson's
bounty land application]
cause of death: bullet near the heart and scalping [Elizabeth
Richardson's notes, Abigail Richardson's bounty land application,
History of Livingston Co, New York (see below)]
burial: said to have been buried in Livonia; there is also a marker for
him in Honeoye Falls, Monroe Co, New York
Military: He and three other Richardson men, Daniel, Jonathan, and Joseph Jr (Joseph's son) all fought in the War of 1812 in the New York militia in Capt Gould Tyler's Company, Col. Blakesly's Militia. He enlisted in the early to middle part of December 1813, and died in the Battle of Black Rock by a bullet near the heart and scalping sometime between 29 and 31 December. All three days are mentioned in the sources. [See bounty land application]
Another source, the History of Livingston Co, New York states: "Two brothers, Joseph and Jonathan Richardson, both cripples, participated in the battle of Chippewa, fought July 5, 1814, in which battle Joseph was killed by a ball passing through his heart, and Jonathan was taken prisoner by the British. He was taken to Montreal, and from there to Halifax, from which place, after some six months imprisonment, he was released. Joseph Richardson, Jr., a son to Joseph who was killed, was also catpured by the enemy, but in a few days escaped."1
This source cannot be correct, as three depositions in Abigail Richardson's bounty land application, as well as her own, give a death date of 31 December 1813. However, the cause of death is consistant with the depositions.
Wife: He married Abigail Fisk in Leyden, Massachusetts, then in Hampshire Co, now in Franklin Co, in February 1796, according to her deposition. She stated that they were married by a Baptist minister that she no longer knew the name of in 1850, and she believed that there was no public or private record of the marriage. She was born between 1774 and 1776 [census records and bounty land application] and died 15 November 1851 [notes from Elizabeth Richardson].
Children: Joseph, Chester, unknown son, Rufus, Lydia, Philinda, Elsie, and Harrison (born after the death of his father). See Family Group Sheet.
1810 - Livonia, Ontario Co, New York:
2 males under 10 [born 1800-1810: Rufus and unknown son]
2 males 10-15 [born 1795-1800: Joseph Jr and Chester]
1 male 26-44 [born 1766-1784: Joseph]3 females under 10 [born 1800-1810: Lydia, Philinda, and Elsie]
1 female 26-44 [born 1766-1784: Abigail]
1820 - Livonia, Ontario Co, New York, household of Abigail Richardson:
1 male to 10 [born 1810-1820: Harrison]
1 male 10-15 [born 1805-1810: Rufus]
2 males 16-26 [born 1794-1804: Joseph Jr & Chester]1 female to 10 [born 1810-1820: Elsie]
1 female 10-16 [born 1804-1810: Philinda]
1 female 16-26 [born 1794-1804: Lydia]
1 female over 45 [born before 1775: Abigail]
1830
- Abigail is living with her son Rufus in
Livonia, Livingston Co, New York. Harrison is also perhaps living with
his brother Rufus. A sister, either Philinda or Elsie, may be living
with brother Chester.
1. Ancestry.com. History of Livingston County, New York: with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. Provo, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. Originally published by Smith, James H., Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason, 1881.
